GUATEMALA: ELITE NOT SAFE FROM DEATH SQUADS

(27 Aug 1995) Spanish/Nat Relatives of a murdered Guatemalan politician have launched an intense lobbying campaign in the United States in their attempt to bring his killers to justice. Jorge Carpio Nicolle - a cousin of Guatemala's current president - was gunned down two years ago on his way to a political meeting. Carpio's family believe the military ordered his killing after he refused to endorse an army-backed proposal to grant an amnesty to human rights abusers. The Carpio case has come to symbolise the Guatemalans' belief that the rule of law exists only on paper and not even Guatemala's elite are safe. Jorge Carpio was on his way to a political meeting in Chichicastenango, 100 miles west of the capital Guatemala City, when his minibus was ambushed on 3 July 1993. Masked gunmen pumped three bullets into his head - three political colleagues travelling with him were also shot. Carpio's wife Marta escaped unharmed. SOUNDBITE: (In Spanish) "Because it's not easy for a person to be the spouse, and we had a good marriage, they killed him in front of me and he died practically in my arms." SUPER CAPTION: Marta Arrivillaga de Carpio - widow of Jorge Carpio Jorge Carpio was publisher of the leading Guatemalan daily "El Grafico" and twice a presidential candidate. As leader of the National Centrist Union, Carpio had for years been seeking a peaceful solution to his country's conflicts, a solution his newspaper also urged. In the weeks before his death, he'd clashed with military leaders, after refusing to endorse - either in his newspaper or his party - an army-backed proposal to grant a retroactive amnesty to human rights abusers. The Guatemalan government attributed the Carpio killings to leftist guerrillas then shifted the blame to common criminals. From the outset Carpio's family rejected the official version as absurd. Despite the family connection, current President Ramiro de Leon Carpio proved little help in the search for the truth. Jorge Carpio's family feel the president has become a pawn of the Guatemalan military. SOUNDBITE: (In Spanish) "It's amazing that two years after the assassination of Jorge only one person has been arrested a member of the civil patrol and it's also incredible that the President Ramiro de Leon, who was a cousin, has done nothing about this. We believe he is under intense pressure or that he does not have the political will to resolve the case. But if the pressure by the military continues I think it will be better if he resigns and stops covering up the murder of cousin." SUPER CAPTION: Karen Fischer de Carpio - victim's daughter-in-law From the start the official inquiry into the Carpio killings was marked by a string of irregularities. Forensic evidence mysteriously disappeared as did reports and photographs from the autopsies. Even the courthouse where records of the case had been kept was burned down - a firebomb was later found in the ruins. All this reinforces the Carpio family's view that a wall of impunity still exists in Guatemala. SOUNDBITE: (In Spanish) "The problem in Guatemala is the system of impunity and it's going be quite difficult to tear down this wall of impunity." SUPER CAPTION: Karen Fischer - victim's daughter-in-law Defying death threats and apparent assassination attempts, Carpio's widow and daughter-in-law have launched an intense lobbying campaign in the United States Congress in their search for justice. Even the elite it seems are not safe from the death squads in Guatemala. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...