Guatemala: Protest Leaves 6 Dead

Guatemala: Protest Leaves 6 Dead
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 5, 2012

Thousands of grieving Guatemalans demanded justice on Friday at the funerals for six people slain when shots were fired during a protest on Thursday over electrical power prices and educational policies in a rural area. The government said protesters were blockading a highway near the town of Totonicapán, about 90 miles west of Guatemala City, when soldiers arrived to help the police who had been ordered to evict the demonstrators. Gunfire erupted, killing 6 people and wounding 34, officials said. On Friday, President Otto Pérez Molina acknowledged that the security forces had opened fire.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/06/world/americas/guatemala-protest-leaves-6-dead.html?ref=americas&_r=0

Guatemala's right-wing President was involved in Guatemala's long-running civil war, during which he has been believed to have taken part in many atrocities concerning suspected leftists.