Puerto Barrios

Puerto Barrios, town, northeastern Guatemala, on Amatique Bay, off the Gulf of Honduras. Until the 1970s it was the principal port of Guatemala, used primarily for shipping agricultural commodities. In the early 20th century the port facilities and the railway connecting the port to Guatemala City came under the control of the American-owned United Fruit Company. The company had extensive banana plantations in the valley of the Motagua River, which empties into the Caribbean near Puerto Barrios. The government became dissatisfied with control of the facilities by foreign interests, however, and constructed a government-owned and managed general cargo port at Santo Tomás de Castilla, just 6 miles (10 km) to the south, and a highway paralleling the railroad. Santo Tomás de Castilla became one of the country’s busiest cargo ports, while Puerto Barrios still handles agricultural produce. Puerto Barrios was seriously damaged by the earthquake of 1976. Pop. (2002) 48,581.