Guatemala Looking to Cash in on 2012 Doomsday Theory

People in Guatemala, the Maya heartland, are not buying the doomsday tale, though some so hope to cash in on it.

Early Intervention for Kids in Guatemala Gangs

A youth program in Guatemala City reaches out to at-risk kids before they become involved in gang violence.

Future Leader of Guatemala May Come From Country’s Violent Past

Otto Perez Molina, a man who commanded troops during that reign of terror, is poised to be country’s next president.

Remembering Argentine Folk Singer Facundo Cabral

Argentine folk singer Facundo Cabral was shot dead in Guatemala on Saturday.

Divorce, Central American style

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Today’s Geo Quiz is ripped from the headlines. We’re looking for a Central American country where a constitutional ban is kicking in. In this country, members of the president’s family are legally banned from running as presidential candidates. So, the First Lady of this country is now trying to get a divorce to be able to run herself… Download MP3

Mexico’s drug war comes to Guatemala

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Mexican drug traffickers have worked their way south into Guatemala. The Guatemalan army has been trying to beat them back. But some Guatemalans there feel loyal to the drug cartels. Which have provided services – even security – that the Guatemalan government hasn’t delivered. Lorne Matalon reports. Download MP3
Slideshow: Guatemalan soldiers on patrol

Dream Act in Ohio

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The Dream Act could provide a pathway to legal residency for young immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children. The Act passed the House last week and is awaiting a vote in the Senate. A conservative community in Ohio is now supporting its passage as an 18-year-old community member awaits deportation to Guatemala, a country he hasn’t seen since age three. The World’s Jason Margolis has more. Download MP3

Court considers fate of adopted Guatemalan boy

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This month, the fate of a US-born son of a Guatemalan immigrant will be decided by the Missouri Supreme Court, who was detained in a raid at poultry processing plant in 2007. Reporter Sylvia Maria Gross has more. Download MP3
Professor Marcia Zug is answering listener questions on issues of family law here.

Guatemala syphilis study still provokes anger

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Last month President Obama apologized to the people of Guatemala for an unethical study of syphilis. In the mid-1940s, hundreds of Guatemalans were unwitting subjects of the US study.Lorne Matalon reports that today, many Guatemalans are still outraged, despite the apology. Download MP3

Beneath Guatemala sinkhole

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Anchor Marco Werman speaks with geo-scientist Timothy Bechtel, about the massive sinkhole that swallowed an intersection and a three-story factory in Guatemala as the country was hit by Tropical Storm Agatha.

Video: Giant Guatemala City sinkhole

The Garifuna: African influence in Central America

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The story behind today’s Global Hit starts on the Caribbean Island of St. Vincent. In 1635, two slave ships wrecked there, and the African slaves escaped to freedom. They mixed in with the native Caribs, giving birth to a new Afro-Caribbean culture – the Garifuna (Gareefoonah). In the centuries since, the Garifuna migrated and founded villages along the Caribbean coast of Central America. Later today, Lonny Shavelson will have a report from Guatemala. (Photo: Lonny Shavelson)

• Video: The Garifuna of Guatemala
• Marco Werman: The Garifuna Women’s Project (2008)