The Treasury Guard ( es, Guardia de Hacienda), also known as the Treasury Police, was a police agency active in Guatemala from 1954 until 1997 when it was formally abolished along with the National Police and the PMA as a result of the peace accords which ended the 36-year

Guatemalan Civil War The Guatemalan Civil War was a civil war in Guatemala fought from 1960 to 1996 between the government of Guatemala and various leftist rebel groups. The government forces have been condemned for committing genocide against the Maya population ...

Origins and primary functions

The Guardia de Hacienda was reportedly established in 1954 and was formerly supervised by treasury officials.Nyrop, 1983, p. 202 The force had units of varying strength assigned to the capital cities of Guatemala's 22 departments, various crossing points and airports. The manpower of the force was reported in 1982 to total approximately 2,100 agents.Nyrop, 1983, p. 203 Although customs and tariffs have reportedly been the Treasury Police's main concern, the force has also been "involved in antismuggling and anticounterfeiting activities, regulation of immigration and emigration and the issuance of passports," as well as enforcing the laws related to narcotics and alcoholic beverage manufacture and sale. Tom Barry's 1990 Guatemala: A Country Guide also numbers the Treasury Police at 2,100 members, and states that although "not as large as the National Police, he Treasury Policeenhances its influence by closely working with the army's G-2 intelligence command". The author states that the Civil Protection System (SIPROCI), a new police unit under the army's High Command coordinating the different law enforcement agencies, "was apparently created in an effort to avoid internecine conflicts between the various units".Barry 1990, p. 51 The author adds that SIPROCI was formed "in the wake of an ongoing dispute between the National Police and the Treasury over an incident in which the National Police arrested members of the Treasury Police who were linked to death squad killings".

Counterinsurgency activities

During the civil war, the Treasury Guard became increasingly involved in political police activities, operating with other police and security forces "by reporting suspicious movements or activities and, when necessary, supplement ngother forces in counterguerrilla actions". The Guardia de Hacienda were often referred to as the "little barracks" as they exhibited military discipline. Most guardsmen were former members of the army, Kaibiles (special forces) or the

Policia Militar Ambulante The Policia Militar Ambulante (Mobile Military Police, Ambulant Military Police or PMA) was an elite paramilitary corp active in Guatemala during the Guatemalan Civil War. History Formed in 1965 during the administration of Guatemalan President Enr ...

(PMA). The Treasury Guard was an organization similar to the PMA in that most of its members had prior military experience. According to 1970 U.S. Army Area Handbook's description of the Treasury Police:

Involvement in human rights abuses

An untitled mimeograph published in October 1979 by Guatemala's leading peasant group and indigenous rights organization - CUC (Committee for Peasant Unity)- denounced the Treasury Police "one of the most repressive of the police bodies in the country, above all in the Tierra Fría ("Cold Lands," i.e.: highlands) and in the border areas, like San Marcos".McClintock, 1985, p. 161 The same description adds that the force changed from one of "simple employees" who demanded bribes when allegedly controlling contraband and the making of alcohol, to one of "control and repression" after it came under the control of the Ministry of the Interior in 1974. During the conflict, a special presidential intelligence agency headquartered within a telecommunications annex of the Presidential Palace (known as ''Policia Regional'', ''La Regional'' or ''Archivos'') maintained contacts within the security services known as ''confidenciales'' who could be called from provincial army garrisons to be sent to the capital for unspecified purposes. Treasury Police and National Police ''confidenciales'' could also be contracted either through provincial army commanders or by direct contact with provincial commanders of the police services. The ''confidenciales'' assembled in the capital using this system were often used in covert operations involving the use of "death squads". The role of Treasury Police personnel in carrying out government sanctioned political murders via the ''confidenciales'' system was revealed when two men in plainclothes - identifying themselves as members of the Secret Anti-Communist Army (ESA) - were captured by students after attempting to kidnap student-leader Victor Manuel Valverth. Both assailants were found to be card-carrying ''confidenciales''; one was identified as an agent of Military Intelligence (G-2) and the other reportedly "carried a card issued by the Special Service (Servicio Especial) of the Treasury Police".Amnesty International, 1981, p. 153

Bibliography

* Amnesty International. 1981. Guatemala: A Government Program of Political Murder. London. * Barry, Tom. 1990. Guatemala: A Country Guide. Albuquerque, New Mexico: The Inter-Hemispheric Education Resource Center. * Dombrowski, John. 1970. Area Handbook for Guatemala. Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office. * McClintock, Michael. 1985. The American Connection Volume II: State Terror and Popular Resistance in Guatemala. London: Zed Books. *

References

{{reflist, 30em Guatemalan Civil War 1954 establishments in Guatemala 1997 disestablishments in Guatemala