Guatemala on Monday admitted responsibility in the 1993 slaying of a leading journalist and politician who had repeatedly accused the military of rights violations.

Gunmen killed Jorge Carpio Nicolle, 60, and three associates as they drove in a caravan along a rural highway in the highlands province of Quiche.

Addressing the San Jose-based Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Guatemala representative Estuardo Meneses said his country "publicly recognizes its guilt for the death of Jorge Carpio Nicolle and regrets the loss his family has suffered."

Carpio Nicolle was editor and publisher of the Guatemala City daily newspaper El Grafico and ran for president in 1985 and 1992, finishing second both times.

He was known for fiery speeches decrying the role of the Guatemalan military in the commission of hundreds of human rights violations. A bloody 1960-1996 civil war pitted leftist, largely Mayan guerrillas against hardline state forces and killed 200,000 people.

Meneses' declaration came as the court was considering whether to sanction Guatemala's government for its role in the Carpio Nicolle case. That decision is expected in the next six months.

Carpio Nicolle's son, Rodrigo, called Monday's revelation "historic."

"It's a step forward for the government to accept international responsibility for the death of my father," he said in an interview.

Guatemala's government has accepted its responsibility in the violent deaths of several high-profile human rights activists since President Oscar Berger took office in January.

Susana Villaran, a representative of the Washington-based Inter-American Commission on human rights, which helps set the Costa Rica court's case schedule, said Monday's declaration "was a clear sign of President Oscar Berger's desire to make defending human rights a top priority."