Joran van der Sloot Says He Is 'Surviving' in Prison
Accused Dutch killer suggests the FBI lured him to Peru.
June 22, 2010— -- Accused killer Joran van der Sloot blames himself for landing in a rat-filled Peruvian prison cell, but he suggests that the FBI lured him to Peru in a botched sting operation.
Van der Sloot's interview with the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf is the latest in a series of startling comments from the Dutch playboy charged with the murder of Stephany Flores, 21, of Peru, and the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway.
He is also charged with extorting $25,000 from Holloway's mother, Beth Twitty, promising to show her where Natalee's body was buried in exchange for the money.
After receiving payment, he claimed the body was buried in the foundation of a building that didn't even exist at the time of her disappearance, according to the federal indictment. When confronted with the fact, van der Sloot admitted that he lied, the document states.
The 22-year-old Van der Sloot is now suggesting to the newspaper that he was lured to Peru by the FBI to facilitate extraditing him to the U.S. He claims a man named "Garcia" invited him to a poker tournament in Lima, Peru, where van der Sloot met Flores.
"Garcia arranged and paid for everything for me. Looking back, I can't believe I let myself be lured. I hardly knew that guy. It was just a setup," the paper quoted him as saying.
Van der Sloot met Flores at a gambling table, and he has signed a confession admitting killing her while back at his hotel room in rage after she discovered his connection to the Holloway case and allegedly struck him.
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