Julio Adalberto Rivera Carballo (2 September 1921 – 29 July 1973) was a Salvadoran politician and military officer, who was the 34th

President of El Salvador The president of El Salvador ( es, Presidente de El Salvador), officially known as the President of the Republic of El Salvador ( es, Presidente de la República de El Salvador), is the Head of State, head of state and Head of Government, head ...

, in office from 1962 to 1967.

Early life and career

Rivera was born in

Zacatecoluca Zacatecoluca () is the capital municipality of the La Paz Department of El Salvador. Located in Southern El Salvador, in the Rio Lempa valley, at the foot of San Vicente (Chinchotepec) Volcano. A commercial center for the surrounding agricultur ...

, El Salvador. He was a military officer who helped to orchestrate a coup in 1961. From January to September of that year, he was a member of the

Civic-Military Directory The Civic-Military Directory was a political body which ruled El Salvador from 25 January 1961 until 25 January 1962. Its members were: * Aníbal Portillo (whole time) * Feliciano Avelar (whole time) * José Antonio Rodrígu ...

which ruled El Salvador at that time. In 1962 he was elected President for a 5-year term as the candidate of the

National Conciliation Party The National Coalition Party ( es, Partido de Concertación Nacional, PCN) is a nationalist political party in El Salvador. Until 2011 it was known as the National Conciliation Party ( es, Partido de Conciliación Nacional, PCN). It was the most ...

. As president, he signed the Alianza para el Progreso with the United States and accepted a good amount of money to build low-cost housing for Salvadorans, such as the Zacamil buildings and other public works. The Times Magazines from March 16, 1962, said "Colonel Julio Rivera, is loosening the control of "the 14," a group of land and banking families who have ruled the country since Spanish colonial days", and recognized the biggest effort from the 19 Latin American countries that signed the document during the term of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. At the same time, he started a Secret Service called ANSESAL and the head of this agency was Coronel Medrano, a CIA informant. He is known to have started Death Squads in El Salvador using military intelligence and personnel. They would interrogate and eliminate leftist suspects in both the countryside and in the capital. After leaving public office he went on to serve as Ambassador of El Salvador to the United States and the United Nations. During his tenure as president, he was often seen driving through the streets of San Salvador on his 1965 Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Later life and death

From 1968 to 1973, he served as Ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He died on July 29, 1973, aged 51.

References

1921 births 1973 deaths People from La Paz Department (El Salvador) Salvadoran people of Spanish descent National Coalition Party (El Salvador) politicians Presidents of El Salvador Salvadoran military personnel Ambassadors of El Salvador to the United States Permanent Representatives of El Salvador to the United Nations Captain General Gerardo Barrios Military School alumni Grand Crosses with Diamonds of the Order of the Sun of Peru {{ElSalvador-politician-stub