Guatemala news stories on Newser

Sea Shepherd Founder Arrested

Matt Cantor — Mon, 14 May 2012 05:58:02 CDT

A leading anti-whaling activist has been arrested in Germany. Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd, was busted on Saturday over a 2002 clash with a Costa Rican "illegal shark finning operation" off Guatemala, the group says in a statement. The group says the warrant is tied to an "alleged violation...

Phew! This Mayan Calendar Doesn't Stop at 2012

Matt Cantor — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:17:07 CDT

Everybody can calm down now: Looks like the Mayans didn't think the world would end this year after all. Researchers have discovered astronomical calculations on the wall of an ancient Mayan site that suggest "dates thousands of years beyond" 2012, reports National Geographic . The find came at the Mayan ruins...

Guatemala Prez: Regulate the 'War on Drugs' to Death

Mark Russell — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 06:07:14 CDT

Guatemala's President Otto Pérez Molina, due to his old job as head of intelligence services of the army, has been at the forefront of his country's drug war for more than 20 years. But despite "decades of big arrests and the seizure of tons of drugs," Pérez Molina writes in...

Violence-Torn Guatemala's Solution: Legalize Drugs?

Mark Russell — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:10:06 CST

New Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina came to power promising a "firm hand" against his country's worsening drug trafficking problems. But yesterday, Perez showed his hand, to some surprise: He called for drug legalization, not just in Guatemala but around Central America, reports the LA Times . "We're bringing the issue...

Peace Corps Pulls Out of Bloody Honduras

Kate Schwartz — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:05:29 CST

Life in Honduras is no walk in the park: The country sees some 20 homicides daily, giving it the unfortunate title of Central America's most dangerous country. And so the Peace Corps has decided to pull out. Though it says the 158 volunteers it has in the country are safe,...

Heavy Rain Hammering Coffee Crops

Matt Cantor — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:37:31 CDT

As Central America is battered by downpours, the weather is taking a heavy toll on the region’s coffee growers. With the harvest about to begin, wind is knocking leaves off coffee trees, leaving unripe berries unprotected. Ripe berries are ruined by landing on soaking ground. Soon, your morning cup may...

Earthquakes Kill 1, Shake Buildings in Guatemala

Neal Colgrass — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:10:49 CDT

Two earthquakes rattled buildings and killed one person in a landslide in southern Guatemala today, the Buenos Aires Herald reports. An initial 4.8 quake struck the sugar cane-growing area near Santa Rosa, followed by a 5.8 temblor about a half-hour later. "There is one dead in Cuilapa, Santa...

US Infected Thousands of Guatemalans With STDs

Matt Cantor — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 08:46:27 CDT

Earlier reports said hundreds of Guatemalans were victims of horrifying US experiments involving STDs; in fact, the number of people infected during the 1940s study may be closer to 2,500 , Guatemalan medical authorities say. A US report this week said that around 1,300 were deliberately infected with STDs...

US Airs Horrific Details of Guatemalan STD Studies

Kevin Spak — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 10:20:30 CDT

When US government researchers conducted STD studies on Indiana prisoners in 1943-1944, they asked for volunteers and told them they'd be infected. When they experimented on Guatemalans a few years later, they were not nearly so scrupulous, according to the Washington Post . Doctors brought infected prostitutes to unwitting inmates or,...