The feds' 'gruesome' STD experiments on Guatemalans

A government investigation reveals shocking new details about World War II-era medical abuses

US Troops march in Guatemala's Independence Parade in 1942: In the 1940s American officials intentionally infected 1,300 Guatemalans with STDs, according to a new report.
(Image credit: Bettmann/CORBIS)

An investigation into American medical experiments in Guatemala in the 1940s has uncovered "gruesome" new details about how subjects were treated. Doctors repeatedly infected people with sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis, gonorrhea, and chancroid without their knowledge or consent, causing untold suffering and death. The experiments were brought to light last year, prompting an investigation by a presidential commission. The commission's full report is due later this month, but some new details were already released this week. Here, a brief guide to this scandal:

What exactly happened to these people?

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