CNN iReport

On Tuesday, April 21st Bolivian National Minister Rada appeared on national television stations (including a popular Santa Cruz television show called "No Mentiras" (Don't Lie), holding a photograph of a group of young men carrying weapons and a green and white Autonomia flag, and dressed in military attire. He declared that the Bolivian government had discovered a dangerous terrorist cell in Bolivia and that this group of young men had been training in the country under the guidance of Mauricio Iturri, a Santa Cruz activist, whom he stated had been clearly identified in the photograph. Iturri currently lives in Florida.

Rada also stated that Bolivian government intelligence organisms had obtained the photo. This comes just 5 days after Bolivian police entered the Hotel Las Americas in Santa Cruz and shot two men dead (Irishman Michael Dwyer and Hungarian-Bolivian citizen Eduardo Rózsa) alleging they had planned to assassinate President Evo Morales (to date the chief investigator has stated there is no evidence that this is true).

On Wednesday morning, the photograph was published on the front pages of several national newspapers. Members of the group in the picture woke up to find they had been accused of terrorism by the Bolivian government. In fact, they are members of the Santa Cruz Paintball / Airsoft Players Association.

The photograph was downloaded from their Facebook airsoft group page and the groups accuses the government of having hacked their Facebook group page because a password is required to access it.  The man accused of being Iturri in the photograph is actually Pedro Álvarez Fernández.

Iturri made a video call to local Santa Cruz television stations from Florida to indicate he was in Florida and affirmed he is not the man in the photograph. He also apologized to the families of the Airsoft group members as the government's mistake has caused much alarm among them.

The Airsoft group members spent the day visiting local television stations to show the public their toy weapons, military gear and other elements they use when playing airsoft and paintball. They indicated clearly that international standards dictate toy guns have an orange plastic tip on the end of the rifle. These orange plastic tips are clearly visible in the photograph the government downloaded from their Facebook page.

The story ran in Bolivian newspapers and on television stations throughout the day. Opposition leaders and senators have decried the mistaken accusation as extremely irresponsible and dangerous.

Senate Chairman Oscar Ortiz stated on "No Mentirás" Wednesday night, "what if the government had done what they did at the Las Americas hotel last week and had broken into these men's homes and shot them?"  He lamented that members of the country's top military and national security should be unable to tell the difference between real weapons and toys. Airsoft guns are easily available in local markets for about $8.

Bolivian National Defense Minister Walker San Miguel declared that the group at the very least had broken the law by wearing military camouflaged attire as Bolivian law limits the use of this type of clothing to the national military.

However, used military attire is readily available in open markets such as the Mercado Cumavi in Santa Cruz where used clothing is sold regularly.  The government recently banned the importation and sale of used clothing in Bolivia, but little has been done to shut down used clothing markets which continue to be very popular among the public.

The government has not issued an apology or correction, nor did it retract its accusation against the airsoft team. Members of this group must now travel to La Paz to provide sworn statements to the officials in charge of investigating the case. Their families are fearful and alarmed.