Guatemala Helicopter Crash: Vice Presidential Candidate Mauricio Urruela Critically Injured

GUATEMALA CITY -- A Guatemalan political party says its vice presidential candidate has been critically injured in the crash of a helicopter he was piloting west of Guatemala City.

The Nationalist Change Union party says Mauricio Urruela survived but a congressional candidate and bodyguard flying with him Friday died instantly in the accident in the town of Chimaltenango.

Urruela has been the running mate of presidential candidate Mario Estrada in the Sept. 11 elections, but they are not considered major contenders in the race.

Comments

[Hare]

10:58 PM on 07/09/2011

When will it ever end? Good conversation down there rationalityplease and kooties, very educational and rational, kudos to both of you

[Quinn M]

08:54 PM on 07/09/2011

Wow, Guatemala is having a rough day!

[cadawa]

05:24 PM on 07/09/2011

On the same day the Argentine folk singer visiting Guatamala was murdered.

[Howard53545]

03:54 PM on 07/09/2011

Given the history of Latin American leaders to get whack in planes, they should know better and stay out of them, walk!

[Russell Droke]

04:21 PM on 07/09/2011

The saying "Aye Guate mala, y aye Guate pejor" or There is Guate bad and Guate worse might have relevance in this. I mean where did that mechanic train? New Mexico(usa)!

[ForVivi]

02:50 AM on 07/10/2011

I learned as: "Salio de Guatemala y entro a Guatepeor".

[vcrozas]

01:43 PM on 07/09/2011

Another hot bed of activity that no one recognizes.

[kopanko]

12:14 PM on 07/09/2011

Where was the CIA?

[ringmaster]

03:27 PM on 07/09/2011

They were across town shooting Facundo Cabral.

[The Patriot]

10:31 AM on 07/09/2011

for all the "CIA" comments in here - uh, no. The sitting head of a nation - oh, yeah. But a "vice" presidential candidate from Guatemala? Heck no. This guy is one step up from carrying a leaf blower in Austin Texas. The CIA doesn't have the resources to conspire against every guy sitting around in the parking lot of the Home Depot. Sorry.

[looneydoone]

11:11 PM on 07/09/2011

US Dept of State does, and just signed another proxy "dug war" initiative with the government of Guatemala. Madame Secretary Hillary Kissinger supports rw authoritarian governments in Latin America

[zizizzi]

10:15 AM on 07/09/2011

Hmmm, sounds familiar.
Reminds me of the book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins.

[Erewhon7]

09:57 AM on 07/09/2011

just dropped in to see how many Truthers would be blaming CIA for it.

[harmlesstree]

10:30 AM on 07/09/2011

The CIA has a nefarious and brutal history within Latin America, and Guatemala in particular. The most notorious incident within Guatemala was the CIA directed coup against the democratically elected President Jacabo Arbenz Guzman in 1954.

[Erewhon7]

10:44 PM on 07/09/2011

LMAO!!!

[TomasJefferson]

09:19 AM on 07/09/2011

Did Obama give him that chopper for "FREE"?

[zizizzi]

10:13 AM on 07/09/2011

Flagged as SPAM!

[eyelashviper]

11:08 AM on 07/09/2011

x 2
They are all over this site, every day.....yet many good posts are raptured.

[booshh]

06:13 AM on 07/09/2011

Was he hanging on the rotor blades? Because that'll do it.

[Jack Daniels Esq]

05:42 AM on 07/09/2011

Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) belonging to the Indian Army have been grounded since 2005 ..... maybe ?

[Jack Daniels Esq]

04:37 AM on 07/09/2011

Betcha it was one of those Indian choppers again - always killing SA officials

[ThomasPaine1776]

03:47 AM on 07/09/2011

Sounds like another CIA job to me.

Haven't they done this like what? 4 times already? C'mon, spooks, can't you be more creative at overthrowing democratically elected governments? Does it have to be a "helicopter crash" every time?

[bluekootie]

06:01 AM on 07/09/2011

Time to update the information you read in college 20 years ago, TP.

http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/ICG_GuatemalaCleanPollsDirtyPolitics.pdf

[marinemomof3]

07:58 AM on 07/09/2011

I glanced at some of it, "corporate contributions" to political elections.....

Sounds like they have Citizens United. I lived there '94 - ''95.

We have been knee deep in their politics for years :(