Guatemala City: The remains of former Guatemalan president Miguel Garcia Granados were exhumed and relocated Friday, nearly 140 years since his death, after parts of his cemetery began subsiding, his descendants said.
Soldiers unearthed Granados`s remains from a mausoleum in the General Cemetery and placed them in a wooden box, the family said.
They will be transported to a temporary burial site until a permanent resting place is found, it said.
Some parts of the cemetery have started to sink, and the family feared his tomb may suffer permanent damage.
Born in Seville, Spain, Granados moved to Guatemala as a young boy with his family.
He was in power from 1871 to 1873, in which he decreed freedom of the press, freedom of religion, expelled all Jesuits and reformed control over the army.
He died in 1878 at the age of 69.
His role is honored today by a portrait on Guatemala`s 10 quetzales (1.17-euro, $1.31) banknote.
