Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 4, 1994 TAG: 9404040061
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: GUATEMALA CITY LENGTH: Short
On Saturday, Constitutional Court President Epaminondas Gonzalez Dubon was assassinated. At the funeral Sunday, De Leon said his Cabinet will discuss imposing a state of emergency.
A political analyst, Mario Castejon, called the assassination a "serious blow" for Guatemala. "The Constitutional Court represents one of the few institutions in which the nation trusts," he said.
In recent months, Guatemala has been beset by a sharp rise in violent crime and a recent wave of kidnappings and attacks against foreigners.
Two Americans and a Swiss man have been attacked in recent weeks because of rumors about child kidnapping rings. The latest victim, June Weinstock of Fairbanks, Alaska, remained hospitalized in a coma Sunday, four days after being beaten by a mob of villagers.
On Thursday the State Department warned U.S. citizens to defer non-essential travel to Guatemala.
The violence comes as efforts to end the Central American country's 33-year-old civil war begin to show signs of progress. Last week, rebels and the government signed breakthrough agreements to guarantee human rights.
Among other things, the accords call for allowing U.N. monitors to investigate human rights violations and for the government to clamp down on death squads.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB