Former Bolivian Leader Banzer Dies

By VANESSA ARRINGTON- Associated Press Writer

May 5, 2002

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP)--Former President Hugo Banzer, a dictator turned democratically elected leader know for eradicating drug crops in this poor Andean nation, died of a heart attack Sunday, his doctor said. He was 75.

The two-time president, who had long battled cancer, died surrounded by his family in Santa Cruz, a tropical city in eastern Bolivia, hours after waking up in pain around midnight, said doctor Freddy Terrazas.

The cancer forced him to resign as president on Aug. 6, 2001, a year before his term ended. In an emotional ceremony, Banzer handed over the presidential medallion and sash to then-Vice President Jorge Quiroga on Bolivia's Independence Day.

"If you note some emotion in me, it is not from weakness nor fear of anything,'' Banzer had said, his hands shaking and voice quivering, "but rather because of the immense love I have for Bolivia.''

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