GUATEMALA CITY (AP) -- Former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, who is under
                  investigation by a Spanish court, said Monday he is canceling his trip later this
                  month to France.

                  When asked by reporters outside the Congress building whether the probe had
                  anything to do with the decision, the congressman smiled and simply said:
                  "Guatemala is more beautiful."

                  Montt boasted last month that he would not cancel trips to Paris and Washington
                  despite lawyer's warning that he could be arrested on international arrest
                  warrants stemming from a Spanish court's investigation into accusations of
                  genocide lodged against him by Nobel Peace Price winner Rigoberta Menchu.

                  Spanish Judge Guillermo Ruiz Polanco opened a probe March 27 into Rios
                  Montt, 71, and six other military and civilian leaders detailed in a complaint filed
                  by Menchu. Two of the three incidents in the complaint involve the death of
                  Spanish citizens.

                  Rios Montt, who ruled Guatemala with an iron fist for 17 months between 1982
                  and 1983, told reporters Monday he had not decided whether or not to travel to
                  Washington, where extradition is not thought to be a risk.

                  Copyright 2000 The Associated Press.