In a good year, Jesús García Ramos can feed his family all year on the corn that he grows in small fields around his home in the Guatemalan village of Quilinco. But this was not a good year. On a visit in August, I met García Ramos in the field …
LA MESILLA, Guatemala — Four years ago, Guatemalans went to the polls withjubilation. Widespread street protests had just forced the resignation of President Otto Perez Molina, who had been accused of graft by a pioneering anti-corruption body. A record number of voters turned out to elect Perez’s replacement: a well-known …
The US flag is seen on houses, clothing across Guatemala’s highlands. But the reasons for its display may surprise you. Todos Santos Cuchumatan, Guatemala – There is a lot of uncertainty in the Guatemalan highland town of Todos Santos Cuchumatan. Many here have loved ones who, knowing the potential outcomes – …
This signature pepper has been a hot commodity since the Maya era. In the highlands of central Guatemala, the city of Cobán has made a name for itself cultivating cardamom and coffee. But Cobán has a hot secret: Ever since the Maya era—as far as back as 250 A.D.—locals have grown a …
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Aldo Iván Dávila Morales is poised to take up a seat in Guatemala’s congress in January, making history as the first openly gay man elected to the country’s legislature. Proudly gay and living with HIV, the 41-year-old activist says the rainbow flag will not be his …
Guatemala’s political crisis deepened Thursday as efforts mounted to impeach several judges on the country’s highest court who have repeatedly ruled in favor of a controversial anti-corruption commission that the president has sought to expel. Guatemala’s Congress, much of which is allied with President Jimmy Morales, will now decide whether three members …
By raining down laser pulses on some 770 square miles of dense forest in northern Guatemala, archaeologists have discovered 60,000 Maya structures that make up full sprawling cities. And the new technology provides them with an unprecedented view into how the ancient civilization worked, revealing almost industrial agricultural infrastructure and …
The comedian-turned-president Jimmy Morales discovers corruption investigations are no joke. Before he won the Guatemalan presidency on an anti-corruption platform, Jimmy Morales was his country’s best-known comedian. He had a send-up for every scoundrel. “I love you so much I’d swim across the Atlantic, cross the desert without water and …
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Alex Castillo knew growing up that he was a boy trapped in a girl’s body. It wasn’t until recently, 40 years after his birth, that the government of his native Guatemala — or at least some parts of it — agreed. Castillo, who recounted the humiliation …
Two Central American presidents, both favored allies of the U.S., are facing corruption scandals threatening to undermine their governments and further erode stability in the volatile region that is a principal source for illegal immigration to the United States. Large protest marches over the weekend have illustrated the precarious status …
ANTIGUA, Guatemala (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is gauging prospects for improving badly strained ties between the United States and Venezuela that have steadily deteriorated over the past decade. Kerry will meet Venezuela’s foreign minister on Wednesday on the sidelines of an Organization of American States meeting …