Guatemalans flee violence for the US

David Mercer takes a look at Rising crime drives Guatemalans to the US for Al Jazeera.

Given the much higher crime rates and brutal stories of gang threats and intimidation, people fleeing Honduras and El Salvador have much stronger stories to tell about their need to achieve asylum in the US than people fleeing Guatemala.

That doesn't mean, however, that Guatemalans' claims of persecution can be dismissed outright, something which the country's political leaders too frequently claim.