US role in Dos Erres and Guatemala
Hello Marisaduarte,
Please do not believe that the US "didn't know" what was happening in Guatemala.
This American Life did a GREAT disservice by not telling its listeners about the role of the US in the massacre at Dos Erres and the thousands of others who died because of the very active involvement of the US government. I hope that people will write to Ira Glass at TAL and ask him to include this information on his show in the near future. It's leaving out the most important ingredient in the Dos Erres story.
The US and the CIA have been involved in Guatemala for many years, overthrowing the democratically elected Jacob Arbenz and supporting dictators. There are many declassified US documents available to the public which can inform you about the role of the US in the tragic history of Guatemala.
The US gave money , weapons and training to the Guatemalan military who massacred their own people in a 36 year civil war in which 200,000 indigenous Guatemalan peasants were killed and their villages burned. Guatemala is a poor country and there is no way that this could have happened without the ongoing help with training and weapons from the US.
Phyllis Ponvert