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U.S. migration policies hit the Mexico-Guatemala border

Nov 12, 2019
Tensions between the U.S. and Mexico regarding migration have also hit hard on the borders, not only between both nations, but also between Mexico and Guatemala.
Raftsmen help Guatemalans cross the Suchiate towards Mexico, where they buy goods with higher quality and lower prices.
Rodrigo Cervantes for Marketplace

U.S. cuts aid to Central America over immigration; critics say that will backfire

Apr 1, 2019
In an effort to slow the flow of Central America migrants into the U.S., President Trump said he’s cutting direct aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The U.S. sends money to those countries to help them combat drug trafficking, gang violence and to promote economic growth. Click the audio player above to hear the full […]
Honduran migrants leave the Metropolitan Center of San Pedro Sula, 300 kms north of Tegucigalpa, to travel to the Guatemala border.
ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty Images

Loans in the balance as international community weighs corruption in Guatemala

Nov 24, 2017
Corruption and political instability in Guatemala threaten to impact its ability to receive international monetary aid.
A banner left by Guatemalan prosecutors at ranch seized in a corruption probe reads "Evidence." Guatemalan prosecutors are working with foreign counterparts in the International Commission Against Impunity In Guatemala to stem corruption. 
Lorne Matalon/ for Marketplace

Migration is a business on Mexico's southern border

Jul 8, 2016
As people and goods illegally cross the Mexico-Guatemala border, many profit.
The words read "Christ Lives." Migrants and goods such as oil and foodstuffs are transported illegally on a raft below a bridge that is an official port of entry between Mexico and Guatemala.
Lorne Matalon

Illegal trade thrives along Mexico-Guatemala border

Jun 30, 2016
People and goods cross freely, despite help from the U.S.
Migrants transiting Mexico once depended largely on a series of trains known collectively as La Bestia (the beast). Following raids on the trains that began in 2014, migrants say they walk long distances in the Mexican interior to avoid mobile and fixed checkpoints.
Lorne Matalon/Marketplace

For Guster's Adam Gardner, sustainable logging is part of the music

Jan 15, 2016
A musician tries to root out guitars made from poached wood.

Growth of fair trade brings benefits for artisans

Feb 18, 2015
Big American retailers are looking to sell more traditional, hand-made items.

For public good, not for profit.

Sending 57,000 kids back to their home country costs

Jul 28, 2014
Esme Deprez says getting these kids home is a lot more complicated than it sounds.

Risky business: Leaving Guatemala

Dec 19, 2011
Guatemalan workers deported three years ago debate whether to return to the United States.