Thousands decry violence at Guatemala volcano demo
About 12,000 Guatemalans linked hands Saturday on a giant heart banner on the slopes of a volcano crater to draw attention to the scourge of domestic violence.
New President Otto Pérez Molina, a right-wing general who took office last Saturday, arrived on the scene by helicopter and handed a Guatemalan flag to the movement’s leader.
Mostly young Guatemalans organized the “climb for life,” and called on supporters who took part to form a giant human 2012, with the goal of making this year the year that domestic violence stops.
An estimated 700 women are murdered each year in Guatemala, and prosecutors receive more than 65,000 complaints of domestic violence a year in the Central American nation of 13 million.
The climb was held at the Volcan del Agua, an inactive, 3,774-meter colossus that towers over the colonial city of Antigua, 75 kilometers southeast of Guatemala City.
You may be interested

One year after first case, Costa Rica to broadcast Covid memorial
The Tico Times - March 5, 2021Costa Rica confirmed its first coronavirus case on March 6, 2020. By the end of the month, the country had…

Stress-related dental problems rising due to COVID: More patients choose Costa Rica dental tourism
James Madigan / Costa Rica Dental Guide - March 5, 2021According to a recent report by the American Dental Association, the vast majority of dentists indicate that the prevalence of…

Costa Rica an ‘ideal destination’ for digital nomads, Tourism Board says
Alejandro Zúñiga - March 5, 2021A growing number of people have turned to the dream of a "digital nomad" lifestyle -- answering emails from the…