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UN probe clears Guatemala leader | |
(40 minutes later) | |
A UN investigation has cleared Guatemala's President Alvaro Colom of involvement in the murder of a prominent lawyer, Rodrigo Rosenberg. | A UN investigation has cleared Guatemala's President Alvaro Colom of involvement in the murder of a prominent lawyer, Rodrigo Rosenberg. |
Mr Rosenberg, who died last May, had warned in a video that he would be killed on the orders of the president. | Mr Rosenberg, who died last May, had warned in a video that he would be killed on the orders of the president. |
Now UN investigator Carlos Castresana says Mr Rosenberg ordered his own assassination. | Now UN investigator Carlos Castresana says Mr Rosenberg ordered his own assassination. |
He added that the lawyer's own cousins carried it out without knowing Mr Rosenberg was the victim. | He added that the lawyer's own cousins carried it out without knowing Mr Rosenberg was the victim. |
He was shot dead days after recording a video saying the president was out to kill him, and would be responsible if he were found dead. | |
Investigators now believe that Mr Rosenberg asked cousins of his first wife to help him contact a hitman. | |
He then fed information to his killers, using a second mobile phone to leave himself threatening messages. | |
'Distraught' | |
The newspaper The Guatemala Times says he was distraught over what he claimed were murders and money-laundering by the president and his aides. | |
The paper adds that he may have planned his own death to topple the government. | |
Mr Colom has always denied any involvement in the killing. | Mr Colom has always denied any involvement in the killing. |
He suggested that both the murder and the video were a reaction to his attempts to tackle organised crime. | He suggested that both the murder and the video were a reaction to his attempts to tackle organised crime. |
The investigation was carried out by the UN agency known as the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). | The investigation was carried out by the UN agency known as the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). |
The commission was created in 2007 to tackle widespread corruption in the country. | The commission was created in 2007 to tackle widespread corruption in the country. |
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