Mexico to support single Central American candidate as OAS chief
Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Derbez said Wednesday that his country would support one single Central American as candidate for the post of secretary general ofthe Organization of American States (OAS).

"If Central America proposes a single candidate, Mexico will certainly support him," said Derbez.

He said, "Yesterday we had a chance to talk with the presidents of El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica, who are considering presenting a common Central American candidate."

The Mexican government has told these heads of state that Mexico does not aspire to present a candidate of its own, said Derbez.

Derbez is scheduled to fly to Venezuela Thursday for talks on candidacy of the OAS post which was left vacant after Miguel Angel Rodriguez resigned last Friday. Rodriguez quit amid a corruption scandal which dated back to his presidency in Costa Rica in 2001.

Venezuela has voiced opposition to having another Central American as successor of Rodriguez. Derbez said he wants to listen to the concerns of the Venezuelan government.

Central American foreign ministers meet Thursday in San Salvador, capital of El Salvador, to choose the region's candidate for the OAS top job
 

Paraguayan interior minister, police chief sacked
Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte on Wednesday fired Interior Minister Orlando Fiorotto and National Police Commander Umberto Nunez for deteriorating security in the country.

Duarte announced his decision in Germany, where he was on an official visit, just hours after a kidnapped boy of a tobacco businessman was found dead.

"The latest events tell us we have to act with greater solidarity and integration of our efforts," said Duarte in a telephone interview with Paraguayan television.

Attorney General Nelson Mora would be the new interior minister and Nunez would be replaced by his deputy Carlos Zelaya, he said.

The body of the boy was found in an empty ground in Luque, near Asuncion, capital of Paraguay, with "strips of skin torn away from his face," Paraguayan media quoted the police as saying.

Police said the kidnappers had contacted the family three times, but refused to respond after proof of life was requested by the family as condition for paying a one-million-dollar ransom.

The boy's sister was kidnapped two years ago and released after the family paid a 50,000-dollar ransom.
 

Colombian police capture rebel chief
Colombian police captured a top rebel commander who was allegedly the main supplier of arms and ammunition of an anti-government guerrilla forces, Colombian press said Wednesday.

Ivan Rizo, a regional chief of the National Liberation Army (ELN), was arrested when he was carrying a large amount of munitions in Bogota, said the secret police of Colombia known as DAS.

Rizo was said to have five grenades with him as well as 733 cartridges of different caliber. The rebel leader was believed to be the main arms supplier of the ELN, the country's second largest guerrilla force.

Rizo's bodyguard was also arrested. They were suspected to supply arms to six ELN fronts in northwestern Colombia, police said.

Colombia has been plagued by a four-decade civil war, in which leftist rebels, far-right paramilitaries and government troops fight each other, killing about 3,500 people each year.