SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- Dominican police arrested
                  seven people in the slayings of two men by bodyguards for the country's leading
                  presidential candidate, an official said Monday.

                  Thirteen other people were questioned and released in Saturday's killings, said Lt.
                  Col. Nelson Rosario. Police refused to release the identities of those detained or
                  provide more details.

                  Bodyguards for Hipolito Mejia of the opposition Dominican Revolutionary Party
                  shot and killed Luis Terrero Gil, 41, a local official of the governing Dominican
                  Liberation Party and director of the National Center for Science and Art. Also
                  slain was Rafael Penalo, 29, a Liberation Party supporter. The shootings
                  occurred during a rally for Mejia in Moca, 85 miles (135 kilometers) from Santo
                  Domingo, the capital.

                  The seven arrested are local Revolutionary Party members, party official Janet
                  Lugo said Monday. It wasn't known if they included the security guards.

                  The Revolutionary Party said Sunday that someone shot at Mejia's car and that
                  his security guards returned fire. The Liberation Party said the security guards
                  shot first.

                  Mejia is a left-leaning politician who has threatened, if he wins, to prosecute
                  leading members of the government for alleged corruption.

                  Government supporters fear a Mejia victory could reverse strides made by the
                  administration of Leonel Fernandez, which has overseen a 50 percent expansion
                  in the economy by privatizing state companies and encouraging trade.

                  Fernandez is barred by law for running for another term in the May 16 election.
                  Also running is former President Joaquin Balaguer of the Social Christian
                  Reformist Party.