HOEKSTRA SAYS CIA LIED ABOUT PERU PLANE DOWNING THAT KILLED
MISSIONARY VERONICA BOWERS, DAUGHTER

A new federal probe of the 2001 downing of a plane carrying West
Michigan missionaries in Peru concluded the CIA operated outside the
law and then lied to Congress and federal officials, according to U.S.
Rep. Pete Hoekstra.

"We cannot have a community that operates outside the law and covers
up what it does and lies to Congress," Hoekstra said today.

Hoekstra said he will press for criminal investigation following
release of the report by the Office of Inspector General.

Veronica "Roni" Bowers, 35, of Muskegon, was holding her 7-month-old
daughter, Charity, when their plane was misidentified by as a
potential drug-smuggling aircraft and fired upon by a Peruvian air
force jet. A bullet struck Bowers in the back, killing her and the
baby.

Bowers' husband, Jim, then 37, son, Cory, 8, and the pilot survived
the crash that followed the shooting.

"This is a shootdown that should not have occurred if we had an agency
that was working appropriately," said Hoekstra, a member of the House
Intelligence Committee.

The report concluded CIA operatives failed to follow rules of
engagement in the 2001 incident as well as several others, Hoekstra
said.

It also found there was an active coverup by the CIA of the facts
surrounding the case, Hoekstra said.