News In Brief

New US envoy to Guatemala announces $20 million in aid

The new US ambassador to Guatemala, Alberto Piedra Martinez, announced the United States will give Guatemala an additional $20 million in economic aid this year, the Foreign Ministry said. Congress approved the $20 million last week, bringing the total of US aid for 1984 to $24.5 million. The $4.5 million was for military aid. It will be spent in the western highlands, where leftist guerrillas have been battling Guatemala's military governments for five years.

Guatemala had not received military aid since 1977, when the military government rejected it after the State Department issued a report critical of human rights voilations.