July 30, 1957
CARLOS CASTILLO ARMAS: Washington, 27 – According to State Department officials, the president of Guatemala, Carlos Castillo Armas, 42, was shot and killed Friday night by the soldier Romero Vasquez Sanchez at the presidential palace. The assassin was a guard and presented arms to Armas as he was approaching with his wife. He then lowered his gun and fired four shots, killing Armas instantly. He then turned the gun to his head and used a fifth bullet to kill himself. Palace sources say they heard a number of shots and the palace was immediately surrounded by military units. A state of siege was declared. It is rumored that the soldier was a member of the Communist Party. SACHA GUITRY: Paris, 27 – The funeral was held in Paris this morning of the writer, actor and composer Sacha Guitry, who was buried at Montparnasse cemetery next to the graves of his father, Lucien Guitry, the writers Stendhal, Jean Giraoudoux, the Goncourt brothers and Louis Jouvet. A large crowd waited for three hours at the cemetery gates until the ceremony, attended by family and friends and just a few celebrities, was over.
