    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 12 (Monday, March 28, 1994)]
    [Page 636]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Statement on the Assassination of Luis Donaldo Colosio

    March 24, 1994

        I am profoundly saddened to learn of the brutal assassination of
    Luis Donaldo Colosio, the Presidential candidate of the Institutional
    Revolutionary Party (PRI) in Mexico. I deeply deplore this senseless act
    of violence and have conveyed my deepest sympathies to the Mexican
    people and to the family of Mr. Colosio, his wife, and two young
    children.
        Mr. Colosio dedicated his life to public service and to the
    betterment of his nation. It is particularly tragic when an assassin's
    bullet slays a man who still had so much to contribute to history. It is
    a great loss not only for Mexico but for all of North America.
        I telephoned President Carlos Salinas de Gortari shortly after
    midnight last night to express my sorrow and that of the American people
    and to offer my condolences to the Colosio family. I told President
    Salinas that the United States stands ready to assist Mexico in the
    coming days in any way we can.