GUATEMALAN SEIZURE LAID TO RIGHTISTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000300490005-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 17, 2004
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: March 22, 1968
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved
L -187,63.5--''
E-208,722
S-339,049 1. 1
I3!lL : ii.,02%E, ICD.
For'! ReI8Aie 2004/10/13 - CIA-RDP88-01315 000300490005-4
~~
SEIZURE LAI
''Ir 1Y -
TO, 11 TC7 TJ 1J,
`Archbishop's Kidnaping
Organized By `White
Hand,' Suspects Say:
this
morning, the Police ave the
,names of three of the suspected
kidnapers who were arrested, in
Quezaltenango yesterday morn-
ing. According to the bulletin,
the three told police interroga.
tors that Raul Estuardo Loren.
zana, the chief of La Mano, or
ganized the kidnaping.
They also named Roberto Ale.
jos as one of the planners, the
police said, Alejos, a wealthy
coffee planter whose farm was
ysed as a base for the CIA-spon.
sorted Bay of pigs" _. invasion
force in 1961, is a vocal adher-
ent of right-wing causes.
In an official bulletin
a um, the Informants report.
Od, and allowed the 24-hour pe.
nod to expire. The plot was
never officially confirmed.
ny nnNOLn R. 7SAAc
[Sun Stall Correspondent]
Guatemala City, Guatemala
March 21-The national police
said today the kidnapers of
,Archbishop Mario Casariego of
Guatemala City were members
of the extreme right-wing ter-
rorist organization known as La
Mano Blanco (the White Hand).
Archbishop Casariego, the
country's highest Catholic cler-.
ic, had been missing since late
Saturday afternoon. He returned
to Guatemala City last night; in
an Air Force helicipter after his
captors abandoned him un-:
harmed in Quezaltenango, about
120 miles west of the captia].
The kidnaping was apparently
connected with an unsuccessful
plot to overthrow President Ju-
1io Cesar Mendez Montenegro.
Informants said the President
received an ultimatum Monday
in the form of a note saying the
Archbishop would be killed un-
,,less he resigned within 24 hours.
He decided to reject the ulti-
m t
MAR 2 2
JG UA TET A1A ~r..
Calm Prevailed
Earlier this year, Alejos wa
imprisoned for several week
after he was quoted by a for
eign journalist as charging tha
several members of the Guate
malan Government were Corn
munists.
Archbishop Casariego, wh
has taken a relatively progres
sive stance on both church an
social issues, has condcmnc
both rightist and leftist violence
La Mario is one of severa
clandestine right-wing group
operating in Guatemala's politi-
cal underworld. It may have
hoped to stir up large-scale dis-
orders by kidnaping the Arch.
bishop, but the country re-
mained calm during the four
days he was missing.
Monday night, the Govern.
Iment proclaimed country-wide
;martial law. The decree re-
mains in effect.
In a taped broadcast late last
night, Archbishop Casariego
.said his captors had treated
him well. He related how he
was seized, together with a
chauffeur, just after leaving the
residence of the Papal Nuncio,
but he' gave no hint of the mo-
?tives of his abductors, adding:
"It would not be worthwhile to
say more."
Car Was Spotted
According to announcements
from both the Army and the po-'
lice, the first break in the case
came yesterday morning, when
a car identified as belonging to
the kidnapers was spotted in
Quezaltenango.
Three of its occupants were
arrested, but a fourth escaped,
the Army said, and presumably
made his way to the house
where the Archbishop was being
held in time to warn the rest of
.the band.
They fled before the police ar-i
riced, leaving .the ,prelate and;
his chauffeur in the house
Archbishop Casariego went to;
the local cathedral and from
there managed to get in touch!
with Government authorities. A
Guatemalan Air Force helicop-;
ter was sent to bring him back
to the capital.
Approved For Release 2004/10/13 : CIA-RDP88-01315R000300490005, +4