Region mourns Argentina's slain troubadour

The body of Facundo Cabral, the Argentinean troubadour who was slain over the weekend in Guatemala, arrived in Buenos Aires on Tuesday for a massive public funeral.

Guatemalan authorities arrested two suspects in the case just hours after Cabral's remains left on a plane. The internationally famous 74-year-old singer was shot dead on Saturday while he was riding in a vehicle along with his friend, the nightclub owner Henry Fariñas Franco.

Gunmen in three vehicles began firing at Fariñas and his passengers, including Cabral's road manager David Llanos. Both Fariñas and Llanos were seriously wounded.

Law enforcement authorities believe that the attack was aimed at Fariñas, who is now under investigation on allegations that he is one of the Sinaloa drug cartel's biggest money launderers. The suspects arrested in connection with the slaying were identified as Elgin Enrique Vargas Hernández and Wilfredo Allan Toques.

Cabral, who is best known for his hit from more than 40 years ago No soy de aquí, ni soy de allá (or, I am not from here, I am not from there), had just performed in Guatemala City and Quetzaltenango, and was on his way to the airport where he was due to board a flight to Nicaragua for a series of concerts.

"It is clear that the attack was committed by organized mafias," said President Álvaro Colom during a radio interview on Monday. "All of the evidence and technical analysis indicate that the attack was directed at Fariñas. There is no indication that it was intended for Facundo." Of the 25 rounds fired, Cabral was struck three times, including in the face.

On Sunday, thousands of Guatemalans took to the streets of the capital to mourn Cabral and demand that the government do more to bring peace to their nation. "We are shocked and enraged by the violence that affects our country, and ashamed that this great poet was killed here; all he did was bring us love and culture," a university student told the Guatemalan daily Prensa Libre .

When asked whether Fariñas was involved in money laundering, Colom said he had no information about the allegations. A Nicaraguan who has lived in Guatemala for many years, Fariñas is also a well-known concert promoter.

In an editorial, La Hora blamed the government of Álvaro Colom for allowing organized crime to penetrate society. "It wasn't Guatemala that killed Cabral, but it is Guatemala that allowed these murderers to take his life. And when we say Guatemala we mean those who represent us and who believe that they are governing in the name of the people because they have encouraged this maelstrom of blood from the first day they came to power, when they devoted themselves heart and soul to promoting their own political campaign, ignoring fundamentals, especially the safety of Guatemalans."

After a brutal civil war that cost the lives of some 300,000 people, Guatemala is again under siege as drug traffickers from Mexico take advantage of weak law enforcement and rampant corruption to move their operations into the Central American nation. About 98 percent of crimes go unsolved.

Cabral's body was accompanied by Guatemalan Culture Minister Héctor Escobedo and was scheduled to be turned over to his widow, Silvia Pousa.

In one of his last interviews, just two days before his murder, Cabral told the daily El Quetzaltenango that he had cancer. "If I get a little more time - I have very bad health, I have terminal cancer - I might go to one of the many hotels that I have known, to stay and work alongside the gardener. I dream of finishing my life growing flowers. It is the thing I like most, as well as carpentry - I like the smell of wood. If I get some time, I'll do it. And if I go, it will be just like that."