Guatemala

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The Promise of Spring

Guatemalans Guarded the Memory of Democracy Through Years of War and Corruption. Now They See an Opening.

https://theintercept.com/2023/09/10/bernardo-arevalo-guatemala-election/?

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Guatemala’s top court upholds suspension of president-elect’s party. His supporters block roads

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Activists blocked roads Friday in surging demonstrations to support President-elect Bernardo Arévalo after Guatemala’s highest court upheld a move by prosecutors to suspend his political party over alleged voter registration fraud.

https://apnews.com/article/guatemala-arevalo-court-elections-6e37929a96f42024188a342ad7cb3944?

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Desperate young Guatemalans try to reach the US even after horrific deaths of migrating relatives Dozens of Guatemalans risked their lives migrating to the U.S. and died horrifically along the way. Their grief-stricken families rely on a group of Jesuit priests keeping them apprised of legal updates — and their own prayers — to carry on even as other loved ones prepare to take the same dangerous journey in search of a better life. Tens of thousands of young Guatemalans would rather take deadly risks — even repeatedly — than stay behind where they see no future. Read more.

Why this matters: The record-high numbers of migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border have made migration a top concern in this U.S. presidential election year.   The largest group of unaccompanied minors has been from Guatemala — nearly 50,000 of the 137,000 encounters recorded by border authorities in the last fiscal year.   Most come from tiny hamlets in the predominantly Indigenous Western Highlands. Daily wages top out around the equivalent of $9, far below the supposed legal minimum.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Demonstration: Thousands of migrants in southern Mexico raise awareness of their plight US election: Many Christian voters in US see immigration as a crisis. How to address it is where they differ

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Smuggling operation

 

A suspect arrested in Guatemala has been charged with helping to coordinate the 2022 smuggling attempt that ended in the deaths of 53 migrants in Texas. The Justice Department on Thursday said it will seek the extradition of Rigoberto Román Miranda Orozco, 47, who is charged with plotting the deadliest human smuggling operation across the US-Mexico border. Authorities said the smugglers were aware that their trailer's air-conditioning unit was malfunctioning and would not blow cool air to the migrants trapped inside during the sweltering, three-hour ride from the border city of Laredo to San Antonio. When the trailer was opened in San Antonio, 48 migrants were already dead. Another 16 were taken to hospitals, where five more died. President Biden called the tragedy "horrifying and heartbreaking."

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?? Guatemala willing to help Trump

President-elect Trump's motorcade leaves Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach yesterday. Photo: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images Guatemala is open to receiving citizens of other Central American nations who are deported from the U.S. as the country looks to build a positive relationship with the incoming Trump administration. Why it matters: The U.S. has struggled to deport nationals from places such as Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti due to strained relations, Reuters reports. ?️ The big picture: Trump's team has already reached out to the governments of several countries to test their willingness to take deportees from third countries. Many U.S. neighbors, including Mexico and the Bahamas, have said they don't want to receive deportees from third countries. Go deeper.

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Guatemala bus crash

At least 54 people died and more were injured in Guatemala City on Monday after a bus traveling on a busy highway plunged off a bridge into a ravine, local officials said. Images of the wreckage posted on social media by emergency teams show the bus overturned and partially submerged in water. Debris can be seen scattered around the bus, both on the ground and in the water. Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo called the tragedy a "national pain," writing on X that he stands "in solidarity with the families of the victims." An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash.