Argentine rebel leader dies at 65

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A leftist Argentine rebel leader who commanded the squad which assassinated Nicaraguan military ruler Anastasio Somoza in 1980 has died.

Enrique Gorriaran Merlo, 65, founder of the People's Revolutionary Army, died of a heart attack.

The group was blamed for a series of kidnappings and bombings in the 1970s.

He had been sentenced to life in prison for his role in an attack on a military barracks in 1989 which killed nearly 40 people but was later pardoned.

His rebel group became famous during the 1970s after it set up a "free zone" in the mountains of the central Argentine province of Tucuman.

Mr Gorriaran also led the commando squad which assassinated the former Nicaraguan leader, Anastasio Somoza, in Paraguay in 1980.

He tried to stand as a candidate in Argentina's legislative elections of last year for the newly created Party for Labour and Development.

Mr Gorriaran died in Buenos Aires.