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FBI Says
an Animal Rights Bombing Suspect May be in Costa Rica
Feb. 13
By the
A.M. Costa Rica staff
A man accused of bombing two corporate offices in the United States, is presumed to be hiding in Costa Rica, the
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said Tuesday.
The man, Daniel Andreas San Diego, 38 is a U.S. citizen described as an
extreme animal rights activist and also a skilled computer technician. The U. S.
government is offering a $250,000
reward for information leading to his arrest. The FBI did not say why
agents suspected San Diego to be in Costa Rica.
San Diego, is accused of bombing Chiron, an
international corporation that specializes in blood transfusion research, in
August 2003 in Emeryville, California. The first bomb went off in the
main entrance of the Chiron building, and a second bomb was found shortly
before most officials arrived at the scene. It is possible that the second bomb
was intended to kill the firemen and police as they arrived at the scene, said
the FBI report. The area was evacuated however, and no one was injured in the
incident.
In September, 2003, a single bomb strapped with nails exploded at the Shaklee
Corp., located in Pleasanton,
California. The bomb was covered
in shrapnel, most likely to inflict extreme injuries and damage, said the FBI
report. Shaklee makes biodegradable cleaning products and describe themselves
as a part of a movement for a healthier planet.
Both Chiron and Shaklee have been targets of animal rights groups because of
their apparent links to Huntingdon Life Sciences, a research firm that uses
animals for testing, according to a Dec. 5, 2003, report in SFGate.com, the
online news source of the San Francisco Chronicle.
The FBI linked him to San Diego to an alleged
international network of animal rights extremists, the publication said, noting
that San Diego
vanished in October of 2003. He has been a fugitive since that time because an
FBI surveillance team lost him.
Officials say it is quite possible that San Diego
is working and living in Costa
Rica. He most likely associates and works
with other English speakers, said FBI officials, since he did not speak Spanish
before he left the United
States. He is a strict vegan and has
numerous tattoos including a circle on his chest which has a picture of flames
and the inscription, "It only takes a spark," a black and white image
of burning collapsed towers on his left abdomen, burning towers on his lower
back, and a leafless tree on his upper back. He possesses a 9 mm handgun and is
considered armed and dangerous, according to the FBI.
San Diego is considered a terrorist, as such he
is fair game for overseas surveillance as specified in the USA Patriot Act, and
one source believes it is likely that U.S.
law enforcement intercepted a telephone call from San Diego
in Costa Rica to friends or
family in the United States.
San Diego
shares his place on the FBI's Web site, with César Armando Laurean, a former
Marine wanted for his alleged involvement in the killing of Maria Lauterbach.
Lauterbach, 20, was a Marine who was pregnant at the time of her murder in North Carolina. The
remains of Lauterbach and her unborn baby were found in a shallow grave in the
backyard of Laurean's Jacksonville
home, according to the FBI Web site. Recent news reports say that witnesses saw
Laurean in Mexico,
but he may have moved further south. |
