Son of Mexican ex-president kills himself

A son of Mexico's former president Luis Echeverria Alvarez, who governed in the 1970s with an iron fist, has killed himself, authorities said Tuesday.

Alvaro Echeverria Zuno, 71, died on Tuesday morning at his home in the state of Morelos, south of Mexico City, the local prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Former president Echeverria, 98, led the country from 1970-1976 and is considered the main person responsible for Mexico's "dirty war", which featured the targeted assassinations and forced disappearance of students, leftist activists and guerrillas by government agents.