- Title: GUATEMALA: Guerrillas blow up bank as violence escalates
- Date: 22nd October 1981
- Summary: GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA (VISNEWS - MAURICO ORTIZ) *QUALITY AS INCOMING* GV INTERIOR Bomb damaged room and furniture SV TILT UP GV Debris on floor of bank GV man checks garage at bank for damage SV PAN Damaged car SV Firemen inspect damage. (2 SHOTS)
- Embargoed: 6th November 1981 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Guatemala, Guatemala
- City:
- Country: Guatemala
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
- Reuters ID: LVAA1PV9YL6ZLSGPXXPMLPG1OONH
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: INTRODUCTION Violence in the Central American country of Guatemala has reached a new peak with a series of bomb attacks on the commercial sector of the capital.The offices of the Industrial Bank were bombed on Wednesday (21 October).
SYNOPSIS: The blast devastated the interior of the bank in the once-thriving financial district of Guatemala City.Responsibility for the explosion was claimed by the Guerilla Army of the Poor (EGP), a leftist group opposed to the regime of General Lucas Garcia.
The EGP have been involved in other bomb attacks on government buildings and the offices of banks and multinational companies in the capital.Left-wing guerrillas are also active elsewhere in the country as the level of violence has grown.
Eleven people were injured in the bank blast, which was triggered by a bomb placed in a car parked in the bank's garage.Checks were made for further bombs.On the same day an explosive device wrecked a bus in another part of Guatemala City.
So far this year, more than 3,000 people have died in the political violence that has afflicted the country.Many have been victims of the shadowy war between the guerrillas and the army, which is backed by extreme right-wing groups.In its battle with the insurgents, General Garcia's government is heavily dependent upon military and economic aid from the United States.
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