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This “accord” says just so much about US Guatemala relations for the past 6 decades, and also about its soon to be ousted President Jimmy Morales (accused of corruption, as nearly every president before him has been)
Let’s all just pause to remember that Guatemala was on a path to democracy when the US government intervened, declaring the winning candidate too socialist and launching more than three decades of civil war.
This is what happened with US knowledge. These kids were marched to a well and buried, an entire village was decimated, and the US government knew about it but decided to bury it for the greater cause.
chron.com/news/houston-t…
chron.com/news/houston-t…
So yes, having a Guatemalan president agree to take in hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers when the country can’t even take care if its own carries historical trauma. Guatemalans are saying this is the worst thing any president has done in decades, truly saying a lot
Within days, the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala wired D.C., saying, "Reliable embassy source relayed second- and third-hand information on possible (Government of Guatemala) army massacre. They reported soldiers disguised as guerrillas entered Dos Erres, leaving it "deserted."
"Because of the seriousness of the allegation, that the army massacred 200 people, and because of the reliability of this source's information in the past," embassy officials flew to the area, according to cables. They swept over Dos Erres but their pilot refused to touch down
But it was clear the village was "wiped out." Officials noted a widespread sense of terror, concluding: "The party most likely responsible for this incident is the Guatemalan Army."
But though U.S. officials suspected what had happened, they did nothing. In fact, the next month, in January 1983, Reagan lifted a prohibition on arms sales to Guatemala. Congress later repealed that aid, reinstalling a ban on military support that continues today
Guatemalans make up the highest portion of families trying to come here.
The @realDonaldTrump administration has been active in helping to dismantle the UN body keeping Guatemalan politicians accountable newyorker.com/news/daily-com…
Honestly sometimes the crazy is too much. Read @JonathanBlitzer newyorker.com/news/news-desk…
@JonathanBlitzer Also this is how #Guatemala took care of its own, so now we are supposed to believe per @DHSgov that they will be able to deal with hundreds and thousands of asylum seekers. newyorker.com/news/news-desk…
