Guatemala

Grapevine: Paraguay’s ambassador brings longstanding pro-Israel ties to Jerusalem

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

|ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
Paraguayan Ambassador Alejandro Rubin Cymerman (L) with President Isaac Herzog at his Jerusalem residence, 2024.
An inmate looks out from a security tower at the Renovacion 1 prison, as inmates at three Guatemalan prisons rioted on Saturday and took mostly prison guards hostage, authorities said, in Escuintla, Guatemala, January 17, 2026.

Guatemalan inmates riot at three prisons, taking 46 people hostage

Inmates, some wearing jumpsuits but most in tank tops and shorts, their faces covered by masks improvised with pieces of clothing, watched from above, perched in the prison's patrol towers.

|ByREUTERS
Elazar Rumpler, a senior leader within haredi cult Lev Tahor, appearing in the Jerusalem District Court for a hearing in 2020; illustrative.

Jerusalem court sends senior Lev Tahor cult leader Elazar Rumpler to prison in child abuse case

Elazar Rumpler, a Lev Tahor haredi cult leader, was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay a total of NIS 22,000 in fines and compensation for assaulting a 10-year-old child.

|ByJAMES GENN
Lev Tahor member Yoel Alter, 35, is escorted by Guatemalan police officers after being arrested at court in Guatemala City on January 24, 2025.

Leader of ultra-Orthodox Lev Tahor sect extradited to Mexico, charged with human trafficking

Yoel Alter, who is suspected of holding a senior rank in the cult, was arrested for charges of organized crime and human trafficking in Guatemala in January at the request of Mexican authorities

|ByELI LEON

Netanyahu: God bless you, my friend, president Morales

Following in Trump's footsteps, Guatemalan president announced his country plans to move embassy to Jerusalem.

DECEMBER 25, 2017ByREUTERS, JPOST.COM STAFF
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands as they deliver statements to the media during their meeting in Jerusalem, Israel.

Abbas Adviser: Guatemala’s embassy move announcement 'disappointing'

Majdi al-Khalidi, Abbas's diplomatic affairs adviser, said political and diplomatic measures should be taken to push back against Guatemala's announcement to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem.

DECEMBER 25, 2017ByADAM RASGON
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas greets delegates after addressing the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, US, September 20, 2017.

Israeli politicians thank Guatemala for Christmas Jerusalem embassy surprise

President Jimmy Morales made the announcement his country would follow Trump and move its embassy to Jerusalem on Facebook.

DECEMBER 25, 2017ByREUTERS
Guatemalan president Jimmy Morales and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein at the Knesset

Guatemala to move embassy to Jerusalem, backing Trump

Guatemala was one of only a handful of countries to join the United States and Israel in voting against the resolution.

DECEMBER 25, 2017ByHERB KEINON, REUTERS
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York, US.