Colon brands US medical tests on Guatemalan mentally ill prisoners ‘crime against humanity’

US President Barack Obama had apologised for the medical tests, in which mentally ill patients and prisoners were infected without their consent.

Obama was quoted as telling Colon the 1940s-era experiments ran “contrary to American values”.

Syphilis could cause heart problems, blindness, mental illness and even death. Although the patients were treated it was not known how many had recovered.

Evidence of the programme had been unearthed by Susan Reverby at Wellesley College. She claimed the Guatemalan government had “given permission for the tests”.

No offer of compensation had yet been made, but an investigation would be launched into the specifics of the study, which took place between 1946 and 1948.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs yesterday described the news as "shocking, it's tragic, it's reprehensible".

In an interview, Colon has insisted the test subjects were "victims of rights abuses".

"There's been a very strong reaction in the Guatemalan media and by my compatriots," he added.

"Of course, there may have been similar incidents in other countries around the world, but speaking as the president and a Guatemalan, I would have preferred that these events had never happened on this soil," Colon concluded.

A joint statement from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius re-affirmed the US’s deep regret for these events.

 "Although these events occurred more than 64 years ago, we are outraged that such reprehensible research could have occurred under the guise of public health,” they insisted.

"We deeply regret that it happened, and we apologise to all the individuals who were affected by such abhorrent research practices,” Clinton and Sebelius added in their joint statement.

According to the White House, in his phone call to Colon, Obama reaffirmed the US's “unwavering commitment” to ensure that all human medical studies conducted today met “exacting US and international legal and ethical standards”.

He also "underscored the United States' deep respect for the people of Guatemala and the importance of our bilateral relationship

US State Department spokesperson's apology for US testing 64 years ago (source: ITN News Channel)