Guatemala sends more migrants to the U.S. than anywhere in Central America. What is driving so many people to leave?<\/p>\n\n
Crusading prosecutor Iv\u00e1n Vel\u00e1squez has been called the Robert Mueller of Latin America. He\u2019s known for jailing presidents and paramilitaries.<\/p>\n\n
But Vel\u00e1squez met his match when he went after Jimmy Morales, a television comedian who was elected president of Guatemala. Morales found an ally in then-U.S. President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n
Like the alleged quid pro quo with Ukraine that prompted Trump\u2019s impeachment, the details can seem confusing \u2013 but, ultimately, Vel\u00e1squez says, both parties got what they wanted: Morales got Trump to pull U.S. support for an international anti-corruption force that was going after his family. And he says Trump secured Guatemala\u2019s support for some of his most controversial policies, both in the Middle East and on immigration.<\/p>\n\n
Veteran radio journalist Maria Martin teams up with Reveal\u2019s Anayansi Diaz-Cortes for this week\u2019s show. Martin takes us to Huehuetenango, a province near Guatemala\u2019s border with Mexico that sends more migrants to the U.S. than anywhere in Central America. There, she shows that Trump\u2019s hard-line immigration policies did nothing to slow the movement of people from Guatemala to the southern border of the U.S.<\/p>\n\n
This is an update of an episode that originally aired Aug. 29, 2020.<\/em><\/p>\n\n Don\u2019t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n