Guatemala Good News--Signs of Growing National Invincibility
Guatemala: Discovery of huge Mayan sculpture suggests significant city
26 January 2010 - Archaeologists have discovered a huge Mayan sculptured head in Guatemala that suggests a little-known site in the jungle-covered Peten region may once have been a significant city. The recent discovery of the head, which dates from the early Classic period between 300 to 600 AD, means the site is much older than previously thought. (more)
EU, Latin American countries end banana dispute
15 December 2009 - European and Latin American countries on Tuesday ended a 13-year dispute over banana tariffs in a deal that will significantly open EU markets to more imports from countries such as Ecuador. The EU's import charge would drop under the deal, meaning millions of dollars in new opportunities for growers in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. (more)
Mexico, Guatemala electricity link completed
27 October 2009 - Mexico and Guatemala inaugurated a $50 million electricity link on Monday that will allow the Central American nation (Guatemala) to buy cheaper power from its northern neighbour, the Mexican government said. Backers of the regional power grid say it will cut energy costs for the impoverished countries of Central America and make investments in new generating capacity more attractive. (more)
Guatemala apologizes to Cuba for Bay of Pigs
17 February 2009 - Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom apologized to Cuba on Tuesday for his country's having allowed the CIA to train exiles in the Central American country for the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion. During a visit to Guatemala in March 1999, President Bill Clinton said any US support given to military forces or intelligence units that engaged in 'violent and widespread repression' was wrong. 'And the United States must not repeat that mistake.' (more)
New programme in Guatemala hopes to build lasting peace
24 December 2008 - Guatemala's government is hoping the steep, rutted road to Cocop is a path to lasting peace. Abandoned for years, the repaired dirt roadway has restored access to an isolated valley that the army stormed in 1981. It may not seem like much, but the road represents a new level of war reparations: Government aid that tries to rebuild wartorn communities as a whole, rather than handing victims cash payments that often sow resentment among their former enemies. This fall the government-run National Program for Reparations War Victims provided the fuel to power the local government's road grader. Next year, the programme wants to help Cocop peasants grow fruit and vegetables that are more profitable than traditional crops of corn and beans. And plans are under way to build a common building for occasional dances and traditional ceremonies. (more)
Guatemala to establish diplomatic ties with North Korea
4 October 2007 - Guatemala will establish diplomatic relations with North Korea after the isolated Asian nation agreed this week to suspend its nuclear facilities, the Guatemalan government said on Thursday. Guatemala has now joined a list of over 20 Latin American countries and more than 100 worldwide that recognize North Korea. (more)
Central American Presidents celebrate 20 years of peace agreement
8 August 2007 - On 7 August, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias honoured the 20th anniversary of the Esquipulas II, a peace agreement that ended decades of civil wars in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala, by hosting a celebration for four Central American Presidents. (more)
Guatemala ratifies adoption treaty
24 May 2007 - Guatemala has ratified an international adoption treaty, committing to bring adoptions under government regulation and make sure babies are not bought or stolen. Guatemalan law currently allows notaries to act as baby brokers who recruit birth mothers, handle paperwork and complete foreign adoptions in less than half the time it takes in other countries. (more)
Guatemala's first Mayan presidential candidate says bid helping Mayan Indians
15 March 2007 - Nobel Peace laureate Rigoberta Menchu said a bid for Guatemala's presidency is opening doors for Mayan Indians and shows how far the country has advanced in battling racism. (more)
US President Bush approves aid programmes for Latin America
6 March 2007 - President Bush, facing criticism he has ignored Latin America, has approved new initiatives to offer better health care, expand education, spur small businesses, and increase home ownership in the region. The President will leave Thursday on a weeklong trip to Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico. (more)
Guatemalan leader vows to revive reforms
30 December 2006 - Guatemala's president pledged to revive constitutional reforms promised in peace deals that ended the country's civil war a decade ago Friday, saying Guatemalans must conquer the social inequalities that helped give rise to the conflict. (more)
US swaps Guatemalan debt for forest protection
3 October 2006 - Guatemala will spend US$24 million on conserving its parks and protecting threatened plants and wildlife in return for the United States forgiving 20 per cent of the debt owed by the country. (more)
Colombia, Cuba put aside differences, agree to trade negotiations
6 April 2006 - Colombia and Cuba put aside their differences Wednesday to negotiate a trade agreement aimed at removing trade barriers and extending preferential tariffs, Colombia's government said in a statement. The talks with Cuba will be similar to free trade discussions Colombia recently launched with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. (more)
Guatemala: Former gang members becoming business owners
5 February 2006 - Guatemalan gang members are being rehabilitated and given opportunities to turn their lives around as community leaders turn them into small business owners, teaching them basic skills in accounting, customer service, human resources, sales, marketing, and motivation. (more)
Joint declaration: G-20 calls for end to unfair trade terms
12 September 2005 - The G-20 ministers' conference ended with a joint declaration calling on developed countries to show flexibility in their stance on agricultural issues. The conference was attended by representatives of 21 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, China, Cuba, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. (more)
College, UN fight hunger in Guatemala
30 April 2005 - Under the auspices of the UN's World Food Programme students at a US college are leading an on-campus fund-raising project to help pay for meals for children at schools in four Guatemalan villages. Guatemala has the second-highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world, behind only Bangladesh, with 50 to 55 per cent of Guatemalan children suffering from the condition. Providing meals at school encourages parents to send their children. (more)
Colombia: Groups work to save rainforest palms
20 March 2005 - Hundreds of millions of fronds from the Colombian wax palm are cut each year for Palm Sunday celebrations around the globe. The wax palm is the only habitat of the yellow-eared parrot of which only 540 or so remain. The Roman Catholic Church, 22 churches in the US, and environmentalists are for the first time working to save both the wax palm and the parrots, by using environmentally sustainable palms from Guatemala and Mexico. (more)
US, Central America unite against gangs
23 February 2005 - Some 50 officials from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and the United States - including nearly 20 US federal agents - took part in a three-day conference that included talking to reformed gang members, visiting jails and receiving a behind-the-scenes look at El Salvador's methods of dealing with the gangs. The US officials were dazzled. (more)
Guatemala to create Mayan university
10 December 2004 - Guatemalan academics will create a university dedicated to rescuing and developing the ancient knowledge of the country's majority Mayan cultures, the nation's President said Friday. (more)
Maya culture 'ahead of its time'
8 May 2004 - Exploration of a 2,000-year-old site in Guatemala has caused archaeologists to question the established chronology of the enigmatic Mayan civilisation which appears to have been very advanced for it's time. (more)
