WORLD IN BRIEF : GUATEMALA : President Questions Recall of U.S. Envoy

Guatemalan President Vinicio Cerezo Arevalo, responding to the recall of U.S. Ambassador Thomas Stroock for consultations on a deteriorating human rights situation in Guatemala, charged that U.S. policy is unfair and inconsistent. “The attitude of the United States is unjust and unfairly critical,” Cerezo said. “We didn’t hear this kind of criticism with dictatorships in the past.” Cerezo was elected in 1985, ending 17 years of military rule. Stroock hit a nerve last week when he said that the failure to bring charges in a series of assassinations and kidnapings could imperil U.S.-Guatemala relations.