Dubya's Eve

The mood in Guate is very tense. O tells us that embassy officials are being told what to do and where to go on a need-to-know basis. He is forbidden from using his mobile phone. The Palacio Nacional is closed and the Maya have started their Bush-hex vigils. If there is one country in the world where even the standard precautions may not be enough this is it. Clinton came to Antigua, stayed at the Posada del Angel and, as the photos on the pock-marked plaster walls still attest, patronised a good number of local businesses. Bush will be lucky, and brave, if he ever steps out of his limo. V saw a man with a welcoming banner for the President today: "No cansaremos hasta verle muerto, hijo de puta."