<TEXT>The following is a compilation of 
reactions to the assassination of Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta, 
presidential candidate for the Mexican Institutional 
Revolutionary Party, PRI, on 23 March in Tijuana, Baja 
California. 
  The Colombian Government and several presidential candidates 
today rejected the assassination of PRI presidential candidate 
Luis Donaldo Colosio. It has been disclosed that President 
Cesar Gaviria spoke with his Mexican counterpart Salinas de 
Gortari by telephone to express his condolences and to support 
the Mexican Government and people. Dissident liberal candidate 
Enrique Parejo said the assassination proves once again the 
serious threat politicians face when they appear at public 
rallies. Liberal Party candidate Ernesto Samper, who met with 
Colosio a few weeks ago, regretted the assassination and said 
that such violence is the result of "savage capitalism." 
Conservative Party candidate Andres Pastrana also regretted 
Colosio's death. (Hamburg DPA in Spanish 1636 GMT 24 Mar 94) 
  Lorenzo Menendez, an expert in Mexican affairs at the Cuban 
Foreign Ministry, today told PRENSA LATINA that Colosio's 
assassination caused shock on the island. He extended his 
sympathy to the Mexican Government and people and to the Colosio 
family as well. Such an objectionable action fills us with 
indignation, Menendez said. The news media widely covered the 
tragic event. (Havana PRENSA LATINA 1813 GMT 24 Mar 94) 
  The Nationalist Republican Alliance, Arena, the ruling party 
in El Salvador, today released a communique condemning Colosio's 
assassination and expressing solidarity with Mexican President 
Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Arena repudiated the "cowardly 
assassination perpetrated by antidemocratic forces." Meanwhile, 
Ruben Zamora, presidential candidate of the left-wing Farabundo 
Marti National Liberation Front, National Revolutionary 
Movement, and Democratic Convergence coalition, at a news 
conference expressed condolences to the Colosio family and the 
Mexican Government and people. (Panama City ACAN in Spanish 1706 
GMT 24 Mar 94) 
  Venezuelan Foreign Minister Miguel Burelli Rivas today 
deplored Colosio's assassination and disclosed that he had 
officially contacted his Mexican counterpart to express sadness 
over the incident. Colosio's assassination was widely covered 
by Venezuelan news media today. (Hamburg DPA in Spanish 1639 GMT 
24 Mar 94) </TEXT>
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