U.S. Apologizes For Guatemalan STD Experiments

By Michael Lopez

It may have happened over 60 years ago, but it is a still a huge revelation. According to recently discovered documents, from the years 1946-1948, the United States deliberately infected mental patients in Guatemala with sexually transmitted diseases.

Image: Hess

Supposedly conducted to test out vaccinations for illnesses like syphilis and gonorrhea, the news led to public apologies from both President Barack Obama and Secretary Of State, Hillary Clinton. A public statement by White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, was issued as well:

"Obviously this is shocking, it's tragic, it's reprehensible. It's tragic and the U.S. by all means apologizes to all those who were impacted."

Current Guatemalan President, Alvaro Colom, was not aware of the tests and appears to have accepted the U.S. apologies. Embassy official, Fernando de la Cerda, went on to say, “We appreciate this gesture from the USA, acknowledging the mistake and apologizing. This must not affect the bilateral relationship.”

Bordering Mexico and El Salvador, Guatemala is considered to be one of the 10 poorest countries in Latin America. Back in the late 1940’s, it had seen longtime dictator, Jorge Ubico, overthrown and was in the middle of what was historically deemed as the “Ten Years Of Spring.”

During that time, the country appeared to be more prosperous under the presidency of Juan Jose Arevalo. Was he actually in on the experiments the United States was conducting? That isn’t necessarily clear, but the U.S. government has ordered two independent investigations to uncover exactly how this happened.

The details we have so far are that a total of 696 men and women were intentionally infected with STDs. Though a majority were institutionalized mental patients, soldiers and prisoners may have been deliberately inoculated as well.

We, for one, are glad that the information has been made public. It seems like it could have been very easy to sweep the whole incident under the rug. However, by admitting the mistakes and reaching out to Guatemalan leaders directly, America is bringing at least some closure to this terrible ordeal.

Source: [Daily Mail]

What do you about America's experiments in Guatemala? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3!

Tags Alvaro Colom, Barack Obama, Guatemala, Hillary Clinton, Politics