Guatemala City, Guatemala, Nov 13, 2012 / 12:03 pm
President Otto Perez of Guatemala canceled his visit with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican set for Nov.15 after a second earthquake rocked the Central American country.
"Fortunately no human life was lost," Perez told reporters during a press conference on the latest tremors.
Sources at the Guatemalan embassy at the Holy See told CNA of the president's decision to also cancel his attendance at the Nov. 16-17 Latin American Summit in Cadiz, Spain.
The second earthquake, which occurred on Nov. 11, registered 6.2 on the Richter scale and took place in the city of Champerico located southwest of the capital.
Perez explained that Sunday's quake set off landslides that were particularly severe in the area of Barranca Grande in the San Marcos province, which was hit hard by the initial earthquake last week.
The first disaster – a 7.4 magnitude earthquake – ravaged Guatemala on Nov. 7, leaving 42 people dead, 155 wounded and 1.2 million displaced.