On the 28th July, 1968, the community of Chicoyogüito, in Alta Verapaz, was evicted from its lands in order to instal the former Military Zone 21 (ZM 21), which became a detention centre, as well as a site for massacres… Read More ›
Migration
Central America Needs a Commission to Prosecute Corruption, Not a War on Migration
Victoria Sanford had an interesting opinion piece published in BarrioZona in advance of the visit to Guatemala of the United States Vice President, Kamala Harris. Following a virtual bilateral meeting last month with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, Vice President Kamala… Read More ›
U.S. Anti-Corruption Drive Faces Bleak Prospects in Central America
Visiting Guatemala on her first foreign trip as vice president, Kamala Harris pledged to tackle corruption as a root cause of U.S.-bound migration. Sandra Cuffe writes in The Intercept on the challenges facing the anti-corruption efforts in Guatemala against the… Read More ›
Harris’ blunt message in Guatemala: ‘Do not come’ to U.S.
In a test of her fledgling diplomatic skills, the vice president sought to foster hope while also deterring migration from Central America. Sabrina Rodríguez writes in Politico about the recent visit of the U.S. Vice-President, Kamala Harris, to Guatemala and… Read More ›
“Rootedness and the Decision to Migrate” – In Guatemala, Most People Wouldn’t Choose to Migrate, New Study Says
Nikki Gamer has penned a piece in Catholic Relief Services (CRS) on a report for a study carried out on what helps to keep Guatemalans rooted to their communities. The timing coincides with the visit to Guatemala of the U.S…. Read More ›
The Real Root Cause of Central American Migration
If the Biden administration is committed to aiding the region, it must first acknowledge the destructive role of U.S. interventionism. Amelia Frank-Vitale and Lauren Heidbrink have written a viewpoint in In These Times about how ineffective ‘development’ aid from the… Read More ›
“We Are Here by Force”: Maya Ixil Activists Fight for Asylum and Justice
The stories of two Guatemalan asylum seekers highlight the deep roots of forced migration from Central America and the U.S. role in the ongoing displacement. María Inés Taracena writes in NACLA about colonialism, resistance, violence, displacement, and migration affecting the… Read More ›
Very High Stakes – Elections to the Constitutional Court
By the 23rd March, the five individuals who will serve the next 5-year term on the Guatemala Constitutional Court must be named in order to be sworn in and to take office on the 14th April. This is the date… Read More ›
Guatemala Takes a Hard Line Against Migrants—With US Support
Long before Trump, Washington was exporting control of migratory routes, along with repressive policing, to Mexico and Central America. Jeff Abbott writes in The Nation magazine about the response of Guatemalan authorities to the recent ‘caravan’ of Honduran refugees and… Read More ›
13 young Guatemalans who left for a better future were slain in Mexico, families say
Kate Linthicum and Jeff Abbott write a very sad story in the Los Angeles Times, highlighting the frightening dangers posed to migrants heading north, through extremely hostile territory, to the United States. As 15-year-old Robelson Isidro left Guatemala this month,… Read More ›
Guatemala Solidarity Network 