Guatemalans looking for relief from poverty and out-of-control crime voted for a new president Sunday. Pre-election opinion polls show 61-year old retired General Otto Perez of the Patriotic Party as the leading candidate, but with with far than the 50% support needed to avoid a November run-off in November. Perez will likely face conservative businessman […]
Guatemalans Vote for President
Posted September 11th, 2011 at 4:00 pm (UTC-5)
Guatemalans are looking for relief from an out-of-control crime problem as they vote for a new president. Pre-election opinion polls show 61-year old retired General Otto Perez of the Patriotic Party as the lead contender in Sunday’s election but with far less support than the 50% needed to avoid a run-off in November. Perez will […]
Guatemalans Vote in Presidential Election
Posted September 11th, 2011 at 3:16 am (UTC-5)
Guatemalans head to the polls Sunday to select a new president. Candidates have been running on promises to cut the country’s rampant crime rate. Recent public opinion polls in Guatemala indicate retired general Otto Perez has a sizable lead, but may not get the majority of votes needed to avoid a runoff in November. His […]
Panel: US Needs System to Pay Research Subjects
Posted August 30th, 2011 at 3:40 pm (UTC-5)
A review panel looking into a U.S.-funded medical study in Guatemala says the U.S. government should set up a system to compensate research subjects for injuries related to the trials. The International Research Panel made the recommendation Tuesday to U.S. President Barack Obama’s commission on bioethics. The research panel was formed in March to address […]
US Commission: 1940’s STD Experiments in Guatemala Violated Rights
Posted August 29th, 2011 at 7:50 pm (UTC-5)
A U.S. commission says researchers involved with a 1940’s U.S.-funded study in Guatemala deliberately exposed vulnerable individuals to sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis and gonorrhea without their consent or knowledge. The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues issued its assessment Monday as it prepares to send a report on the matter to […]
Woman Pleads Guilty to Faking Guatemala Kidnapping
Posted August 12th, 2011 at 2:00 am (UTC-5)
A Virginia woman has pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to faking her own kidnapping in Guatemala to extort money from her family in the United States. U.S. prosecutors say 34 year old Sheena Flores was living in Guatemala with a child last year when she told her family she had been abducted and would […]
Guatemala’s Former First Lady Denied Presidential Bid
Posted August 9th, 2011 at 4:20 am (UTC-5)
Guatemala’s former first lady Sandra Torres has been barred from seeking the presidency in the upcoming September 11 election. The constitutional court’s president Alejandro Maldonado explained the tribunal’s decision Monday, saying Torres was married to President Alvaro Colom most of his term before their divorce earlier this year. Guatemala’s constitution prohibits family members from succeeding […]
Former Guatemalan Soldiers Sentenced in Civil War Trial
Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 2:55 am (UTC-5)
A Guatemalan court Tuesday sentenced four former soldiers to 6,060 years in prison each for the 1982 massacre of 201 men, women and children during the Guatemalan civil war. The court sentenced them to 30 years for each person killed, plus an additional 30 years for each murder as a crime against humanity. The length […]
Guatemala 1982 Massacre Trial Begins
Posted July 25th, 2011 at 11:45 pm (UTC-5)
Four Guatemalan soldiers proclaimed their innocence on the opening day of trial Monday for a 1982 massacre that claimed at least 250 lives. The massacre took place in the village of Dos Erres. The four defendants say they were stationed elsewhere at the time of the attack. The trial in Guatemala City is the latest […]
US Deports Guatemala Massacre Suspect
Posted July 12th, 2011 at 8:05 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. authorities have deported a Guatemalan man wanted for allegedly taking part in a 1982 massacre that left at least 162 people dead in the Central American nation. Officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Tuesday that 54-year-old Pedro Pimentel Rios was taken to Guatemala on a flight chartered by the agency and “immediately […]
