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Public displays rejecting machinations by the attorney general’s office had been modest in the month since Arévalo’s resounding victory. Historically, Guatemala has scored among the lowest in Latin American countries in its support for democracy, according to the AmericasBarometer survey, which has been measuring attitudes there for three decades. But since the election, Guatemalans have seen attempts by losing parties and the attorney general's office to challenge the results. She said that Guatemalans' perceptions of democracy are very much intertwined with their perceptions of corruption. Now, more people "are betting on democracy,” Arévalo said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

Persons: Bernardo Arévalo, Guatemalans, Arévalo, d’etat, Sandra Paz, “, ”, Paz, “ I’ve, ” Rachel Schwartz, Schwartz, Sandra Torres, Consuelo Porras, Consuelo, Porras, ” Arévalo, __ Sherman Organizations: GUATEMALA CITY, Vanderbilt University's, Organization of American, Guatemalan, University of Oklahoma, la Constitucion, U.S, Movement, Associated Press Locations: GUATEMALA, Guatemala, Guatemala City, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico City

☆ Brazil's Lula warns United Nations of coup risk in Guatemala
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva addresses the 78th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, U.S., September 19, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Segar Acquire Licensing RightsUNITED NATIONS, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warned world leaders at the United Nations on Tuesday of the prospect of a coup in Guatemala, echoing U.S. concerns about risks to democracy in the Central American country after last month's election. "In Guatemala, there is a risk of a coup, which would impede the inauguration of the winner of democratic elections," Lula told the U.N. General Assembly. Lula's comments on Guatemala were surprisingly in line with Washington for a leader who has not always seen eye-to-eye with the United States. He also attacked the International Monetary Fund for not representing poor countries and the World Trade Organization for not averting increased protectionism in the world.

Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Mike Segar, Lula, Bernardo Arevalo, Francisco Mora, Mora, Alejandro Giammattei, Giammattei, Arevalo, Brad Haynes, Gabriel Stargardter, Anthony Boadle, Rosalba O'Brien, Jonathan Oatis, Grant McCool Organizations: General Assembly, REUTERS, UNITED NATIONS, United Nations, Central American, General, Party, Prosecutors, Organization of American, U.S, Cuba, . Security, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Guatemala, Washington, United States, Ukraine, New York, Sao Paulo

CNN —Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arévalo de León has announced he is temporarily suspending the presidential transition process after Public Ministry agents raided electoral facilities and opened voting boxes. The president-elect denounced the raids, during which Public Ministry agents opened ballot boxes and photographed their contents, according to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. The Public Ministry is investigating allegations that Movimiento Semilla – Arévalo’s Party – used forged signatures when it was seeking authorization as a political party. Giammattei said the presidency is willing to resume the transition process and described Arévalo’s decision to suspend it as “unilateral.”The Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Guatemala (TSE) held its own press conference to denounce the latest actions of the Public Ministry. Irma Palencia, the TSE’s president, said those actions had put the Guatemalan electoral system and democracy “at risk” and had violated the “civic rights of citizens expressed at the polls.”

Persons: Bernardo Arévalo de León, Alejandro, Giammattei, ” Arévalo, Arévalo, –, Consuelo Porras, “, ”, Irma Palencia Organizations: CNN, Guatemalan, Public Ministry, Ministry, Movimiento, –, Organization of American Locations: Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala

☆ AOC says the US should apologize for its history of interventions in Latin America: 'It's very hard for us to move forward when there is this huge elephant in the room'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez said the US has to reckon with its history of interventions in Latin America. "I believe that we owe Chile, and not just Chile but many aspects of that region, an apology," Ocasio-Cortez told the publication. "I don't think that apology indicates weakness; I think it indicates a desire to meet our hemispheric partners with respect." "It's very hard for us to move forward when there is this huge elephant in the room and a lack of trust due to that elephant in the room," she continued. "Latin America, I believe, due to its proximity, was absolutely unique in US interventionism during the cold war, and that was under [secretary of state] Henry Kissinger and President Nixon," the congresswoman said.

Persons: Cortez, Alexandria Ocasio, New York Democrat —, Salvador Allende, —, Jacobo Árbenz, João Goulart, Fidel Castro, Castro, Henry Kissinger, Nixon, Augusto Pinochet, We're Organizations: Guardian, Service, New York Democrat, US, Operation Condor Locations: Latin America, Wall, Silicon, Alexandria, Chile, Cuban, Cuba, America, United States, Brazil, Colombia

"We have waited for this moment for many years," said Carlos de Leon Samayoa, 27, as he celebrated on the streets of Guatemala City. Arevalo unexpectedly emerged out of political obscurity to build a large anti-graft movement with his Semilla party, after many other opposition candidates were barred from running. [1/9]Guatemalan anti-graft presidential candidate Bernardo Arevalo, of the Semilla political party, poses for a photo during the presidential run-off election, in Guatemala City, Guatemala August 20, 2023. "The ruling pact will likely continue to target electoral officials and Arevalo’s Semilla party with investigations ahead of January’s change in government," she said. POLITICAL TENSIONSBeyond his anti-graft policies, Arevalo said he wants to expand relations with China alongside Guatemala's longstanding allegiance with Taiwan.

Persons: Bernardo Arevalo, Arevalo, Sandra Torres, Alejandro Giammattei, revel, Guatemalans, Arevalo's, Carlos de Leon Samayoa, Torres, Guatemala's, Pilar Olivares, Risa Grais, Arevalo’s, Eladio Loizaga, Giammattei, Ana María Méndez, Cassandra Garrison, Sofia Menchu, Herbert Villarraga, Diego, Drazen Jorgic, Stephen Eisenhammer, Miral Fahmy, Stephen Coates, Gerry Doyle Organizations: GUATEMALA CITY, Central, Twitter, REUTERS, Eurasia Group, Organization of American States, Central America, Diego Ore, Thomson Locations: GUATEMALA, Guatemalan, United States, Guatemala, Americas, Guatemala City, June's, China, Taiwan, Taipei, Honduras, America

CNN —Anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arévalo, from the progressive Movimiento Semilla party, appeared to have won Guatemala’s presidential election on Sunday, beating former first lady Sandra Torres in a race marred by fears of democratic backsliding. With more than 95% of the ballots counted, Arévalo won 59.1% of the vote compared to Torres’ 36.1%, according to official data from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. A voter casts their ballot at a polling station during the presidential run-off election in Guatemala City, Guatemala, on August 20, 2023. Prosecutors and judges associated with the commission were arrested and investigated and many have since fled the country. Members of the media who have opposed corruption in their reporting have also faced legal consequences.

Persons: Bernardo Arévalo, Sandra Torres, Arévalo, Torres, Irma Palencia, “, ”, Alejandro Giammattei, Cristina Chiquin, Rafael Curruchiche, Department’s Engel, ” Curruchiche, José Rubén Zamora Organizations: CNN, Movimiento Semilla, Torres ’, Torres ’ Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza, Reuters, US, Central, United Locations: Guatemala, Guatemala City, Central American, United States, United Nations, Guatemalan

☆ Guatemalan presidential contender Torres visits Washington ahead of August run-off
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GUATEMALA CITY, July 27 (Reuters) - Guatemalan presidential candidate Sandra Torres will meet with U.S. officials in Washington on Thursday, her party said, ahead of a run-off vote next month that has raised international concerns over alleged interference by authorities. Torres' National Unity of Hope (UNE) party said the former first lady of Guatemala is slated to discuss migration, trade and security with U.S. State Department representatives. Torres' rival, Bernardo Arevalo of the Semilla party, who finished second in the vote, has not said whether he also plans to visit Washington. President Joe Biden's administration has raised various concerns over Guatemala's election process, including criticizing raids by authorities last week of Semilla offices. A senior Biden administration official previously said the United States planned to host Torres and Arevalo for talks in Washington this week to show support for free and fair elections.

Persons: Sandra Torres, Torres, Bernardo Arevalo, Joe Biden's, Arevalo, Sofia Menchu, Daina Beth Solomon, Mark Porter Organizations: GUATEMALA CITY, U.S, National Unity of, U.S . State Department, The State Department, Atlantic Council, Biden, Thomson Locations: GUATEMALA, Washington, Guatemala, United States

☆ OAS chief flags 'clear interference' in Guatemala election ahead of visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Sofia Menchu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GUATEMALA CITY, July 26 (Reuters) - The Organization of American States (OAS) chief Luis Almagro will meet with authorities and politicians in Guatemala next week, he said on Wednesday, as concerns escalate over alleged government interference in the upcoming presidential runoff vote. The OAS, which monitored the first round, had backed the results as legitimate. "We have expressed ourselves emphatically on multiple occasions against the repeated attempts to alter the will of the people and the attacks on the electoral authorities," Almagro said in a special OAS session to discuss the election. "This is an electoral process that has suffered clear interference of internal actors that hindered its normal development," he said. Irma Palencia, the head of Guatemala's electoral court, said she has asked the OAS to continue monitoring the election.

Persons: Luis Almagro, Bernardo Arevalo, Arevalo's, Sandra Torres, Almagro, Alejandro Giammattei's, Arevalo, Torres, Irma Palencia, Sofia Menchu, Sarah Morland, Daina Beth Solomon, Jonathan Oatis, Bill Berkrot Organizations: GUATEMALA CITY, of American States, OAS, Thomson Locations: GUATEMALA, Guatemala

☆ Drag queens compete for top prize in Nicaragua pageant
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Mix Imperial Central American Tropical Drag Royale provided a stage for drag performers in a region where LGBT people often face discrimination and economic hardship. "It's a form of catharsis," said Alexa Evangelista, a drag queen from El Salvador and one of the night's performers, who lip-synched and danced for the adoring crowd. Drag queen Peppe Pig said the pageant gave her the opportunity to travel outside her home country of Guatemala, and that drag has helped her meet new friends and her current partner. Nicaraguan drag queen Akeyra Davenport took home the night's crown in her first competition after 11 years as a drag artist. Reporting by Maynor Valenzuela in Managua Writing by Brendan O'Boyle Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Maynor Valenzuela, Alexa Evangelista, Evangelista, Peppe Pig, Akeyra Davenport, Brendan O'Boyle, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Imperial, REUTERS, Maynor, Central, Thomson Locations: Guatemala, Managua, Nicaragua, Maynor Valenzuela MANAGUA, El Salvador, Central America, Nicaraguan

☆ Guatemala court suspends anti-graft presidential candidate's party
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Sofia Menchu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

GUATEMALA CITY, July 12 (Reuters) - A court in Guatemala suspended the party of anti-graft presidential candidate Bernardo Arevalo, a prosecutor at the Attorney General's Office said on Wednesday, throwing into question his place in a second round run-off vote. "In no way will we obey a spurious and illegal decision like the one issued by that court." Shortly after, the electoral court confirmed the first-round results, which put Arevalo into a second round. "It's something that concerns us as a court, because we know that elections are won at the polls," Irma Palencia, head of the electoral court, said when asked about the suspension. This would certainly represent an astounding new low for Guatemala," said Donald J. Planty, a former U.S. ambassador to Guatemala, about the possible suspension.

Persons: Bernardo Arevalo, Attorney General's, Arevalo, Rafael Curruchiche, Sandra Torres, Irma Palencia, Brian A, Nichols, Guatemalans, Juan Jose Arevalo, Carlos Pineda, Will Freeman, Semilla, Critics, Alejandro Giammattei, Donald J, Sofia Menchu, Valentine Hilaire, David Alire, Adriana Barrera, Cassandra Garrison, Brendan O'Boyle, Stephen Eisenhammer, Lincoln, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: GUATEMALA CITY, Attorney, CNN, Twitter, U.S, Western Hemisphere Affairs, Central American, Council, Foreign Relations, Thomson Locations: GUATEMALA, Guatemala, Nicaragua, U.S

Now, in their next step to consolidate power, they are trying to manipulate the national elections that are underway. In anticipation of the 2023 elections, President Alejandro Giammattei packed the courts and the electoral tribunal with loyalists. The ruling regime and its allies then enlisted these entities to distort the Constitution and tamper with election procedures to tilt the political playing field in their favor. Many fear the ruling could pave the way for additional spurious challenges that could eventually overturn the results, delay the second round or exclude Mr. Arévalo from competing altogether. The cries of fraud echo those in the United States after President Biden’s 2020 victory, although, with the entire judicial system on their side, Guatemala’s election deniers stand a better chance of pulling it off.

Persons: ”, Alejandro Giammattei, Bernardo Arévalo, Sandra Torres, Arévalo, Biden’s Organizations: National Unity of Hope, Constitutional Locations: United States

☆ Guatemala court orders presidential ballot review, opposition cries foul
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Sofia Menchu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Torres took 15.8% of the vote in the June 25 round, with Arevalo close behind with 11.8%. Some analysts expect Arevalo to win the runoff due to Torres' unpopularity in the voter-dense capital, Guatemala City. The court said it would then determine whether to take the rare step of mandating a recount. Arevalo said he would ask Guatemala's electoral court to annul the top court's decision, which he described as lacking legal merit and dangerous to the electoral process. In the days after the vote, Torres said she was concerned that votes had been manipulated with a faulty software system to favor Arevalo's party, Semilla.

Persons: Sandra Torres, Read, Bernardo Arevalo, Torres, Arevalo, Alejandro Giammattei's Vamos, Sofia Menchu, Daina Beth Solomon, William Mallard Organizations: National Unity of, GUATEMALA CITY, Central American, National Unity of Hope, Guatemalan, of American, Thomson Locations: Guatemala City, Guatemala, GUATEMALA

☆ Analysis: Emergence of Guatemalan anti-graft champion shakes up election
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Sofia Menchu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] Presidential candidate for the Semilla party Bernardo Arevalo holds a rally at the Parque Central a day after the first round of Guatemala's presidential election, in Guatemala City, Guatemala June 26, 2023. Underlining voter frustration with the status-quo, nearly a quarter of ballots counted were either spoiled or left blank. Arevalo, who has called corruption a "cancer eating away" at Guatemala, will face former first lady Sandra Torres in the run-off. Torres, running in her third presidential contest, won 15.8% of the first-round vote to Arevalo's 11.8%. Aldana later sought asylum in the U.S., while current President Alejandro Giammattei himself became embroiled in corruption allegations, which he denies.

Persons: Bernardo Arevalo, Juan Jose Arevalo, Arevalo, Thelma Aldana, Otto Perez, Semilla, Bernardo, Nicol Estrada, Carlos Pineda, Will Freeman, Hugo Novales, Sandra Torres, Torres, Freeman, Semilla's, Aldana, Alejandro Giammattei, Juan Jose, Giammattei, Ivan Velasquez, Julia Esquivel, Jimmy Morales, Sofia Menchu, Dave Graham, Stephen Eisenhammer, Rosalba O'Brien, Leslie Adler Organizations: Parque, REUTERS, GUATEMALA CITY, Council, Foreign Relations, of, Guatemala's, U.S, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Parque Central, Guatemala City, Guatemala, Josue, GUATEMALA, Arevalo, U.S, Guatemalan

[1/10] People attend to cast their vote at a polling station during the first round of Guatemala's presidential election in Chinautla, Guatemala, June 25, 2023. She is up against more than 20 other candidates, including Edmond Mulet, a career diplomat, and Zury Rios, daughter of the late dictator Efrain Rios Montt. "All the young people right now will have a role in politics in Guatemala in 20 years time ... "(The next) four years won't allow time to undo how poorly managed the government has been for so many years," said Andres Nolasco, a 25-year-old accountant from Guatemala City. Reporting by Sofía Menchú in Guatemala City and Diego Oré in Mexico City; Writing by Isabel Woodford; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Chizu Nomiyama and Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sandra Torres, Edmond Mulet, Zury Rios, Efrain Rios Montt, Maximo Santacruz, Julio Valenzuela, Alejandro Giammattei, Carlos Pineda, Pineda, Carolina Jimenez, San Jose del Golfo, Irma Palencia, Andres Nolasco, Torres, Alvaro Colom, Sofía Menchú, Diego Oré, Isabel Woodford, Daniel Wallis, Chizu Nomiyama, Chris Reese Organizations: REUTERS, GUATEMALA CITY, Young, European Union, Washington, Central American, Thomson Locations: Chinautla, Guatemala, Josue, GUATEMALA, United States, America, WOLA, San Jose, Guatemala City, Mexico City

☆ Guatemala Picks a New President: What You Need to Know
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Jody García | Simon Romero | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Another top challenger, Zury Ríos, 55, is also a familiar figure in Guatemalan politics. She is the daughter of Efraín Ríos Montt, a dictator in the early 1980s who was convicted in 2013 of genocide for trying to exterminate the Ixil, a Mayan people. While the evidence against her father was meticulously documented and detailed at his trial, Ms. Ríos has claimed repeatedly that no genocide ever took place. Her ultraconservative party is led by figures with links to her father. Still, while Ms. Ríos promotes her conservative credentials and evangelical Christian beliefs, she has a more nuanced record as a former member of Congress when she forged alliances in an effort to win legislative approval for bills aimed at improving conditions for women and L.G.T.B.Q.

Persons: Torres, Zury Ríos, Efraín Ríos Montt, Ríos, Still, Edmond Mulet, Mulet Organizations: European Union, United Nations Stabilization Locations: El Salvador, United States, Haiti

☆ Guatemala will vote for new president but critics say many anti-corruption candidates were weeded out
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

One of the expelled candidates, the rightwing Roberto Arzú, was a vocal critic of President Alejandro Giammattei. Employees of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) arrange ahead of the general elections in Guatemala City on June 20, 2023. Johan Ordonez/AFP/Getty ImagesIt’s not the first time that Guatemala’s electoral tribunal eliminates presidential hopefuls, but this year’s cycle is happening in rapidly shrinking civic space. Failing battle against corruptionRights groups say graft and impunity accelerated in the country after former President Jimmy Morales dissolved a United Nations-backed anti-corruption commission in 2019. The candidatesThe US and Western allies have raised concerns about the exclusion of presidential candidates in Guatemala.

Persons: CNN —, Sandra Torres, Thelma Cabrera, Carlos Pineda –, ” Will Freeman, Roberto Arzú, Alejandro Giammattei, Cabrera, Pineda, Tik Tok, ”, Johan Ordonez, we’ve, Caren, Jimmy Morales, Consuelo Porras Argueta, Antony Blinken, José Rubén Zamora, Moises Castillo, Porras, –, Kevin López, Giammattei, Freeman, Biden, “, ” Freeman, Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols, Guatemalans, Maria Consuelo Porras, Mulet, Carin, Edmont, Ríos, Torres, Rios, El, Nayib Bukele, Álvaro Colom, Colom, Efraín Ríos Montt, CICIG Organizations: CNN, Council, Foreign Relations, Twitter, “ Corruption, Constitutional, ” CNN, Getty, Americas Society, United, International Commission, Washington Office, Guatemala Human Rights, USA, Prosecutors, US, State, José Rubén Zamora –, . Press, Patrol, Western Hemisphere Affairs, Public Ministry, United Nations, Agence, France Presse, Analysts Locations: Central America’s, Guatemala, America, Guatemala City, Americas, United Nations, Guatemalan, Central America, American, Washington, United States, Haiti, Nicaragua, France

☆ Guatemalan ex-first lady Torres polls first in crowded field ahead of Sunday vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GUATEMALA CITY, June 22 (Reuters) - Former Guatemalan first lady Sandra Torres leads her competitors in the Central American country's presidential race, according to a poll published Thursday by newspaper Prensa Libre, the last before Sunday's election. Diplomat Edmond Mulet trailed Torres with 13.4% support, followed by Zury Rios, the daughter of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, at 9.1%. Torres, a well-known but polarizing figure, finished first in the first round of Guatemala's 2019 election, but lost to current President Alejandro Giammattei in a runoff. If no candidate earns 50% of the vote on Sunday, the top two will compete in a runoff on Aug. 20. Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sandra Torres, Torres, Alvaro Colom, Edmond Mulet, Zury Rios, Efrain Rios Montt, Alejandro Giammattei, Giammattei, Carlos Pineda, Sofia Menchu, Brendan O'Boyle, Hugh Lawson Organizations: GUATEMALA CITY, Central American, Prensa Libre, Torres, Electoral, Washington Office, Thomson Locations: GUATEMALA, Guatemalan, America

☆ He Exposed Corruption in Guatemala. Now He’s Been Sentenced to Prison.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Emiliano Rodríguez Mega | Jody García | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One of Guatemala’s most high-profile journalists was convicted on Wednesday of money laundering and sentenced to up to six years in prison, in a trial denounced by human rights and free speech advocates as another sign of the deteriorating rule of law. The journalist, José Rubén Zamora, was tried on charges of financial wrongdoing that prosecutors say focused on his business dealing, not his journalism. He was acquitted of blackmail and influence peddling, and fined about $40,000. Mr. Zamora was the founder and publisher of elPeriódico, a leading newspaper in Guatemala that regularly investigated government corruption, including accusations involving the current president, Alejandro Giammattei, and the attorney general, María Consuelo Porras. For activists defending press freedom and civil rights in Guatemala, Wednesday’s verdict and sentencing, delivered by a panel of judges, was another blow to the country’s wobbly democratic health, as the government and its allies have taken repeated aim at key institutions and independent news outlets.

Persons: José Rubén Zamora, Zamora, Alejandro Giammattei, María Consuelo Porras Locations: Guatemala

☆ What Your Therapist Doesn't Tell You
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Amy X. Wang | Illustrations Liana Finck | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

What Your Therapist Doesn’t Tell You A dozen counselors on what it’s really like to sit in the other armchair. “ ‘I need to pee so bad.’ Clients don’t realize that we have five minutes between sessions and sometimes making it to the bathroom is not possible.” — Jessa White, L.M.H.C.A. You can’t do psychotherapy if a person doesn’t feel safe — there’s no way that’s going to happen. But it’s frustrating too, because as a therapist, you feel you can’t really offer what you signed up for.” — Gabriela Sehinkman, Ph.D., L.I.S.W.-S. To me, therapy is very much like dating, except, you know, obviously you don’t really want to date the person.” — Thien Pham, L.M.F.T.

☆ Fact Check-Video shows migrants clashing with Guatemalan police, not protests against Imran Khan’s arrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Footage of migrants clashing with lines of Guatemalan police while heading into Mexico with the hopes of arriving in the United States in 2021 has been shared on social media with false captions saying it shows demonstrations in Pakistan against the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. “Visuals from Kashmir highway where thousands of protesters breach Police blockade and advance towards the capital, Islamabad,” read posts on Twitter and Facebook (here), (here) and (here). The video can be traced back to a 2021 NBC News report about Guatemalan police beating back a caravan of migrants bound for the United States (here). Violent protests erupted across Pakistan following former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest at the Islamabad High Court on May 9, Reuters reported (here). Video shows Guatemalan police clashing with migrants in 2021.

SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - A Miami-based digital marketing firm was behind a series of covert political influence operations in Latin America over the last year, Facebook-owner Meta (META.O) said this week, a rare exposé of an apparent U.S.-based misinformation-for-hire outfit. "It's a classic pattern that you tend to see with for-hire influence operations," said Ben Nimmo, Meta's Global Threat Intelligence Lead. Meta says it regularly takes down disinformation and misinformation operations in order to maintain the integrity of its platform. Twitter said in a September 2022 blog that it had shared datasets about influence operations with Cazadores. Former Twitter employees told Reuters in January that most of the staff involved in the TMRC had since left and Reuters could not determine if it was still operational.

☆ Guatemala not asking Taiwan for 'free money', does not owe debt like Honduras
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A Taiwan and Guatemala flag is seen at an investment event in Taipei, Taiwan April 24, 2023. REUTERS/Ann WangTAIPEI, April 24 (Reuters) - Guatemala is not asking for "free money" from Taiwan and does not owe debt in the same way Honduras does, but is looking for long-term investment and trade, senior Guatemalan financial officials said on Monday. Guatemala is one of only 13 countries to maintain formal diplomatic ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan. Honduras abandoned Taipei for Beijing last month after asking for almost $2.5 billion in aid. "We heard it in the news, but we are focused on solutions that we need for our country," Rosales said of China's comments.

☆ In Photos: Families of Guatemalans Killed in Migrant Center Fire Bury Their Dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Daniele Volpe | Elda Cantú | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last week, the remains of 17 Guatemalan men killed in a fire at a migration center near the U.S. border were flown back home, where three days of national mourning have declared. They were among 40 people who died in March at the migration center in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, near the border with Texas. It is not the first time the Guatemalan president has had occasion to declare such a period of mourning. So far this year, the Guatemalan authorities have helped repatriate 58 dead nationals. The prosecutor’s office is also expected to press criminal charges against the leader of the National Institute of Migration.

☆ Explainer: Why migrants are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in record numbers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Mica Rosenberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

What is happening at the U.S.-Mexico border now and why are there record numbers of crossings? U.S. Border Patrol made more than 2.2 million arrests at the U.S.-Mexico in the 2022 fiscal year, which ended last September, the most ever recorded. The number of Venezuelans crossing the border plummeted after Mexico agreed to accept expulsions of Venezuelan migrants last October. The Biden administration has said it wants to surge resources to process more claims quicker but faces budgetary and other constraints. The Biden administration also set a goal of resettling 125,000 refugees in 2022 who apply from abroad after Trump dramatically slashed admissions during his term.

☆ Guatemala court sentences ex-President Perez, ex-VP in graft case
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Sofia Menchu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Former Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina leaves the courtroom after being found guilty of a corruption case during his administration, at the judicial building, in Guatemala City, Guatemala December 7, 2022. Perez, who was president of Guatemala from 2012 to 2015, has spent the last seven years in prison awaiting a verdict in the case. Baldetti was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison in 2018 in a separate fraud case. Perez was ordered to pay 8.7 million quetzales ($1.10 million) while Baldetti was fined 8.4 million quetzales ($1.06 million) on Wednesday. The case, known as "La Linea," was originally investigated under the now-defunct International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), backed by the United Nations.

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