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He is 89 years old, blind, and walks with a tiny-step shuffle that is almost a parody of frailty. El Viejo, The Old Man, he is called in the land that he has ruled for 22 of the last 30 years. Yet he retains the astuteness that made him one of Latin America's last and most intriguing caudillos, the "men on horseback'' whose rule both stained and spiced so much of the region's history.

Dominicans warily eye end of Balaguer regime Barred from re-election, popularity still high

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- It's the autumn of the patriarch, and from all over the hemisphere people are coming to make sure that seven-time President Joaquin Balaguer is really stepping down.

Dominicans warily eye end of Balaguer regime Barred from re-election, popularity still high

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- It's the autumn of the patriarch, and from all over the hemisphere people are coming to make sure that seven-time President Joaquin Balaguer is really stepping down.

IN THE AMERICAS

ARGENTINA -- The government of Santa Fe province has begun building a soup kitchen in response to outrage caused by television footage of hungry shantytown dwellers grilling cats to eat.

IN THE AMERICAS

SAN JUAN -- Miami jewelry salesman Ramon Martinez was robbed by two carjackers who made off with $220,000 worth of jewelry he was carrying, police said Friday. Martinez, a salesman for T.M. Jeweler in Miami, was robbed Thursday after trying to sell his wares in several stores in the Plaza Las Americas shopping mall in San Juan, police officer Jesus Ortiz said.

IN THE AMERICAS

ARGENTINA -- Leah Rabin, widow of slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, urged Argentine Jews on Thursday not to be demoralized by the bombings in Buenos Aires that killed 29 people at the Israeli Embassy in March 1992 and 87 at a Jewish cultural center in July 1994. ``It is possible to rise above these attacks and go forward by being strong-willed and composed,'' she said during a two-day visit.

IN THE AMERICAS

CUBA -- The 15-nation European Union on Wednesday officially shelved negotiations for a trade pact with Cuba. Susana Agnelli, chairman of the European Council, received a letter from Manuel Marin of Spain, vice president of the European Commission, that repeated his statements Tuesday that Cuba had not pledged to improve the human rights situation on the island, a precondition to the negotiations.

Americas roundup
IN THE AMERICAS

HONDURAS -- Argentine President Carlos Menem ended a two-day visit by calling for quicker regional integration and defending the economic reforms he has carried out in Argentina. Menem and Honduran President Carlos Roberto Reina planned to sign agreements for cooperation on tourism, immigration and control of narcotics trafficking.