U.S. news coverage of Guatemala’s November 2007 presidential election mostly misrepresented the country’s political dynamics and misled the public about the nature of the violence that led to the deaths of more than 50 candidates, activists, and their family members during the campaign season.

U.S. reporting on the referendum largely simplified the CAFTA question as a matter of geopolitical rivalry between Venezuela and the United States, and it failed to seriously examine whether CAFTA would benefit Costa Rica.