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A small private plane bound for Belize crashed this afternoon in Guatemala City. All five passengers on board and the pilot were killed. The plane had just left the airport and crashed into the yard of a home near the airport. “The plane plummeted when it made a turn towards the left,' said the head of the Civil Aviation Office, Juan Jose Carlos.
He added that they still do not know if it was an engine failure or a pilot error.

The plane was reported to be bound for Belize but indications are that there were no Belizeans on board. We have confirmed with Aero-Dispatch Services at the airport that they were expecting the plane to arrive this afternoon but that is about all they know.

And in another item of note from Guatemala, President Alavaro Colom is under tremendous domestic pressure tonight as he is being accused of murder. Prominent lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg, who was shot dead on Sunday, had recorded a video saying Mr. Colom and other officials were out to kill him and would be responsible. In the widely published recording, he says "if you are watching this message, it is because I was assassinated by President Alvaro Colom.

That video has prompted mass protests in the streets and calls for Colom’s resignation. Colom has rejected the accusations and promised a full investigation with international participation.