Small bomb found in Argentina ahead of Uribe visit

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine police on Tuesday defused an explosive device hidden in a theatre where former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was scheduled to speak, raising suspicions that left-wing Colombian rebels may have been involved.

Uribe, who cracked down on drug-running guerrillas during his two terms as president, was due to appear at a leadership conference on Wednesday at the Gran Rex theatre in downtown Buenos Aires.

The bomb would have been detonated at about 4 p.m. local time on Wednesday, in the area of the theatre where Uribe was to attend a reception following his speech.

"It was a simple device but strong enough to cause the death of people nearby," federal judge Norberto Oyarbide, who is in charge of the investigation, told reporters on Tuesday after the device was found by theatre maintenance employees.

He said the conference will go on as scheduled.

The theatre was evacuated and surrounded by police while the bomb was deactivated and the building searched.

Uribe is a hero to many for making Colombia's cities and highways safer during his 2002-2010 presidency. He also is criticized for human rights violations committed by state security forces and for links that some of his closest political allies had with right-wing paramilitary outlaws.

Long-time Uribe enemies in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish initials as FARC, could be linked to the bombing attempt, Colombia security expert Alfredo Rangel told Argentine television.

"The guerrillas have tentacles that reach into other countries," Rangel said. "It is to be expected that the FARC would have contacts with extreme leftist groups in Buenos Aires that could have helped with this attack."

The FARC killed Uribe's father in a botched kidnapping decades ago, solidifying the anti-guerrilla stance that became his political calling card.

Uribe is credited with using billions of dollars in U.S. military aid to push rebel fighters deep into the jungles, effectively removing them as a strategic threat to the state. He has survived several attempts on his life and remains active on the international conference circuit.

Fernando Londono, who served as Uribe's interior minister from 2002 to 2004, narrowly escaped a car bombing last week in Bogota. The blast killed Londono's driver and police escort.

A police source told Reuters two people on a motor bike attached an explosive device to the car carrying Londono shortly before the explosion shook a commercial part of the capital close to the financial district.

"Uribe, Londono and other close Uribe collaborators have always figured prominently on the FARC's list of targets," Rangel said.

(Additional reporting by Hilary Burke and Magdalena Morales; Editing by Anthony Boadle and Bill Trott)

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