GUATEMALA CITY – The United States carried out 17 different types of medical experiments on approximately 1,500 Guatemalans by intentionally infecting them with venereal diseases in the 1940s, Guatemalan Vice President Rafael Espada told the press.
Officials already have data on the medical projects and the information is being investigated by a commission headed by the vice president with help from the United States, Espada said.
The experiments were performed by U.S. scientists on the mentally ill, prostitutes, prisoners and soldiers in the Central American nation between 1946 and 1948, Espada said. The Guatemalans were infected intentionally with syphilis and gonorrhea, among other diseases.
The U.S. government has already provided about 90 percent of the scientific information about the experiments and the documents will be opened when the commission investigating the matter is fully constituted with medical experts and translators to avoid mistakes and misunderstandings, the vice president said.
Source
U.S. scientists infected the mentally ill, prostitutes, prisoners and soldiers with veneral diseases in the Central American nation between 1946 and 1948
