Mounds of plastic waste appear off Guatemala's shores [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Jun 22, 2022 Mounds of plastic waste lapped onto the Caribbean shores of Guatemala from the Rio Motagua, considered one of the most polluted rivers in the world, according to environmentalists.

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Motagua:
A river that rises in Guatemala is threatened in Honduras
An avalanche of waste violates Central American borders and threatens to unleash a diplomatic conflict

By: Jorge Rodríguez, Richard Carbajal & Misael Colindres.

The scene is cinematic: A little boy collects plastic figurines on the beach to give to his mother who puts them in the traditional Christmas nativity scene. It doesn’t matter that the toy animals are mutilated or discolored. To the childish eyes of Eduardo – now 22 years old, a nature photographer and tourism promoter – they were "gifts" brought by the river, another miracle of the Caribbean paradise of crystal-clear waves and sea breeze in which he spent his childhood.

This is Omoa, one of the main tourist destinations in Honduras, a Central American country that receives nearly one million international visitors a year. This small city located in the northern part of the country has a compelling colonial past highlighted by the San Fernando Fortress, a varied gastronomy and the vibrant cultural diversity brought by the 57,000 mestizos and garífunas, Afro-descendants from the Caribbean regions of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Just 19 miles from Omoa flows the Motagua River, a 300-mile waterway that originates in Guatemala and meanders through seven ecoregions where it is possible to see the iconic quetzal, the sacred bird of the Mayas; the heloderma, a compact reptile so venomous that locals claim even one's own shadow must be protected against its bite; and, of course, the jaguar, the powerful feline that dominates the Central American rainforest where the river’s fresh water flows into the waters of the Caribbean.

It is a picture of a paradise that, nevertheless, has its own poison. For years, the same river that once gave toys to Eduardo has brought misfortune to the inhabitants of the region and an environmental conflict that is crossing international borders.



Emigrating through garbage
The Motagua originates in Joyabaj, which in Maya --k'ich'e "Xol abaj-- means "between rocks.” During the pre-Hispanic splendor of the Mayan culture, the river was a lucrative commercial route that passed through the only jade reservoir in Mesoamerica as well as valuable stone deposits such as marble.

More:
https://historiassinfronteras.com/proyectos/rio-motagua/index-eng.html