Secretary of Defense Hagel to visit our key partner in Guatemala (and other news)

Central American homeless youth charity La Alianza and Austin-based ad agency LatinWorks team up to bring awareness of sex abuse in Guatemala.

In 2013 alone, according to The Monitoring Center of Sexual Health and Reproduction in Guatemala, more than 60,000 girls and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 gave birth … Of these 60,000, 4,356 are girls under 14 years of age and 89% of their abusers are family members, and among them, 30% are their own fathers, cited by a study conducted by the PDH (Procuraduria de los Derechos).

I haven't gotten around to it yet, but InSight Crime looks like what should be an excellent read on Claudia Paz y Paz and the fight for justice in Guatemala.

The FBI is helping to investigate the death of a Guatemalan campesino who was killed by Belizean soldiers.

A US soldier in Guatemala as part of the Beyond the Horizons program died in an accident when a large tree branch fell on him.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is visiting Mexico and Guatemala over the next three days "to Affirm U.S. Commitment" whatever that means.

Afterward, Kirby said, Hagel will travel to Guatemala to convey U.S. support for a key partner in the region challenged by narcotics trafficking and transnational crime.

Hagel’s visit will be the first visit to Guatemala by a U.S. defense secretary since 2005, Kirby said. “The secretary looks forward to meeting with the country's leadership,” he added.

While in Guatemala, Hagel also will visit with U.S. troops who are engaged in medical training and civil affairs exercises alongside members of the Guatemalan military.

While not the most worrisome country in the region, I'm not entirely sure Guatemala is a key partner, well, at least it doesn't act like it.

Sean Cox on Guatemala’s Toll Road Fiasco, or How to Give Money to Your Friends in the Private Sector. Part of the reason why I don't see Guatemala's political and economic elite as partners. You can blame the US for a lot of problems but it's not clear that we have reliable partners in high places.

Feel bad for Guatemala's banana bosses now?