The World - News from Sept. 21, 1989

Former Salvadoran President Jose Napoleon Duarte, who has liver cancer, has suffered a sharp deterioration in his condition and could be near death, according to his physician. Dr. Jose Luis Saca said Duarte was in “serious but stable” condition. “I thought he was going to die last night,” Saca said Wednesday. “But we were able to stabilize him, and I don’t think he’ll die within the next 24 hours.” Duarte’s son told local television that his father’s condition is “very, very grave.” Duarte, 63, whose cancer was diagnosed in June, 1988, was a staunch ally of Washington. He handed power to elected successor Alfredo Cristiani of the rightist Republican Nationalist Alliance on June 1.