Puerto Barrios

Puerto Barrios (pwār'tō bär'yōs) [key], city (1994 est. pop. 29,095) and port, E Guatemala, capital of Izabal dept., on the Bay of Amatique, an arm of the Caribbean Sea. It was named after the Guatemalan politician Justo Rufino Barrios. Until the early 1970s the foreign-dominated deepwater port handled more trade than any other in Guatemala. An additional cargo port was later built, and solely operated, by the Guatamalan government at nearby Santo Tomás de Castilla. Bananas and coffee are the leading exports. In 1976 a hurricane severely damaged Puerto Barrios.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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