Apparently a Rios Montt rally turned violent in Guatemala City. Montt supporters have caused many businesses to close and to effectively lock themselves in their buildings for the time being. I think this shows the TRUE COLORS of the type of people that support Montt. I believe this is going on in Zone 10 near the airport.
If you were planning to travel in the next few days, please contact your agency for their recommendation. Updated information is on Prensa Libre if you can read Spanish. Also, as a precaution: If you have relatives in Guatemala City, you probably should contact the embassy and have them registered. The number is 011.502.331.1541 or you can fill out the form online at http://usembassy.state.gov/guatemala/wwwhacseregistration.html. Families in GC should stay put at this time (you can contact the embassy by calling 331 1541 in Guatemala).
* Always follow conservative guidelines! When in doubt, keep close to the hotel (with the baby). Do not discuss your adoption with anyone local except your lawyer, foster mom or facilitator.
Statement by Ambassador John R. Hamilton, US Embassy in Guatemala
Posted by Kelly at July 24, 2003 02:52 PMI just noticed, on one of the U.S. State Dept's
pages that this item has a link to, that they
"suspended services" at the Embassy on the day of
or the day after the riots last week. This
presumably means that if there were any adoption
cases to process that day, they were out of luck
or at least had to wait.
I understand that safety of both Embassy personnel
and those using their services is paramount. And
I probably wouldn't want to be in Guatemala
myself at such a time. But I wonder if closing up
shop is the best reaction to such incidents, quite
apart from the extra headaches it causes for
American citizens with adoption or other concerns
in the country. Wouldn't "the American way" be
to show the flag ever more strongly?
In this context, I am even more dismayed than I
was when I saw them a few weeks ago, that the
guards outside our embassy in Guatemala City are
locals rather than U.S. Marines. (Yes, just like
the guards at banks, hotels, restaurants, and
other private business.) I understand that given
budgetary restraints and more serious threats
elsewhere in the world, we may not be able to
post Marines at every embassy. But should we
really be encouraging the already-prevalent
proliferation of "private armies" in Guatemala
by employing one for our own security? In
unstable times, isn't it risky to rely on locals
of unknown loyalties?
jay