Guatemala

Flag of Guatemala

Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north and west, Belize and the Caribbean to the northeast, Honduras to the east, El Salvador to the southeast and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital and largest city is Guatemala City.

In 1987, Guatemala was chosen as the grounds for a Hunt by a member of the Jungle Hunter Clan, who was hoping to exploit the ongoing guerrilla war there. This led it into conflict with both a U.S Special Forces team and a mercenary team led by Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer.

History

Events of 1987

"I've seen some bad-ass bush before, man, but nothin' like this.
I hear ya. This shit's somethin'. Makes Cambodia looks like Kansas."

―Mac and Blain, commenting on the dense Guatemalan jungle (from Predator)

By 1987, the country found itself combating an insurgency led by Communist guerrillas, who were being covertly backed by the Soviet Union; Soviet assistance included a number of military advisors. When this insurgency also began to threaten neighboring Conta Mana and its American-backed government, CIA agent Al Dillon was tasked with stopping the rebels. To this end he tasked Jim Hopper's special forces team to eliminate the main rebel base of operations. Hopper and his men subsequently vanished, having been killed in the jungles of Guatemala by a Predator.

Dillon attributed their loss to the guerrillas and turned to his old friend Dutch to complete the mission. After fabricating a story about governmental hostages to coerce Dutch into accepting the job, the guerrillas' camp and much of their heavy arms were destroyed, before Dutch and his team also encountered the Predator. The American team was decimated, with only Dutch and a single captive guerrilla named Anna surviving the ordeal. The OWLF quickly began an investigation into the incident, which remained largely secret.

Points of interest

• Val Verde

Known Citizens

• Anna Gonsalves
• Guerrilla blown up in van
• Guerrilla shot down from tree

Behind the Scenes

Puerto Vallarta, which had previously appeared in The Night of the Iguana, was used as the principal filming location for Predator, despite the objections of John McTiernan and Donald McAlpine. The early beach shots in the film were taken at Puerto Vallarta and jungle scenes were shot slightly further inland. When more money was released by 20th Century Fox, McTiernan was able to shoot in his preferred location around Palenque (including the Misol-Ha waterfall) and about half of the final film came from this round of shooting.

Trivia

• The 1987 novelization of the film Predator revealed that Dutch's briefing took place in the fictional country of Conta Mana, while the remainder of the story played out somewhere in Guatemala.
• While the film never clarified precisely where events took place, the map General Philips used to brief Dutch in Predator is a map of Brazil that shows part of the Chapada das Mangabeiras mountain range.
• It was later reiterated that Dutch's mission took place in Guatemala in the 2010 film Predators.

Appearances

• Predator/novel
• Batman/Aliens
• Predators (mentioned only)
• Predators: Beating the Bullet
• The Monster (mentioned only)
• Predator: The Last Hunt (mentioned only)

External Links

• Guatemala on Wikipedia