Report: Bolivian Man Solely Responsible for AeroMexico Hijacking

CNN reported that a 44-year-old former drug addict and alcoholic who now works as a minister was the sole person responsible for the brief hijacking Wednesday of an AeroMexico commercial jetliner, a Mexican official said.

The suspect, Josmar Flores Pereira, told authorities he hijacked the jet on Wednesday because the date— September 9, 2009, or 9/9/9 and 666 flipped— held some significance for him, said Genaro Garcia Luna, the secretary for public safety. "He said that because of that divine reference, he wanted to alert Mexico City of an earthquake," Garcia told reporters.

There were 104 passengers and seven crew members aboard when the plane was hijacked. The hijacker demanded to speak to the Mexican president and claimed to have a bomb. He threatened to blow up the plane if his demand to speak to President Felipe Calderon was not met, Garcia said.

According to the report, A U.S. law enforcement official familiar with the situation said preliminary information indicated the passengers were from Mexico, the United States and France. The incident began at 1:40 p.m. (2:40 p.m. ET), as Flight 576 arrived from Cancun, and ended more than an hour later, slightly before 3 p.m.