Topic: Guatemala

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5 countries where the death penalty is legal but rare

India’s Supreme Court sentenced the last surviving gunman of the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, to death. Here is a list of 5 countries where the death penalty is a legal possibility, though rare.

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Coffee blight in Central America: Changing livelihoods and your cup of joe

The aggressive outbreak has extended to more than 70 percent of coffee bushes in Guatemala and El Salvador, 64 percent in Costa Rica, and lesser amounts in Nicaragua and Honduras.
Change Agent Changing the world, McDonald's style: 5 great social franchises

Social franchises – businesses with a charitable purpose – develop and market cheap, innovative products that solve a social problem. Here are five examples.
Latin America Monitor Guatemalan court hits rewind button on Rios Montt's genocide conviction

Guatemala's Constitutional Court overturned former dictator Gen. Efrain Rios Montt's genocide conviction – seen as a landmark human rights ruling – and called for a re-do of closing arguments.
Progress Watch Latinos head to college at a record rate, now on par with white students

The push to keep Latino students on track for college seems to be paying off. The college enrollment rate for Hispanics is up 20 percent since 2000, narrowing the 'education gap.'
No more drug war in Latin America? Report explores new ways to fight drugs

A new OAS report looks at alternatives to prohibiting the drug trade, including legal market regulation, reform of the UN drug convention, and smarter policing.
Latin America Monitor What does genocide conviction of Ríos Montt mean to Guatemalans abroad?

Many in the Guatemalan diaspora celebrated the historic conviction of ex-dictator Ríos Montt. But some say one conviction alone can't resolve the aftermath of the 36-year-long bloody conflict.
Mayan pyramid bulldozed for road fill by construction company

Mayan pyramid bulldozed: The head of the Belize Institute of Archaeology, Jaime Awe, said the destruction at the Nohmul complex in northern Belize was detected late last week.
Latin America Monitor What will the Rios Montt genocide conviction do for Guatemala?

Rios Montt was one of the world's first former presidents tried for genocide in a national court. Many hope his conviction means positive steps for the justice system and healing wounds of war.
Immigration reform too late to fix one big problem, studies say

Immigration reform aims to fix a migrant worker system that all sides say is broken. But demographic and economic trends in Mexico mean the era of cheap migrant labor flooding American fields is nearing an end, two studies say.
For Obama, Costa Rica offered rare 'safe bet' trip

Costa Rica's strong tradition of democracy and longtime friendship with the United States ensured President Obama would enjoy a smooth – if uneventful – trip this weekend.
Can a blimp curb drug trafficking in Latin America? The US hopes so.

After sweeping US budget cuts, the Pentagon is testing new tools to stop drug trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean: a blimp tethered to the back of a boat and a hand-launched drone.
Guatemalan who helped build genocide case against ex-dictator was survivor, too

Legal advisor Edwin Canil helped find witnesses to testify in the landmark case against former dictator Ríos Montt. Canil escaped a massacre during Ríos Montt's reign.
Uncertainty looms as judge suspends genocide trial of former Guatemala dictator

Judge Carol Patricia Flores ruled the legal process in the contentious trial of former Gen. Rios Montt be set back to November 2011, essentially nullifying all actions taken in the case since that date.
Guatemalan court faces calls to halt former dictator's genocide trial

As a verdict in Ríos Montt's trial nears, some – including the president – deny the alleged 1980s genocide took place and warn that a guilty verdict could throw Guatemala into chaos.
Hasta luego, Mexico: The Monitor's Latin America bureau chief signs off

Our correspondent recalls the good, the bad, and the surprising from her nearly seven years covering the region.
Latin America Monitor Guatemala: Rios Montt trial hears testimony on conflict-era sexual violence

Violence varied throughout Guatemala's 36-year conflict, but included everything from torture to forced displacement. An estimated 100,000 women were sexually assaulted during that time frame.
Latin America Monitor Checking in on Guatemala's Rios Montt trial

If former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt is acquitted of war crimes and genocide charges that doesn't necessarily mean the Guatemalan legal system is failing, writes a guest blogger.
Argentine pope: A reflection of Catholicism 'south of the equator'

Residents of Buenos Aires met the papal announcement with surprise, checking smartphones in the street and asking each other if the news was true.
Difference Maker Indira Johnson places intriguing sculptures to create dialogues on peace

Dozens of giant Buddha heads emerging around Chicago are meant to be a catalyst for conversations about peace in troubled neighborhoods.
Change Agent Creative Connections links kids worldwide through art

US students partner with children from one of nearly 50 other countries to exchange their artworks and then share ideas face-to-face via a videoconference.
Latin America Monitor Guatemala gets a bump in its police force

Guatemala has one of the world's highest murder rates, and one way President Molina has tried to address this is by adding 2,000 more police since January 2012.
Focus Brazil's affirmative action law offers a huge hand up

Public universities in Brazil will reserve half their seats to provide racial, income, and ethnic diversity – a law that goes the furthest in the Americas in attempting race-based equality. It will most greatly affect the large Afro-Brazilian population.
Pope Benedict XVI retires: Will the next pope come from the 'global south?'

Latin America is home to 40 percent of the world’s 1 billion Roman Catholics, but there has never been a non-European pope in the modern era.
TV drama? Putin rips Sochi official on air over Olympic cost overruns

Analysts say that the Russian president's angry tirade, followed by the official's firing, may be a bit of political theater meant to ease public concerns over the troubled Sochi Games preparations.
Latin America Monitor Guatemala's Rios Montt to stand trial for genocide and crimes against humanity

A judge in Guatemala ordered former military leader Efrain Rios Montt to stand trial. He is the first ex-president charged with genocide by a Latin American court.