GEORGETOWN, Guyana  (CMC) – A Venezuelan national, whom Guyanese authorities say is the main suspect in an October 2025 bomb attack that killed a six-year-old  told a court Monday that he acted alone and that his co-accused were not involved in the tragedy.

Daniel Alexander Ramirez Poedemo, 33,  made the confession as acting Guyana’s Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty was preparing to commence the Paper Committal proceedings in the terrorism case in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

A paper committal is a judicial process during which a Magistrate determines if there is sufficient evidence for a case to proceed to a High Court based solely on written statements and documentary evidence, without an oral hearing.

Poedemo, 44-year-old Alexander Bettencourt, 27-year-old Jhonny Boodram and 33-year-old Kystal LaCruz, are facing a terrorism charge before the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court, while three others, 44-year-old Wayne Corriea, 51-year-old Ramesh Pramdeoand 31-year-old  Jennifer Rodriguez are facing a similar charge in the Leonora Magistrates’ Court.

The prosecution alleges that Poedemo on October 26, with intent to threaten the security and sovereignty of Guyana or to strike terror among its people, used an explosive device at the Mobil Fuel Station at Regent and King Streets, Georgetown, resulting in the death of six-year-old Soraya Bourne.

But when the matter came up for hearing in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, Poedemo’s assigned attorney, Shellon Boyce, told the Court that during an interview with her client, certain disclosures were made.

Her disclosure led to the Acting Chief Magistrate seeking clarification from the accused as to whether or not he was prepared to “speak and cooperate”.

Through an interpreter, Poedemo told the Court that the final decision rests with the Magistrate, adding that the other accused are not involved in the incident. He said of the persons charged, he was the only one responsible for the act.

“He said he wants to admit to everything. He said yes, he was involved in it. He was the person. A Guyanese-Venezuelan or Venezuelan-Guyanese gave him the stuff and he did what he had to do. He placed the stuff where he had to place it, the other persons were not involved, just him alone was involved,” the interpreter told the Court.

Poedemo maintained that a number of people implicated in the case were not involved, and he wants the case to end so that the innocent people can be freed.

Prosecutor Mandel Moore told the Court he would require a formal proposal from Boyce, the attorney for  the accused, to present to the Director of Public Prosecution’s (DPP) Chambers.

Acting Chief Magistrate adjourned the case to April 20, 2026, for a report from both the assigned attorney representing the accused and the prosecutor.

Poedemo was arrested a few days after the October 26, 2025, bomb blast after a man was captured on camera planting the suspected bomb before making his escape. A motive for the bombing remains unclear.

Bourne, who was in a car with her relatives, died from the bombing.