A 34-year-old Colombian citizen has been arrested in Romania on suspicion of planning sabotage at strategically important sites in the country on the instructions of a person residing in Russia. The case was referred to the Bucharest Court of Appeals on November 13, 2024, and the accused is currently in custody.
According to the Romanian Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), in July 2024, the suspect, acting at the instigation of a foreign citizen from Russia, was gathering information to implement a plan to set fire to or explode objects of particular importance and capable of posing a threat to national security. During the preparation, he took photographs and videos of the intended targets. Allegedly, thanks to the intervention of the police, the criminal plan was not realized.
The investigation established that the accused had previously undergone military training in the Colombian armed forces, where he acquired skills in gathering intelligence. He was charged under Article 403 of the Romanian Criminal Code, which provides for punishment for actions that threaten national security, with a possible prison term of 10 to 20 years.
Russian officials have not yet commented on the detention. Earlier, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said that accusations against Russia of interfering in the internal affairs of other states were unsubstantiated and followed the Western trend of blaming Moscow.