Guatemalan Mayor Murdered Monday

GUATEMALA CITY (AFP) – AGuatemalan mayor in the western municipalityof Génova Costa Cuca was killedby unidentified assailants Monday morning,according to police.Mayor Marciano Pérez, 54, wasreportedly shot six times by assailantswho drove by him in a taxi in the departmentof Quetzaltenango, 206 kilometerswest of the capital. He died shortly afterbeing taken to a nearby hospital.Pérez’s bodyguard was seriouslyinjured in the attack, and is being treatedin a public hospital.The taxi was later found abandonedon the highway.Pérez took office as mayor lastJanuary, and reportedly had several problemswith local unions, according to arearesidents.The mayor is survived by his wife anddaughters, who live in the United States.