(AFP) An armed man took an employee hostage at a hotel in the Brazilian capital Monday and forced him to don a vest apparently stuffed with explosives, authorities said.
The gunman called a hotel courier in the early hours, and pushed him into a room on the 13th floor, a police spokesman told AFP.
The hostage taker called reception to inform them. He has since appeared several times on the balcony, waving a pistol, with his handcuffed hostage wearing a jacket that appeared to contain explosives.
The area around the Saint Peter hotel in Brasilia had been cordoned off.
The spokesman said the hostage taker had made a number of demands, including some of a political nature.
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