Judge Denies Arrest of Ex-Mexican Leader

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MEXICO CITY (AP) - A Mexican judge refused Saturday to issue an arrest warrant for former President Luis Echeverria, accused of ordering the killing of protesters at a 1971 demonstration, a spokesman for the special prosecutor's office said.

Prosecutors will likely appeal the decision, said Eduardo Maldonado, a spokesman for the office established to investigate crimes related to government repression of student and leftist groups in the 1960s and 70s.

The judge did not immediately make public the basis for his decision.

The case against Echeverria had threatened to create a crisis in President Vicente Fox's already troubled relationship with Congress. Echeverria's Institutional Revolutionary Party holds the largest bloc of seats and had threatened to stop cooperating with Fox if the arrest warrant was issued.

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