MEXICO CITY — A Bolivian religious fanatic clutching a Bible briefly hijacked a jetliner from the beach resort of Cancun as it landed in Mexico City yesterday.
All the 112 passengers and the crew were released unharmed.
The hijacker used a juice can he said was a bomb to hold the plane on the tarmac for more than an hour. Masked police stormed the aircraft with their guns drawn and escorted several handcuffed men away without firing a shot. Police later said there was only one hijacker.
José Flores, 44, told investigators he hijacked Aeromexico Flight 576 after a divine revelation, according to Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna. Flores said yesterday’s date — 9-9-09 — is the satanic number 666 turned upside down.
Flores, speaking to reporters after he was detained, said he took control of the aircraft with “a juice can with some little lights I attached.”
“Christ is coming soon,” he added, smiling.
As the plane was landing, Flores stood up and showed his contraption to a flight attendant, saying he and three others were hijacking the plane, Garcia Luna said. Flores later told police his three companions were “the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.”
He ordered the pilot to circle over Mexico City seven times and asked to speak with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, saying he wanted to warn him of an impending earthquake, Garcia Luna said.
Garcia Luna said Flores is a drug addict who was convicted of armed robbery in Bolivia and who has lived in Mexico for 17 years. Flores described himself as a Protestant pastor.