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Lawmaker accused in GI death stepping aside

PANAMA CITY, Panama — A lawmaker wanted in the U.S. in the killing of an American soldier said he will not seek re-election as president of Panama’s congress.

Pedro Miguel Gonzalez announced his decision in a letter to President Martin Torrijos that was obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

Torrijos traveled Monday to Washington for talks on a proposed trade pact with President Bush, set for Tuesday. U.S. officials had warned that Gonzalez’s election as congressional leader last year could impede the trade deal, which has yet to be approved by Congress.

Gonzalez’s letter said his decision not to seek the leadership position was intended to limit his role in internal elections for his and Torrijos’ Democratic Revolutionary Party, scheduled for August.

Gonzalez is wanted in the U.S. in the June 1992 killing of Army Sgt. Zak Hernandez Laporte and the attempted killing of Sgt. Ronald Marshall outside Panama City. Gonzalez has denied any involvement and was acquitted in a trial in Panama 10 years ago.

Hernandez Laporte was gunned down while traveling in a military vehicle outside Panama City. The attack came during a visit by then-President George H.W. Bush to the Central American nation, where anger lingered over the U.S. invasion that toppled dictator Manuel Noriega two years earlier.