Vidal Cerrato, 63; was vice president of Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- Vidal Cerrato, a former vice president of Honduras and a representative of the Central American Parliament, has died at 63.

Mr. Cerrato died of a heart attack Sunday in a hospital in the capital, Tegucigalpa, after a hernia operation, according to a statement yesterday by the main opposition Liberal Party, to which he belonged.

A rancher and businessman in Honduras's wealthy southeastern Olancho Province, Mr. Cerrato served as vice president from 1998 to 2001 under President Carlos Flores.

At the time of his death, Mr. Cerrato was Olancho director of the Liberal Party's campaign for November's presidential elections, a position he also held in the 1981 and 1985 elections.

Since 2001, he had been Honduran representative to the Central American Parliament, a 132-member body based in Guatemala City that represents five of the seven Central American nations.