Four people died and 150 injured, as well as considerable economic losses, is the result of the powerful explosion of a bomb activated at 9:35 a.m. on Friday, September 5, 1980 in Central Park.
Within 20 kilometers around, the detonation of the device was heard, which was placed in a vehicle in front of the south tower of the National Palace, where the offices of the President of the Republic, General Romeo Lucas, and those of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Agriculture are located.
According to an official statement, seven were killed, although journalists only saw four bodies in places near the explosion. The official source gave the figure of one hundred and fifty wounded. The damage to lives and property is the greatest caused by a terrorist act in the entire history of this country. The entire capital was shaken by the noise, which reached both the distant areas of the south, as well as those of the north, east and west.
Flames up to forty meters high rose from the numerous cars that caught fire when the device exploded. According to some authorities who conducted a reconnaissance of the place, the bomb was made up of 20 dynamite candles.
Total repudiation
“The perpetrators of the attack did it to discourage the crowd of Guatemalans who are preparing to express their desire for peace in Guatemala tomorrow,” said deputy Guillermo Romero Peralta, from the Central Authentic Nationalist (CAN) bench.
A march was called for September 7 to call for an end to the violence in Central Park, which took place and in which President Romeo Lucas demanded an end to foreign interference. On September 1, his vice president Francisco Villagrán Kramer had resigned due to disagreements with him.
*With 3-note texts from edition 8863
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This note is part of the commemorative series of our diamond wedding, it is a journey through news that marked the history of Guatemala, with original texts and images from each era, as a reliable testimony of our mission of service.