LA PAZ, Bolivia (CNN) -- One person died and seven were wounded when a
                 car bomb exploded in Santa Cruz, authorities said.

                 The blast, which damaged nearby buildings and broke windows, occurred near the
                 police command headquarters at 2:45 p.m. (1:45 p.m. EST).

                 A caller to a television station in Santa Cruz said a group called Mejores Dias para
                 Bolivia -- Better Days for Bolivia -- was responsible.

                 The claim of responsibility would not be independently confirmed. Police said they
                 had never heard of the group.

                 Mauro Bertero, a government spokesman, condemned the blast, calling it a terrorist
                 act.

                 About half an hour after the bomb detonated, police said they found and deactivated
                 another bomb in a Santa Cruz office of the Empresa Nacional de
                 Telecommunications, the government-owned telephone company.

                 Authorities speculated the car bomb could be linked to Peruvian terrorists or drug
                 traffickers.

                 Bolivia is a major producer of coca, the plant from which cocaine is derived.