Guatemala’s President Thwarts Coup Attempt

Guatemala’s centrist President Vinicio Cerezo Arevalo put down a coup attempt by retired army officers today, and the leaders of the uprising were arrested, Cerezo’s office said.

Government troops thwarted the coup attempt after rebel soldiers took over the national radio station and air force planes buzzed the presidential palace.

A communique from Cerezo’s press office said retired army officers and others had staged “an undisciplined act in the tactical group of the air force.”

It said the leaders of the coup attempt were under arrest.

“Everything is under control,” presidential spokesman Carlos Anleu told Radio Fabulosa.

Cerezo, a Christian Democrat who survived a coup attempt last May, was elected in 1986 after three decades of nearly continuous military rule in this Central American country.

Witnesses said rebel soldiers, dressed for combat and sporting blue bandannas as a recognition symbol, were ordered to withdraw from the national police barracks. They had surrounded the building about 7:20 a.m.

The first indication that a coup attempt was in progress came shortly after dawn, when air force planes and helicopters flew low over the presidential palace and the barracks of the presidential guard.

At the same time, an unidentified voice called repeatedly on national radio for all radio and television stations to link up for a national broadcast.

After about an hour, the same voice announced that the stations “can return to their normal activities” but should be “waiting for our information.”

Witnesses said soldiers from the presidential guard took up positions outside their barracks manning artillery pieces but no shots were fired. They said air forces troops also went on alert at their bases.

“The Guatemalan army has controlled the situation and detained the instigators of the said movement,” Cerezo’s press office said.

“The constitutional president of the republic asks the people to keep calm and to respect the democratic constitution,” it added.

Defense Minister Gen. Hector Alejandro Gramajo told a reporter that the revolt had been aimed at ousting him and had involved only troops from the Guatemala City air force base, who had started marching toward his residence.

“There was nothing spectacular. No shots. No fights,” he said.

Gramajo said no other military units had taken part in the revolt, adding that the action was the result of “politicians from the right who are buying certain people in the army.”

The defense minister is opposed by hard-line elements within the army who want a return to more conservative rule in Guatemala.