Guatemala

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After Guatemalan Kids Put on Planes, US Judge Halts Flights

'I do not want there to be any ambiguity,' said Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan

(Newser) - After the US government loaded children onto planes overnight to be sent back to their native Guatemala, a federal judge temporarily blocked the flights—with the youngsters still inside—as their attorneys said authorities were violating US laws and sending vulnerable kids into potential peril. The AP reports the extraordinary...

Inside the Bold, Tricky Plan to Create the 'Great Mayan Jungle'

Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize recently announced their intentions

(Newser) - Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize have announced plans to create a huge reserve of tropical forest spanning across the three countries. Pushing out criminal gangs and protecting the land from ranchers, miners, and loggers won't be easy, reports the AP . The nature reserve announced last week—called the Great Mayan...

Ex-Officials Guilty in 2017 Fire That Killed 41 at Girls Home

'Let them burn,' police officer with a key to burning room said

(Newser) - A Guatemalan judge on Tuesday convicted six former officials in connection with the deaths of 41 girls in a 2017 fire at a facility for at-risk youth that had a history of abuse. All six had all pleaded not guilty. Judge Ingrid Cifuentes handed down cumulative sentences of six years...

Lilac Shirt Found in Jungle May Belong to Missing American

Raymond Vincent Ashcroft went missing in Guatemala in 2023

(Newser) - Deep in the Guatemalan jungle, human remains and a lilac shirt have surfaced, possibly solving the mysterious disappearance of a US bird-watcher lost for more than two years near the ancient city of Tikal. The shirt, sandals, and shorts found along with the bones match what Raymond Vincent Ashcroft,...

Earthquake Victims Lynched Looting Suspects: Guatemala

Villagers blocked authorities trying to take the men into custody, government says

(Newser) - Members of a rural community in Guatemala hit hard by this week's earthquakes lynched five men they accused of robbing damaged homes, authorities said Friday. Guatemala's Interior Ministry said residents of Santa Maria de Jesus organized themselves to search for the men and then blocked authorities who tried to...

Judge Orders Administration to Facilitate Another Return

Administration conceded a mistake in case of a gay Guatemalan it sent to Mexico

(Newser) - Saying it's likely that the deportation of a Guatemalan man "lacked any semblance of due process," a federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate his return. The government had delivered the man, who is gay, to Mexico despite his protestations that he feared for his...

Sources: Guatemala Will Work With Trump on Deportation

It will take its own citizens back, as well as those from other countries, sources tell Reuters

(Newser) - As a new Trump administration takes office next month, one Central America is making a proactive move: Sources tell Reuters that Guatemala, in an attempt to get in President-elect Trump's good graces, has said it will accept citizens of other countries who may be booted from the United States...

Texas' $100K Billboard Campaign Warns Migrants of Rape

Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered 40 signs in 4 languages to go up in Mexico, Central America

(Newser) - Gov. Greg Abbott, who once pledged to "eliminate all rapists" from his state of Texas, is now warning migrants that traffickers could rape and abuse them if they try to make their way to the United States. Per the Washington Post , Abbott is doing so via 40 or so...

Gymnast Turned Shooter Wins Guatemala's First Olympic Gold

Adriana Ruano was forced to pivot after injury ended her career

(Newser) - A spinal injury ended Adriana Ruano's chances of competing at the Olympics as a gymnast. She came back as a shooter and won Guatemala's first gold medal on Wednesday, the AP reports. Ruano was training for the 2011 world championships in gymnastics, a qualifier for the London Olympics...

Police Shove Officials in Election Document Raid

International organizations criticize raids as effort to taint voting results

(Newser) - Police officers shoved and wrestled with justices of Guatemala's top electoral tribunal Saturday, as prosecutors sought to seize the tally sheets of votes from the August presidential elections. There were harrowing scenes of justices holding tight to boxes, as police tried to wrestle them away as part of raids...

Mother, Daughter Missing After Car Falls Into Sinkhole

Their car tumbled into the hole on Saturday

(Newser) - The search for a mother and daughter whose car plunged into a huge sinkhole in Guatemala City changed to a recovery effort Tuesday, three days after they disappeared. Late Tuesday, authorities said they believed they had located their car using geological technology at a depth of about 50 feet. Mynor...

She Told Sons: 'I Hope You Triumph.' They Died in the Truck

Tractor-trailer with migrants had passed through federal checkpoint hours earlier

(Newser) - Among the 53 people who died from extreme heat inside a tractor-trailer in San Antonio this week are two boys from southwestern Guatemala, ages 13 and 14, and a pair of brothers from northwestern Honduras who'd hoped to buy their mother a home. Karen Caballero says her sons, Fernando...

It's in 50% of Packaged Foods, but the Cost Is Steep

The Baffler looks at the problem with palm oil plantations in Guatemala

(Newser) - Palm oil is in half of all packaged supermarket products, not only in foods but also cosmetics. The stout palm oil tree has always been an important food source in its native West Africa, but its use in global consumer products has exploded in the past few decades. Today, Indonesia...

Stowaway Endures Over 2-Hour Flight Inside Plane Landing Gear

Temperatures likely hovered below zero

(Newser) - Federal authorities have taken into custody a 26-year-old man who apparently stowed away in the landing gear compartment of an American Airlines fight that arrived at Miami International Airport from Guatemala on Saturday morning, per the AP. The man was in the wheel well area when the flight arrived...

Anti-Vaccine Villagers Hold Nurses Hostage, Destroy Vaccines

Nurses were trying to administer vaccines in Guatemala

(Newser) - Anti-vaccine residents of a village in Guatemala seized and held hostage a team of nurses who were trying to administer coronavirus shots Monday, authorities said. The team was held for about seven hours in the village of Nahuila, in the province of Alta Verapaz, north of Guatemala City, the AP...

Kamala Harris' Message to Guatemalans: 'Do Not Come'

VP speaks during her trip to Central American country

(Newser) - Vice President Kamala Harris offered an optimistic outlook for improved cooperation with Guatemala on addressing the spike in migration to the US after her meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Monday. She also delivered a direct warning to migrants considering making the trek, the AP reports: “Do not...

It's a Pivotal Week in Harris' 'Fraught, Fascinating' Tenure

All political eyes on the vice president as she heads to Guatemala and Mexico

(Newser) - Kamala Harris has embarked on her first foreign trip as vice president, though things got off to a bumpy start. Her plane out of Joint Base Andrews had to turn back after 30 minutes because of an unspecified "technical issue" on Sunday, reports the AP . Harris, though, boarded a...

Guatemalan Forces Clash With Migrants Trying to Reach US

Other nations, including Mexico, have said they'll stop caravan from Honduras

(Newser) - Guatemalan police and soldiers launched tear gas and wielded batons and shields against a group of Honduran migrants that tried to push through a roadblock Sunday. A group of about 2,000 migrants had stopped short of the roadblock the night before. The roadblock was strategically placed at a chokepoint...

Nation's Congress Building Is Set Ablaze

Protesters oppose budget cuts in Guatemala

(Newser) - Hundreds of protesters broke into Guatemala's Congress and burned part of the building Saturday amid growing demonstrations against President Alejandro Giammattei and the legislature for approving a budget that cut educational and health spending, the AP reports. The protest came as about 7,000 people were demonstrating in front...

Rain From Latest Hurricane Could Measure in Feet, Not Inches

Hurricane Eta threatens flooding in Central America

(Newser) - Hurricane Eta erupted quickly into a potentially catastrophic major hurricane Monday as it headed for Central America, where forecasters warned of massive flooding and landslides across a vulnerable region, the AP reports. Eta was a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 150mph late Monday, the US National Hurricane...

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