Wyke–Aycinena Treaty Of 1859
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The history of Guatemala traces back to the
Maya civilization The Maya civilization () was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity to the early modern period. It is known by its ancient temples and glyphs (script). The Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writin ...
(2600 BC – 1697 AD), with the country's modern history beginning with the
Spanish conquest of Guatemala In a protracted conflict during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spanish colonisers gradually incorporated the territory that became the modern country of Guatemala into the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain. Before the conquest, this te ...
in 1524. By 1000 AD, most of the major Classic-era (250–900 AD) Maya cities in the
Petén Basin The Petén Basin is a geographical subregion of the Maya Lowlands, primarily located in northern Guatemala within the Department of El Petén, and into the state of Campeche in southeastern Mexico. During the Late Preclassic and Classic periods ...
, located in the northern lowlands, had been abandoned. The Maya states in the
Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...
central highlands continued to thrive until the Spanish
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
Pedro de Alvarado Pedro de Alvarado (; 1485 – 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, ''conquistador'', ''adelantado,'' governor and Captaincy General of Guatemala, captain general of Guatemala.Lovell, Lutz and Swezey 1984, p. 461. He participated in the c ...
—called "The Invader" by the Maya—arrived in 1525 and began to subdue the
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
populations. For nearly 330 years, Guatemala was part of the
Captaincy General of Guatemala The Captaincy General of Guatemala (), also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala (), was an administrative division of the Spanish Empire, under the viceroyalty of New Spain in Central America, including present-day Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras ...
, which included
Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...
(now in Mexico) and the present-day countries of
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
,
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
,
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
,
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
, and Guatemala. The colony declared its
independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
on 15 September 1821 and briefly joined the
First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire (, ) was a constitutional monarchy and the first independent government of Mexico. It was also the only former viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after gaining independence. The empire existed from 18 ...
in 1822. By 1824, Guatemala became a member of the
Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...
, and upon the Republic's dissolution in 1841, it gained full independence. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, foreign agricultural companies, particularly the
United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (later the United Brands Company) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was ...
(UFC), were drawn to Guatemala. These companies were bolstered by the country's authoritarian rulers and support from the
U.S. government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executi ...
, which enforced harsh labor regulations and granted vast concessions to wealthy landowners. The oppressive policies of
Jorge Ubico Jorge Ubico Castañeda (10 November 1878 – 14 June 1946), nicknamed Number Five or also Central America's Napoleon, was a Guatemalan military officer, politician, and dictator who served as the president of Guatemala from 1931 to 1944. A ge ...
led to a popular uprising in 1944, sparking the ten-year
Guatemalan Revolution The period in the history of Guatemala between the coups against Jorge Ubico in 1944 and Jacobo Árbenz in 1954 is known locally as the Revolution (). It has also been called the Ten Years of Spring, highlighting the peak years of represen ...
. During the presidencies of
Juan José Arévalo Juan José Arévalo Bermejo (10 September 1904 – 8 October 1990) was a Guatemalan statesman and professor of philosophy who became Guatemala's first democratically elected president in 1945. He was elected following a popular uprising again ...
and
Jacobo Árbenz Juan Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán (; 14 September 191327 January 1971) was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who served as the 25th president of Guatemala. He was Minister of National Defense from 1944 to 1950, before he became the secon ...
, the country experienced wide-ranging social and economic reforms, including a successful agrarian reform program and increased literacy. The progressive reforms of Arévalo and Árbenz alarmed the
UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...
, which lobbied the U.S. government to intervene. This led to a U.S.-backed coup that ousted Árbenz and installed a military regime. This regime's rise initiated a period of military governments, culminating in a
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
from 1960 to 1996. The conflict was marked by severe
human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...
, including the
Guatemalan genocide The Guatemalan genocide, also referred to as the Maya genocide, or the Silent Holocaust (, , or ), was the mass killing of the Maya peoples, Maya Indigenous people during the Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996) by successive Guatemalan military go ...
of the indigenous Maya by the military. After the war ended, Guatemala re-established a representative democracy but has since struggled with high crime rates and ongoing extrajudicial killings, often carried out by security forces.


Pre-Columbian era

The earliest human settlements in Guatemala date back to the
Paleo-Indian Paleo-Indians were the first peoples who entered and subsequently inhabited the Americas towards the end of the Late Pleistocene period. The prefix ''paleo-'' comes from . The term ''Paleo-Indians'' applies specifically to the lithic period in ...
period and were inhabited by hunters and gatherers.''Historia General de Guatemala'', 1999. Sites from around 6500 BC have been discovered in the Quiché department in the Highlands, as well as in
Sipacate Sipacate is a resort town and municipality on the Pacific coast of Guatemala, in Escuintla Department about west of Puerto San José. It is promoted as a venue for surfing. Being roughly in the center of the Guatemalan coastline, it is used as a ...
and
Escuintla Escuintla () is an industrial city in Guatemala, its land extension is 4,384 km2, and it is nationally known for its sugar agribusiness. Its capital is a municipality with the same name. Citizens celebrate from December 6 to 9 with a small f ...
on the central Pacific coast. It is uncertain when these hunter-gatherer groups transitioned to agriculture, but pollen samples from the Petén region and the Pacific coast indicate maize cultivation as early as 3500 BC. By 2500 BC, small settlements were emerging in Guatemala's Pacific lowlands, in areas such as Tilapa,
La Blanca La Blanca may refer to: *La Blanca, San Marcos (archaeological site) * La Blanca, San Marcos (municipality) *La Blanca, Peten, archaeological site * La Blanca, Texas, census-designated place See also *Blanca (disambiguation) Blanca (meaning "whit ...
, Ocós, El Mesak, and
Ujuxte The site of Ujuxte after the Ramón or Breadnut tree (''Brosimum alicastrum'')) is the largest Preclassic Maya site to be discovered on the Guatemalan Pacific coast. It is in the Retalhuleu Department, in western Guatemala. Site The site includ ...
, where the oldest ceramic pottery in Guatemala has been found. Excavations in
Antigua Guatemala Antigua Guatemala (), commonly known as Antigua or La Antigua, is a city in the Guatemalan Highlands, central highlands of Guatemala. The city was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 through 1773, with much of its Baroque- ...
at Urías and Rucal have uncovered stratified materials from the Early and Middle Preclassic periods (2000 BC to 400 BC). Paste analyses of this early pottery suggest it was made from clays sourced from various environmental zones, indicating that people from the Pacific coast expanded into the Antigua Valley. Guatemala's
Pre-Columbian era In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...
is divided into three periods: the Preclassic period (2000 BC to 250 AD), the Classic period (250 to 900 AD), and the Postclassic period (900 to 1500 AD).


Pre-classic

Until recently, the Preclassic period was considered formative, with small villages of farmers living in huts and few permanent structures. However, this view has been challenged by recent discoveries of monumental architecture from that era, such as an altar at
La Blanca La Blanca may refer to: *La Blanca, San Marcos (archaeological site) * La Blanca, San Marcos (municipality) *La Blanca, Peten, archaeological site * La Blanca, Texas, census-designated place See also *Blanca (disambiguation) Blanca (meaning "whit ...
, San Marcos, dating to 1000 BC; ceremonial sites at Miraflores and El Naranjo from 801 BC; the earliest monumental masks; and the cities in the
Mirador Basin The Mirador Basin is a hypothesized geological depression found in the remote rainforest of the northern department of Petén, Guatemala. Mirador Basin consists of two true basins, consisting of shallowly sloping terrain dominated by low-lying s ...
, including
Nakbé Nakbe is one of the largest early Maya archaeological sites. Nakbe is located in the Mirador Basin, in the Petén region of Guatemala, approximately 13 kilometers south of the largest Maya city of El Mirador. Excavations at Nakbe suggest that hab ...
, Xulnal,
El Tintal El Tintal is a Maya archaeological site in the northern Petén region of Guatemala, about northeast of the modern-day settlement of Carmelita, with settlement dating to the Preclassic and Classic periods. It is close to the better known sit ...
, Wakná, and
El Mirador El Mirador (which translates as "the lookout", "the viewpoint", or "the belvedere") is a large pre-Columbian Middle and Late Preclassic Maya, Preclassic (1000 BC – 250 AD) Maya civilization, Maya settlement, located in the north of the moder ...
. In Monte Alto, near
La Democracia, Escuintla () is a town, with a population of 13,400 (2018 census), and a municipality, with a population of 23,017 (2018 census),potbellies (or ''barrigones'') dating back to around 1800 BC have been found. These stone heads are attributed to the Pre-
Olmec The Olmecs () or Olmec were an early known major Mesoamerican civilization, flourishing in the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco from roughly 1200 to 400 Before the Common Era, BCE during Mesoamerica's Mesoamerican chronolog ...
Monte Alto Culture Monte Alto is an archaeological site on the Pacific Coast in what is now Guatemala. History Located 20 km southeast from Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa in Escuintla, Monte Alto was occupied as early as 1800 BC, but has a fairly light presen ...
, and some scholars suggest that the
Olmec The Olmecs () or Olmec were an early known major Mesoamerican civilization, flourishing in the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco from roughly 1200 to 400 Before the Common Era, BCE during Mesoamerica's Mesoamerican chronolog ...
Culture may have originated in the Monte Alto area. However, it has also been argued that the only connection between the statues and the later Olmec heads is their size. The
Monte Alto Culture Monte Alto is an archaeological site on the Pacific Coast in what is now Guatemala. History Located 20 km southeast from Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa in Escuintla, Monte Alto was occupied as early as 1800 BC, but has a fairly light presen ...
might have been the first complex
culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
of Mesoamerica and a predecessor to all other cultures in the region. In Guatemala, some sites display unmistakable Olmec style, such as
Chocolá Chocolá is a Preclassic Southern Maya site whose developmental emphasis was from 1000 BC to AD 200. The site lies within the Southern Maya area. Chocolá is in the San Pablo Jocopilas municipality in the southern Suchitepéquez Departm ...
in Suchitepéquez,
La Corona La Corona is the name given by archaeologists to an ancient Maya court residence in Guatemala's Petén department that was discovered in 1996, and later identified as the long-sought "Site Q", the source of a long series of unprovenanced limes ...
in Petén, and Tak'alik A'baj in
Retalhuleu The city of Retalhuleu () is situated in south-western Guatemala. It is the departmental seat of Retalhuleu Department as well as the municipal seat of Retalhuleu Municipality. Retalhuleu stands at about 240 metres above sea level. The city has ...
, the latter being the only ancient city in the Americas with both
Olmec The Olmecs () or Olmec were an early known major Mesoamerican civilization, flourishing in the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco from roughly 1200 to 400 Before the Common Era, BCE during Mesoamerica's Mesoamerican chronolog ...
and
Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...
features. El Mirador was by far the most populated city in pre-Columbian America. The El Tigre and Monos pyramids have a combined volume of over 250,000 cubic meters. Richard Hansen, director of the
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
project in the
Mirador Basin The Mirador Basin is a hypothesized geological depression found in the remote rainforest of the northern department of Petén, Guatemala. Mirador Basin consists of two true basins, consisting of shallowly sloping terrain dominated by low-lying s ...
, believes that the
Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...
at Mirador Basin developed the first politically organised state in America around 1500 BC, known as the Kan Kingdom in ancient texts. The region featured 26 cities, all connected by ''sacbeob'' (highways) that were several kilometres long, up to 40 metres wide, and two to four metres above the ground, paved with
stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...
. These highways are distinguishable from the air in Mesoamerica's most extensive virgin tropical rainforest. Despite local tradition and history, Hansen argues that the
Olmec The Olmecs () or Olmec were an early known major Mesoamerican civilization, flourishing in the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco from roughly 1200 to 400 Before the Common Era, BCE during Mesoamerica's Mesoamerican chronolog ...
were not the mother culture of
Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...
. However, it is well known that the Maya people themselves do not support this view. Based on findings at the
Mirador Basin The Mirador Basin is a hypothesized geological depression found in the remote rainforest of the northern department of Petén, Guatemala. Mirador Basin consists of two true basins, consisting of shallowly sloping terrain dominated by low-lying s ...
in Northern Petén, Hansen suggests that the
Olmec The Olmecs () or Olmec were an early known major Mesoamerican civilization, flourishing in the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco from roughly 1200 to 400 Before the Common Era, BCE during Mesoamerica's Mesoamerican chronolog ...
and Maya cultures developed independently and later merged in some locations, such as Tak'alik Abaj in the Pacific lowlands. Northern Guatemala has exceptionally high densities of Late Preclassic sites, including
Naachtun Naachtun is an archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, situated at the northeastern perimeter of the Mirador Basin region in the southern Maya lowlands, now in the modern-day Department of El Petén, northern Guatemala. Naac ...
, ''Xulnal'',
El Mirador El Mirador (which translates as "the lookout", "the viewpoint", or "the belvedere") is a large pre-Columbian Middle and Late Preclassic Maya, Preclassic (1000 BC – 250 AD) Maya civilization, Maya settlement, located in the north of the moder ...
, Porvenir, Pacaya, La Muralla,
Nakbé Nakbe is one of the largest early Maya archaeological sites. Nakbe is located in the Mirador Basin, in the Petén region of Guatemala, approximately 13 kilometers south of the largest Maya city of El Mirador. Excavations at Nakbe suggest that hab ...
,
El Tintal El Tintal is a Maya archaeological site in the northern Petén region of Guatemala, about northeast of the modern-day settlement of Carmelita, with settlement dating to the Preclassic and Classic periods. It is close to the better known sit ...
, ''Wakná'' (formerly ''Güiro''),
Uaxactún Uaxactun (pronounced ) is an ancient sacred place of the Maya civilization, located in the Petén Basin region of the Maya lowlands, in the present-day department of Petén, Guatemala. The site lies some north of the major center of Tikal. Th ...
, and
Tikal Tikal (; ''Tik'al'' in modern Mayan orthography) is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the Pre-Col ...
. El Mirador, Tikal, Nakbé, Tintal, Xulnal, and Wakná are the largest in the Maya world. Their size is evident not only in the extent of the sites but also in their monumental construction, especially the vast platforms supporting prominent temples. Many sites from this era feature monumental masks for the first time (
Uaxactún Uaxactun (pronounced ) is an ancient sacred place of the Maya civilization, located in the Petén Basin region of the Maya lowlands, in the present-day department of Petén, Guatemala. The site lies some north of the major center of Tikal. Th ...
, El Mirador,
Cival Cival is an archaeological site in the Petén Basin region of the southern Maya lowlands, which was formerly a major city of the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the present-day Department of Petén, Guatemala. The site flouri ...
, Tikal, and Nakbé). Hansen's dating has been challenged by other Maya archaeologists, and the developments leading to probable extra-regional power by the Late Preclassic period at Kaminaljuyu in the southern Maya area suggest that Maya civilisation evolved differently in the Lowlands and the Southern Maya Area (SMA), leading to the Classic Maya civilisation. On 3 June 2020, researchers published an article in ''
Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
'' describing their discovery of the oldest and largest Maya site, known as
Aguada Fénix Aguada Fénix is a large Preclassic Mayan ruin located in the state of Tabasco, Mexico, near the border with Guatemala. It was discovered by aerial survey using laser mapping and announced in 2020. The flattened mound is 1,400 m long (nearly a m ...
, in Mexico. It features monumental architecture, including an elevated, rectangular plateau measuring approximately 1,400 metres long and nearly 400 metres wide, constructed from a mixture of earth and clay. To the west, there is a 10-metre-tall earthen mound. Remains of other structures and reservoirs were also detected using
Lidar Lidar (, also LIDAR, an acronym of "light detection and ranging" or "laser imaging, detection, and ranging") is a method for determining ranging, ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected li ...
technology. The site is estimated to have been built between 1000 and 800 BC, demonstrating that the Maya constructed large, monumental complexes from their early period.


Classic period

The Classic period of Mesoamerican civilisation corresponds to the height of Maya civilisation and is represented by numerous sites throughout Guatemala. The largest concentration is found in Petén. This period is characterised by expanded city-building, the development of independent
city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...
s, and contact with other Mesoamerican cultures. It lasted until around 900 AD, when the Classic Maya civilisation collapsed. The Maya abandoned many cities in the central lowlands, possibly due to a decline brought about by a drought-induced famine. Scientists debate the cause of the Classic Maya Collapse, but the ''Drought Theory''—discovered through the study of lake beds, ancient pollen, and other tangible evidence by physical scientists—has gained traction.


Lidar in Guatemala

In 2018, archaeologists revealed 60,000 previously uncharted structures in northern Guatemala using
Lidar Lidar (, also LIDAR, an acronym of "light detection and ranging" or "laser imaging, detection, and ranging") is a method for determining ranging, ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected li ...
technology. This project applied Lidar across an area of 2,100 square kilometres in the
Maya Biosphere Reserve The Maya Biosphere Reserve () is a nature reserve in Guatemala managed by Guatemala's National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP). The Maya Biosphere Reserve covers an area of 21,602 km2, one-fifth of the country's total land area. The p ...
in the Petén region of Guatemala. The new findings suggest that 7–11 million
Maya people Maya () are an ethnolinguistic group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people who lived w ...
inhabited northern Guatemala during the late classical period from 650 to 800 AD, twice the estimated population of medieval England. Lidar technology digitally removed the tree canopy to uncover ancient remains, showing that Maya cities, such as
Tikal Tikal (; ''Tik'al'' in modern Mayan orthography) is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the Pre-Col ...
, were larger than previously thought. The technology revealed numerous houses, palaces, elevated highways, and defensive fortifications. According to archaeologist Stephen Houston, it represents one of the most significant discoveries in over 150 years of Maya archaeology.


Colonial era

The colonial era in the history of Guatemala spans from 1524, when the Spaniards conquered the region, to 15 September 1821, when Guatemala gained independence from the Spanish Empire.


Spanish conquest of Guatemala

Second-in-command to
Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...
,
Pedro de Alvarado Pedro de Alvarado (; 1485 – 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, ''conquistador'', ''adelantado,'' governor and Captaincy General of Guatemala, captain general of Guatemala.Lovell, Lutz and Swezey 1984, p. 461. He participated in the c ...
was sent to the
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
highlands with 300 Spanish foot soldiers, 120 Spanish horsemen, and several hundred Cholula and Tlascala auxiliaries. Alvarado entered Guatemala from
Soconusco Soconusco is a region in the southwest corner of the state of Chiapas in southeastern Mexico along its border with Guatemala. It is a narrow strip of land wedged between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountains and the Pacific Ocean. It is the sout ...
on the Pacific lowlands, heading for Xetulul Humbatz, Zapotitlán. He initially allied himself with the Kaqchikel nation to fight against their traditional rivals, the K'iche'. Pedro de Alvarado began his conquest in Xepau,
Olintepeque Olintepeque () is a town, with a population of 31,545 (2018 census),Citypopulation.de
Population of cities & t ...
, defeating 72,000 K'iche' men led by Prince
Tecún Umán Tecun UmanAlternate transliterations include Tecún Umán, Tecúm Umán, Tecúm Umam, Tekun Umam, etc. (1500? – February 20, 1524) was one of the last rulers of the K'iche' Maya people, in the Highlands of what is now Guatemala. According to ...
(now Guatemala's national hero). Alvarado then moved to Q'umarkaj, (Utatlán), the K'iche' capital, and burned it on 7 March 1524. He proceeded to
Iximche Iximcheʼ () (or Iximché using Spanish orthography) is a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archaeological site in the western highlands of Guatemala. Iximche was the capital of the Late Postclassic Kaqchikel Maya kingdom from 1470 until its abandon ...
, establishing a base near Tecpán on 25 July 1524. From there, he led several campaigns to other cities, including Chuitinamit, the capital of the Tzutuhils (1524);
Mixco Viejo Mixco Viejo () ("Old Mixco"), occasionally spelt Jilotepeque Viejo, is an archaeological site in the north east of the Chimaltenango department of Guatemala, some to the north of Guatemala City and from the junction of the rivers Pixcaya an ...
, capital of the Poqomam; and
Zaculeu Zaculeu or Saqulew is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the highlands of western Guatemala, about outside the modern city of Huehuetenango. Occupation at the site dates to the Early Classic period (AD 250–600) of Mesoamerica ...
, capital of the Mam (1525). He was named captain general in 1527. Having secured his position, Alvarado turned against his allies, the Kaqchikels, confronting them in several battles until they were subdued in 1530. Battles with other tribes continued until 1548, when the Q'eqchi' in Nueva Sevilla, Izabal, were defeated, leaving the Spanish in complete control of the region. Not all native tribes were subdued through violence;
Bartolomé de las Casas Bartolomé de las Casas, Dominican Order, OP ( ; ); 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a Spanish clergyman, writer, and activist best known for his work as an historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman, then became ...
pacified the Kekchí in
Alta Verapaz Alta Verapaz () is a department in the north central part of Guatemala. The capital and chief city of the department is Cobán. Verapaz is bordered to the north by El Petén, to the east by Izabal, to the south by Zacapa, El Progreso, and ...
without bloodshed. After more than a century of colonisation, mutually independent Spanish authorities in Yucatán and Guatemala made various attempts to subjugate Petén and neighbouring parts of what is now Mexico. In 1697, the Spanish finally conquered
Nojpetén Nojpetén (also spelled Noh Petén, and also known as Tayasal) was the capital city of the Itza people, Itza Maya civilization, Maya kingdom of Peten Itza kingdom, Petén Itzá. It was located on an island in Lake Petén Itzá in the modern depa ...
, capital of the
Itza Maya The Itza are a Maya ethnic group descendants of the Chanes from the Chontal region of Tabasco from where they made a historic migration arriving at Bacalar and northern Yucatán during the 10th century, then they arrived at Champotón and fi ...
, and
Zacpetén Zacpeten is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the northern Petén Department of Guatemala. It is notable as one of the few Maya communities that maintained their independence through the early phases of Spanish control over Mesoameric ...
, capital of the
Kowoj The Kowoj oʔwox(also recorded as ''Ko'woh'', ''Couoh'', ''Coguo'', ''Cohuo'', ''Kob'ow'' and ''Kob'ox'', and ''Kowo'') was a Maya civilization, Maya group and polity, from the Late Postclassic period (ca. 1250–1697) of Mesoamerican chrono ...
Maya. Due to Guatemala's location on the Pacific American coast, it became a trade node in commerce between Asia and Latin America, serving as a supplementary trade route to the
Manila Galleons The Manila galleon (; ) refers to the Spanish trading ships that linked the Philippines in the Spanish East Indies to Mexico (New Spain), across the Pacific Ocean. The ships made one or two round-trip voyages per year between the ports of Man ...
.


Modern era


19th century


Independence and Central American civil war

In 1821, with Fernando VII's power in Spain weakened by French invasions and other conflicts, Mexico declared the
Plan de Iguala The Plan of Iguala, also known as the Plan of the Three Guarantees ("Plan Trigarante") or Act of Independence of North America, was a revolutionary proclamation promulgated on 24 February 1821, in the final stage of the Mexican War of Independenc ...
. This led Mariano Aycinena y Piñol, the
criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system. Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America. * Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...
leader, and the Captain General of the Kingdom of Guatemala, Gabino Gaínza Fernandez de Medrano, to declare Guatemala and the rest of Central America as an independent entity on 15 September 1821. Aycinena y Piñol was one of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence of Central America from the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
. He strongly lobbied for Central America's annexation to the
Mexican Empire Mexican Empire may refer to: * First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire (, ) was a constitutional monarchy and the first independent government of Mexico. It was also the only former viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy af ...
under
Agustín de Iturbide Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), commonly known as Agustín de Iturbide and later by his regnal name Agustín I, was the first Emperor of Mexico from 1822 until his abdication in 1823. An offi ...
, due to its conservative and ecclesiastical nature. In October 1826,
Central American Federation The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...
president Manuel José de Arce y Fagoaga dissolved the Legislature and attempted to establish a Unitarian System for the region, shifting from the Liberal to the Conservative party led by Aycinena. The rest of Central America rejected this system and sought to remove the Aycinena family from power, leading to the Central American Civil War (1826–1829). From this conflict emerged the dominant figure of Honduran general
Francisco Morazán José Francisco Morazán Quesada (; born October 3, 1792 – September 15, 1842) was a liberal Central American politician and general who served as president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1830 to 1839. Before he was president ...
. Mariano Aycinena y Piñol, leader of the Aycinena family and conservative power, was appointed Governor of Guatemala on 1 March 1827 by President
Manuel José Arce Manuel José Arce y Fagoaga (1 January 1787 – 14 December 1847) was a Salvadoran statesman and military officer who served as the first president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1825 to 1829. Background Manuel José Arce wa ...
. The Aycinena regime was dictatorial: it censored the free press, banned books with liberal ideologies, imposed martial law, and reinstated the death penalty retroactively. Mandatory tithing for the
secular clergy In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. Secular priests (sometimes known as diocesan priests) are priests who commit themselves to a certain geograph ...
of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
was also reinstated.


Invasion by General Morazán in 1829

Francisco Morazán José Francisco Morazán Quesada (; born October 3, 1792 – September 15, 1842) was a liberal Central American politician and general who served as president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1830 to 1839. Before he was president ...
and his liberal forces were fighting around San Miguel in
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
, defeating any conservative federal forces sent by Guatemalan general Manuel Arzú from
San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...
. Arzú decided to take matters into his own hands, leaving Colonel Montúfar in charge of San Salvador and pursuing Morazán. Realising Arzú was pursuing him, Morazán retreated to Honduras to seek more volunteers for his army. On 20 September, Manuel Arzú was near the
Lempa River The Lempa River () is a river in Central America. It is a transboundary river shared by El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Geography Its sources are located in between the Sierra Madre and the Sierra del Merendón mountain ranges in southern ...
with 500 men when he learned that the rest of his army had surrendered in
San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...
. Morazán then returned to
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
with a significant force, and General Arzú, feigning illness, fled to
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
, leaving Lieutenant Colonel Antonio de Aycinena in command. Aycinena and his 500 troops were en route to Honduras when they were intercepted by Morazán's forces in San Antonio, resulting in Aycinena's defeat on 9 October. With Aycinena's defeat, there were no more conservative federal troops in
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
. On 23 October, General Morazán triumphantly marched into
San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...
. A few days later, he went to
Ahuachapán Ahuachapán () is a city, district, and the capital of the Ahuachapán Department in western El Salvador. The district, including the city, covers an area of 244.84 km2 and as of 2007 has a population of 110,511 people. Situated near the ...
to organise an army to confront the conservative aristocrats led by Mariano Aycinena y Piñol in Guatemala and to establish a regime favourable to the
Central American Federation The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...
, the vision of the liberal
criollos In Hispanic America, criollo () is a term used originally to describe people of full Spanish descent born in the viceroyalties. In different Latin American countries, the word has come to have different meanings, mostly referring to the local ...
. Upon learning this, Aycinena y Piñol attempted to negotiate with Morazán but was unsuccessful; Morazán was determined to defeat the aristocrats at all costs. After his victory in San Miguelito, Morazán's army grew as many volunteers from Guatemala joined him. On 15 March, while Morazán and his army were en route to reclaim their former positions, they were intercepted by federal troops at Las Charcas. Despite being outnumbered, Morazán held a superior position and decisively defeated the federal forces. The battlefield was littered with corpses, and the allies captured numerous prisoners and weapons. They continued to reclaim their previous positions in
San José Pinula San José Pinula is a town, with a population of 67,327 (2018 census),Citypopulation.de
Population of cities ...
and Aceituno and laid siege to
Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...
once again. General Verveer, the ambassador from the King of the Netherlands and Belgium, who was in Guatemala to negotiate the construction of a transoceanic canal in Nicaragua, attempted to mediate between the State of Guatemala and Morazán but was unsuccessful. Military operations continued with significant success for the allies. To prepare for the siege by Morazán's troops, on 18 March 1829, Aycinena declared martial law, but he was ultimately defeated. On 12 April 1829, Aycinena conceded defeat, and he and Morazán signed an armistice pact. Aycinena and his cabinet members were imprisoned, and the Aycinena family was confined to their mansion. However, Morazán annulled the pact on 20 April, as his true objective was to strip power from the conservatives and the
regular clergy Regular clergy, or just regulars, are clerics in the Catholic Church who follow a rule () of life, and are therefore also members of religious institutes. Secular clergy are clerics who are not bound by a rule of life. Terminology and history ...
of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
in Guatemala, whom Central American leaders resented for their control over commerce and power during the Spanish colonial period.


Liberal rule

A member of the liberal party, Mariano Gálvez was appointed chief of state in 1831. This was during a period of turmoil that made governing difficult. After the expulsion of the conservative leader of the Aycinena family and the
regular clergy Regular clergy, or just regulars, are clerics in the Catholic Church who follow a rule () of life, and are therefore also members of religious institutes. Secular clergy are clerics who are not bound by a rule of life. Terminology and history ...
in 1829, Gálvez was appointed by
Francisco Morazán José Francisco Morazán Quesada (; born October 3, 1792 – September 15, 1842) was a liberal Central American politician and general who served as president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1830 to 1839. Before he was president ...
as Governor of Guatemala in 1831. According to liberal historians
Ramón Rosa Ramón Rosa Soto (15 July 1848 – 28 May 1893) was a lawyer, journalist, politician and liberal writer of the second half of the nineteenth century. He was the ideologue of educational changes of Liberal Reform in Guatemala and then in Hondura ...
and
Lorenzo Montúfar y Rivera Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...
, Gálvez promoted major innovations in all aspects of the administration to make it less dependent on the influence of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. He also made public education independent of the Church, fostered science and the arts, eliminated religious festivals as holidays, founded the National Library and the National Museum, promoted respect for the laws and the rights of citizens, guaranteed freedom of the press and freedom of thought, established civil marriage and divorce, respected freedom of association, and promulgated the Livingston Code (penal code of
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
). Gálvez did this against much opposition from the population who were not used to the fast pace of change; he also initiated judicial reform, reorganized municipal government, and established a general head tax which severely impacted the native population. However, these were all changes that the liberals wanted to implement to eliminate the political and economic power of the aristocrats and of the Catholic Church—whose regular orders were expelled in 1829 and the
secular clergy In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. Secular priests (sometimes known as diocesan priests) are priests who commit themselves to a certain geograph ...
was weakened by abolishing mandatory tithing.
Ramón Rosa Ramón Rosa Soto (15 July 1848 – 28 May 1893) was a lawyer, journalist, politician and liberal writer of the second half of the nineteenth century. He was the ideologue of educational changes of Liberal Reform in Guatemala and then in Hondura ...
and
Lorenzo Montúfar y Rivera Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...
were the ideologists of the liberal trend in both
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
and
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
, respectively, once the Liberal Reform took over power in Guatemala in 1871 and in Honduras in 1876 and their writings were biased against conservatives.
Among his major errors was a contract made with
Marshall Bennett Marshall Bennett ( – October 13, 2018) was an American real estate developer who is credited with developing the modern industrial park. Biography Bennett was born to a Jewish family in Chicago and raised in the South Shore neighborhood. He ...
—commercial partner of Francisco Morazán in the fine wood business—on 6 August 1834; the contract provided that the territories of
Izabal Department Izabal () is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. Its coastal areas form part of the homeland of the Garifuna people. Izabal is bordered to the north by Belize, to the northeast by the Gulf of Honduras, to the east by Honduras, and by th ...
, las Verapaces, Petén, and
Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...
would be colonized within twenty years, but this proved impossible and irritated people who had to deal with "heretics". In February 1835, Gálvez was re-elected for a second term, during which the Asiatic
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
afflicted the country. The secular clergy that was still in the country persuaded the uneducated people of the interior that the disease was caused by the poisoning of the springs by order of the government and turned the complaints against Gálvez into a religious war. Peasant revolts began in 1837, and under chants of "Hurray for the true religion!" and "Down with the heretics!" started growing and spreading. Gálvez asked the National Assembly to transfer the capital of the Federation from Guatemala City to
San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...
. His major opponents were Colonel and Juan de Dios Mayorga; also,
José Francisco Barrundia José Francisco Barrundia y Cepeda (May 12, 1787, Guatemala City – August 4, 1854, New York City) was a liberal Central American politician. From June 26, 1829 to September 16, 1830 he was interim president of the Federal Republic of Centr ...
and Pedro Molina, who had been his friends and party colleagues, came to oppose him in the later years of his government after he violently tried to repress the peasant revolt using a scorched earth approach against rural communities. In 1838,
Antigua Guatemala Antigua Guatemala (), commonly known as Antigua or La Antigua, is a city in the Guatemalan Highlands, central highlands of Guatemala. The city was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 through 1773, with much of its Baroque- ...
,
Chiquimula Chiquimula is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Chiquimula and the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It is located some 174 km from Guatemala City and within Guatemala known as "La p ...
, and
Salamá Salamá is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Baja Verapaz and it is situated at 940 m above sea level. The municipality of Salamá, for which the city of Salamá serves as the administrative centre, covers a total ...
withdrew recognition of his government, and in February of that year
Rafael Carrera José Rafael Carrera y Turcios (24 October 1814 – 14 April 1865) was the president of Guatemala from 1844 to 1848 and from 1851 until his death in 1865, after being appointed President for life in 1854. He ruled during the establishment of ne ...
's revolutionary forces entered Guatemala City asking for the cathedral to be opened to restore order in the Catholic communities,The Cathedral had remained closed since the archbishop and regular clergy had been expelled from Guatemala in 1829. obliging Gálvez to relinquish power. Gálvez remained in the city after he lost power.


Rise of Rafael Carrera

In 1838, the liberal forces of Honduran leader
Francisco Morazán José Francisco Morazán Quesada (; born October 3, 1792 – September 15, 1842) was a liberal Central American politician and general who served as president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1830 to 1839. Before he was president ...
and Guatemalan
José Francisco Barrundia José Francisco Barrundia y Cepeda (May 12, 1787, Guatemala City – August 4, 1854, New York City) was a liberal Central American politician. From June 26, 1829 to September 16, 1830 he was interim president of the Federal Republic of Centr ...
invaded Guatemala and reached San Sur, where they executed Pascual Alvarez, Carrera's father-in-law. They impaled his head on a pike as a warning to all followers of the Guatemalan caudillo. Upon learning of this, Carrera and his wife Petrona—who had come to confront Morazán upon hearing of the invasion and were in Mataquescuintla—swore they would never forgive Morazán, even in death; they found it impossible to respect anyone who would not avenge family members. After sending several envoys, whom Carrera would not receive—especially Barrundia, whom Carrera did not want to murder in cold blood—Morazán began a scorched earth offensive, destroying villages in his path and stripping them of their few assets. The Carrera forces had to hide in the mountains. Believing that Carrera was completely defeated, Morazán and Barrundia marched on to
Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...
, where they were welcomed as saviors by the state governor Pedro Valenzuela and members of the conservative Aycinena Clan. Valenzuela and Barrundia provided Morazán with all the Guatemalan resources needed to address any financial problems he had. The
criollos In Hispanic America, criollo () is a term used originally to describe people of full Spanish descent born in the viceroyalties. In different Latin American countries, the word has come to have different meanings, mostly referring to the local ...
of both parties celebrated until dawn, relieved to have a criollo caudillo like Morazán who could crush the peasant rebellion. Morazán used the proceeds to support Los Altos and then replaced Valenzuela with
Mariano Rivera Paz Mariano Rivera Paz (24 December 1804 – 26 February 1849) was Head of State of Guatemala and its first president. Biography Mariano Rivera Paz was born in Guatemala City and studied law in the Royal and Pontifical University of San Carl ...
, a member of the Aycinena clan. However, Rivera Paz did not return any property confiscated in 1829. In retaliation, Juan José de Aycinena y Piñol voted for the dissolution of the Central American Federation in
San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...
shortly thereafter, forcing Morazán to return to El Salvador to defend his federal mandate. On his way, Morazán increased repression in eastern Guatemala as punishment for aiding Carrera. Knowing that Morazán had gone to El Salvador, Carrera attempted to capture
Salamá Salamá is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Baja Verapaz and it is situated at 940 m above sea level. The municipality of Salamá, for which the city of Salamá serves as the administrative centre, covers a total ...
with the small force that remained but was defeated, losing his brother Laureano in the combat. With only a few men left, he managed to escape, badly wounded, to Sanarate. After partially recovering, he attacked a detachment in Jutiapa and acquired a small amount of booty, which he distributed to his volunteers. He then prepared to assault Petapa, near Guatemala City, where he achieved victory, albeit with heavy casualties. In September of that year, he attempted an assault on Guatemala City, but liberal general
Carlos Salazar Castro Carlos Salazar Castro (1800 in San Salvador, El Salvador – July 23, 1867 in San José, Costa Rica) was a Central American military officer and Liberal politician. Briefly in 1834 he was provisional president of El Salvador, and in 1839 h ...
defeated him in the fields of Villa Nueva, forcing Carrera to retreat. After an unsuccessful attempt to capture Quetzaltenango, Carrera was surrounded and wounded, leading him to capitulate to Mexican General Agustín Guzmán, who had been in Quetzaltenango since Vicente Filísola's arrival in 1823. Morazán had the opportunity to shoot Carrera but chose not to, as he needed the support of the Guatemalan peasants to counter the attacks of
Francisco Ferrera Francisco Ferrera (29 January 1794 – 10 April 1851) was a president of Honduras. He was born in San Juan de Flores, Honduras. Ferrera joined the guerrerista campaigns of General Francisco Morazán and participated brilliantly in the battle ...
in
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
. Instead, Morazán left Carrera in charge of a small fort in Mita, disarmed. Knowing that Morazán was preparing to attack El Salvador,
Francisco Ferrera Francisco Ferrera (29 January 1794 – 10 April 1851) was a president of Honduras. He was born in San Juan de Flores, Honduras. Ferrera joined the guerrerista campaigns of General Francisco Morazán and participated brilliantly in the battle ...
supplied Carrera with arms and ammunition and persuaded him to attack Guatemala City. Meanwhile, despite persistent advice to decisively crush Carrera and his forces, Salazar attempted to negotiate diplomatically. He even demonstrated his lack of fear and distrust of Carrera by removing the fortifications around Guatemala City, which had been in place since the Battle of Villa Nueva. Taking advantage of Salazar's good faith and Ferrera's weapons, Carrera took Guatemala City by surprise on 13 April 1839. Castro Salazar, Mariano Gálvez, and Barrundia fled before Carrera's militiamen arrived. Salazar, in his nightshirt, vaulted over rooftops to seek refuge and eventually reached the border disguised as a peasant. With Salazar gone, Carrera reinstated Rivera Paz as head of state of Guatemala.


Annexation of Los Altos

On 2 April 1838, in the city of
Quetzaltenango Quetzaltenango (, also known by its Maya name Xelajú or Xela ) is a municipality and namesake department in western Guatemala. The city is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of above sea level at its lowest part. It may reach above ...
, a secessionist group founded the independent State of Los Altos, which sought independence from Guatemala. The most prominent members of the Liberal Party of Guatemala and liberal opponents of the conservative regime moved to Los Altos, leaving their exile in El Salvador. The liberals in Los Altos began to criticize the Conservative government of Rivera Paz severely; they even had their own newspaper, ''El Popular'', which contributed to the harsh criticism. Los Altos was the region with the primary production and economic activity of the former state of Guatemala. Without Los Altos, the conservatives lost much of the resources that had given Guatemala hegemony in Central America. The Guatemalan government initially sought a peaceful resolution, but the people of Los Altos,"Altenses" (in English: highlanders) is how people from Quetzaltenango are known in Guatemala. protected by the recognition of the Central American Federation Congress, refused to negotiate. The Guatemalan government then resorted to force, sending Carrera as commanding general of the army to subdue Los Altos. Carrera defeated General Agustín Guzmán when the former Mexican officer attempted to ambush him and then proceeded to
Quetzaltenango Quetzaltenango (, also known by its Maya name Xelajú or Xela ) is a municipality and namesake department in western Guatemala. The city is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of above sea level at its lowest part. It may reach above ...
, where he imposed a harsh conservative regime in place of the liberals. He summoned all council members and warned them that while he was lenient this time, there would be no mercy if they defied him again. Finally, Guzmán and the head of state of Los Altos, Marcelo Molina, were sent to the capital of Guatemala, where they were displayed as trophies of war during a triumphant parade on 17 February 1840; Guzmán was shackled, still with bleeding wounds, and riding a mule. On 18 March 1840, liberal caudillo Morazán invaded Guatemala with 1,500 soldiers to avenge the insult done in Los Altos. Fearing that this action might end liberal efforts to maintain the Central American Federation, Guatemala established a cordon of guards along the border with El Salvador. Without a telegraph service, messengers carried last-minute updates. With the information from these messengers, Carrera devised a defense plan, leaving his brother Sotero in charge of troops who offered only slight resistance in the city. Carrera pretended to flee, leading his ragtag army to the heights of Aceituno with few men, rifles, and two old cannons. The city was left at the mercy of Morazán's army, with bells from twenty churches ringing for divine assistance. Once Morazán reached the capital, he took it easily and freed Guzman, who immediately went to Quetzaltenango to announce Carrera's defeat. Carrera, exploiting his enemies' assumptions, concentrated fire on Central Park and employed surprise attack tactics, causing heavy casualties to Morazán's army and forcing the survivors to fight for their lives.Among those fighting in these battles was the famous Guatemalan poet
José Batres Montúfar José Batres Montúfar (1809–1844) was a Guatemalan poet, politician, engineer and military figure. Monument In 1852, Juan Matheu and Manuel Francisco Pavón Aycinena presented Rafael Carrera with a plan to build a majestic National ...
.
Morazán's soldiers lost their initiative and previous numerical superiority. In unfamiliar surroundings, they had to fight, carry their dead, and care for their wounded while being resentful and tired from the long march from
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
to Guatemala. Carrera, an experienced military leader, was able to defeat Morazán thoroughly. The defeat was complete for the liberal general: aided by Angel Molina—son of Guatemalan Liberal leader
Pedro Molina Mazariegos Pedro José Antonio Molina Mazariegos (April 29, 1777, Guatemala — September 21, 1854) was a Central American politician, considered one of the founders of liberalism in Guatemala. Career At the head of a party named ''Los Cacos'' (The ...
—who knew the city's streets, Morazán fled disguised, shouting "Long live Carrera!" through the ravine of "El Incienso" to El Salvador. In his absence, Morazán was replaced as Head of State and had to go into exile in
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
. In Guatemala, survivors from his troops were shot without mercy, while Carrera unsuccessfully pursued Morazán. This engagement solidified Carrera's position and marked the decline of Morazán, and forced the conservative Aycinena clan
criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system. Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America. * Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...
s to negotiate with Carrera and his peasant revolutionary supporters. Guzmán, who had been freed by Morazán after the latter's apparent victory over Carrera in
Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...
, returned to Quetzaltenango to bring the good news. The city's liberal criollo leaders swiftly reinstated the State of Los Altos and celebrated Morazán's success. However, upon hearing this, Carrera and the newly reinstated
Mariano Rivera Paz Mariano Rivera Paz (24 December 1804 – 26 February 1849) was Head of State of Guatemala and its first president. Biography Mariano Rivera Paz was born in Guatemala City and studied law in the Royal and Pontifical University of San Carl ...
quickly moved to reclaim control over the rebel liberal state. Carrera, with his volunteer army, returned to Quetzaltenango to reassert authority. On 2 April 1840, after entering the city, Carrera reminded the citizens that he had previously warned them after his earlier victory. He then ordered the execution of most of the liberal city hall officials from Los Altos and forcibly annexed Quetzaltenango and much of Los Altos back into conservative Guatemala. Following the violent reinstatement of Los Altos by Carrera in April 1840,
Luis Batres Juarros Luis Batres Juarros or Luis Batres y Juarros ( New Guatemala de la Asunción 7 May 1802 – 17 June 1862) was an influential conservative Guatemalan politician during the regime of General Rafael Carrera. Member of the Aycinena clan, was in c ...
, a conservative member of the Aycinena Clan and secretary general of the Guatemalan government under the recently reinstated
Mariano Rivera Paz Mariano Rivera Paz (24 December 1804 – 26 February 1849) was Head of State of Guatemala and its first president. Biography Mariano Rivera Paz was born in Guatemala City and studied law in the Royal and Pontifical University of San Carl ...
, obtained authorization from Vicar Larrazabal to dismantle the regionalist Church. Priests from
Quetzaltenango Quetzaltenango (, also known by its Maya name Xelajú or Xela ) is a municipality and namesake department in western Guatemala. The city is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of above sea level at its lowest part. It may reach above ...
—the capital of the short-lived State of Los Altos—including Urban Ugarte and his coadjutor José Maria Aguilar, as well as priests from San Martin Jilotepeque and
San Lucas Tolimán San Lucas Tolimán is a municipality in the Sololá department of Guatemala. The town of 17,000 people sits on the southeastern shore of Lago de Atitlán. The population is 90–95% Highland Maya. There is a population of about the same size livin ...
, were removed from their parishes. Larrazabal assigned priests Fernando Antonio Dávila, Mariano Navarrete, and José Ignacio Iturrioz to cover the parishes of Quetzaltenango, San Martin Jilotepeque, and San Lucas Tolimán, respectively. The defeat and execution of the liberal criollos in Quetzaltenango bolstered Carrera's standing with the local population, whom he respected and protected. In 1840, Belgium began supporting Carrera's independence movement as a means to exert influence in Central America. The ''Compagnie belge de colonisation'' (Belgian Colonization Company), commissioned by Belgian King Leopold I, became the administrator of
Santo Tomas de Castilla Santo ('saint' in various languages) may refer to: People * Santo (given name) * Santo (surname) * El Santo, Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (1917–1984), Mexican wrestler and actor * Bob Santo or Santo, stage name of Ghanaian comedian John Evans Kwadw ...
, replacing the unsuccessful British
Eastern Coast of Central America Commercial and Agricultural Company The Eastern Coast of Central America Commercial and Agricultural Company was a failed British venture of the 1830s to exploit logging and promote colonisation in a region of what is now northern Guatemala. History The company was set up as a projec ...
. Although the colony eventually failed, Belgium continued to support Carrera into the mid-19th century, though Britain remained the primary business and political partner for Carrera. Rafael Carrera was elected Governor of Guatemala in 1844. On 21 March 1847, Guatemala declared itself an independent republic, and Carrera became its first president. During his first term as president, Carrera shifted the country from extreme conservatism to a more traditional moderation. In 1848, after months of turmoil, the liberals managed to oust him from office. Carrera willingly resigned and left for Mexico. The new liberal regime, aligned with the Aycinena family, quickly passed a law sentencing Carrera to death if he returned to Guatemalan soil. In
Quetzaltenango Quetzaltenango (, also known by its Maya name Xelajú or Xela ) is a municipality and namesake department in western Guatemala. The city is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of above sea level at its lowest part. It may reach above ...
, liberal criollos, led by General
Agustín Guzmán Agustín Guzmán López (Early 1800s – October 1849), nicknamed "The Altense Hero", was a liberal Central American military general, politician and positivist, who was appointed as Army Commander in Chief of the State of Los Altos when it wa ...
, took control after Corregidor General Mariano Paredes was called to
Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...
to assume the presidency. On 26 August 1848, they declared Los Altos an independent state once again, with support from Vasconcelos' regime in
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
and the rebel guerrilla army led by Vicente and Serapio Cruz, sworn enemies of Carrera. The interim government, headed by Guzmán, included Florencio Molina and the priest Fernando Dávila as Cabinet members. On 5 September 1848, the altenses criollos elected a formal government under Fernando Antonio Martínez. Meanwhile, Carrera returned to Guatemala through
Huehuetenango Huehuetenango () is a city and municipality in the highlands of western Guatemala. It is also the capital of the department of Huehuetenango. The city is situated from Guatemala City, and is the last departmental capital on the Pan-American Hi ...
, where he met native leaders and urged them to unite to prevail. The leaders agreed, and gradually, the segregated native communities began developing a new
Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
identity under Carrera's leadership. In the eastern region of Guatemala, particularly Jalapa, tensions escalated; former president
Mariano Rivera Paz Mariano Rivera Paz (24 December 1804 – 26 February 1849) was Head of State of Guatemala and its first president. Biography Mariano Rivera Paz was born in Guatemala City and studied law in the Royal and Pontifical University of San Carl ...
and rebel leader Vicente Cruz were both murdered there in 1849 while attempting to take over the Corregidor office. Upon Carrera's arrival in
Chiantla Chiantla () is a town and municipality in the Guatemalan department of Huehuetenango. The municipality is situated at 2,000 metres above sea level and covers an area of 521 km2. The annual festival is on January 28. History Mercedarian ...
,
Huehuetenango Huehuetenango () is a city and municipality in the highlands of western Guatemala. It is also the capital of the department of Huehuetenango. The city is situated from Guatemala City, and is the last departmental capital on the Pan-American Hi ...
, two emissaries from Los Altos informed him that their soldiers would not fight his forces, fearing an indigenous revolt similar to the one in 1840. They only requested that Carrera keep the indigenous people under control. However, the altenses did not comply, and led by Guzmán, they began pursuing Carrera, who, with the help of his native allies, went into hiding and remained under their protection while
Miguel García Granados Miguel García Granados y Zavala (29 September 1809 – 8 September 1878) was a Spanish-born Guatemalan politician and military general who served as President of Guatemala from 1871 to 1873. Early life García Granados was born in El ...
’ forces searched for him. Upon learning that officer
José Víctor Zavala José Víctor Ramón Valentín de las Ánimas Zavala y Córdova (November 2, 1815 – March 26, 1886) was a Guatemalan Field Marshal who participated in the wars of Rafael Carrera and the National War of Nicaragua against the invasion of Willia ...
had been appointed Corregidor of
Suchitepéquez Department Suchitepéquez () is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. Its capital is Mazatenango. It is situated in the southwestern region of Guatemala, bordering Quetzaltenango, Sololá, and Chimaltenango to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the so ...
, Carrera and his hundred jacalteco bodyguards crossed a dangerous, jaguar-infested jungle to meet his former friend. When they met, Zavala not only refrained from capturing him but also agreed to serve under his command, sending a strong message to both liberals and conservatives in Guatemala City that they would either have to negotiate with Carrera or fight on two fronts—Quetzaltenango and Jalapa. Carrera returned to the Quetzaltenango area while Zavala remained in Suchitepéquez as a tactical maneuver. Carrera received a visit from a Cabinet member of Paredes and assured him that he had control over the native population, promising Paredes that he would keep them appeased. When the emissary returned to Guatemala City, he reported that Carrera had significant control over the natives and described their forces as formidable. Guzmán went to
Antigua Guatemala Antigua Guatemala (), commonly known as Antigua or La Antigua, is a city in the Guatemalan Highlands, central highlands of Guatemala. The city was the capital of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1543 through 1773, with much of its Baroque- ...
to meet with another group of Paredes emissaries. They agreed that Los Altos would rejoin Guatemala and that the latter would help Guzmán defeat his hated enemy and build a port on the Pacific Ocean. Guzmán felt confident in his plan, but it fell apart when, in his absence, Carrera and his native allies occupied Quetzaltenango. Carrera appointed Ignacio Yrigoyen as Corregidor and persuaded him to collaborate with the K'iche', Mam, and Q'anjobal leaders to maintain control of the region. As Yrigoyen departed, he remarked to a friend, "Now he is truly the King of the Indians!" Guzmán then traveled to Jalapa, where he struck a deal with the rebels. Meanwhile,
Luis Batres Juarros Luis Batres Juarros or Luis Batres y Juarros ( New Guatemala de la Asunción 7 May 1802 – 17 June 1862) was an influential conservative Guatemalan politician during the regime of General Rafael Carrera. Member of the Aycinena clan, was in c ...
convinced President Paredes to negotiate with Carrera. Within months, Carrera returned to Guatemala City as commander-in-chief, supported by the military and political backing of the Indian communities from the densely populated western highlands. During his first presidency, from 1844 to 1848, Carrera transitioned the country from excessive conservatism to a moderate regime. With advice from Juan José de Aycinena y Piñol and Pedro de Aycinena, he restored relations with the Church in Rome through a Concordat ratified in 1854. He also maintained peace between the native and criollo populations, with the criollos fearing an uprising similar to the one occurring in Yucatán at the time.


Caste War of Yucatán

In Yucatán, then an independent republic north of Guatemala, a war broke out between the Maya and the criollo people. This conflict appeared to stem from the defense of communal lands against the expansion of private ownership, exacerbated by the boom in the production of
henequen ''Agave fourcroydes'' or henequen is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to southern Mexico and Guatemala. It is reportedly naturalized in Madeira, Italy, the Canary Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Hispaniola, the Cayman I ...
, an industrial fiber used to make rope. After realizing the plant's value, wealthier Yucateco criollos began cultivating it on plantations starting in 1833. Shortly after the henequen boom, there was a surge in sugar production, generating even more wealth. Both the sugar and henequen plantations encroached on indigenous communal lands, and Maya workers recruited to labor on the plantations were mistreated and underpaid. However, in their correspondence with
British Honduras British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973
, rebel leaders frequently pointed to taxation as the immediate cause of the war. For instance, in 1848, Jacinto Pat wrote, "What we want is liberty and not oppression, because before we were subjugated with the many contributions and taxes that they imposed on us." Pat's companion, Cecilio Chi, added in 1849 that Santiago Imán, the rebel leader, had promised to "liberate the Indians from the payment of contributions," which was a reason for resisting the central government. However, in practice, he continued imposing taxes. In June 1847, Méndez discovered that a large force of armed Maya, along with supplies, had gathered at the Culumpich, a property owned by Jacinto Pat, the Maya '' batab'' (leader), near Valladolid. Fearing a revolt, Méndez arrested
Manuel Antonio Ay Manuel Antonio Ay (c. 1817– July 26, 1847) was a Yucatec Maya peoples, Maya military leader and revolutionary, and chief of the village of Chichimilá Municipality, Chichimilá. Life Ay was the batab of Chichimilá. He would often help indigeno ...
, the principal Maya leader of Chichimilá, accused him of planning an uprising, and executed him in the town square of Valladolid. Méndez also searched for other insurgents, burning the town of Tepich and repressing its residents. In the following months, several Maya towns were looted, and many people were arbitrarily killed. In his 1849 letter, Cecilio Chi noted that Santiago Méndez had come to "put every Indian, big and little, to death," but the Maya had retaliated, writing, "It has pleased God and good fortune that a much greater portion of them hitesthan of the Maya ave died" Cecilio Chi, the Maya leader of Tepich, along with Jacinto Pat, attacked Tepich on 30 July 1847 in response to the indiscriminate massacre of Mayas and declared war on the entire non-Maya population in the region. By the spring of 1848, Maya forces had taken control of most of Yucatán, except for the walled cities of
Campeche Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...
and Mérida, and the southwestern coast, where Yucatecan troops maintained control of the road from Mérida to the port of
Sisal Sisal (, ; ''Agave sisalana'') is a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico, but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a stiff fibre used in making rope and various other products. The sisal fiber is ...
. The Yucatecan governor
Miguel Barbachano Miguel Barbachano y Tarrazo (29 September 1807 – 17 December 1859) (Baqueiro 1896) was a liberal Yucatecan politician, who was 5 times governor of Yucatán between 1841 and 1853. Miguel Barbachano y Tarrazo was born in the city of Campech ...
had prepared a decree for the evacuation of Mérida, but was delayed in publishing it due to the lack of suitable paper in the besieged capital. However, the decree became unnecessary when republican troops unexpectedly broke the siege and launched a major offensive, making significant advances. Governor Barbachano sought allies wherever he could, including Cuba (on behalf of Spain), Jamaica (for the United Kingdom), and the United States, but none of these foreign powers intervened, though the matter was taken seriously enough to be debated in the U.S. Congress. Consequently, Barbachano turned to Mexico and accepted a return to Mexican authority. Yucatán was officially reunited with Mexico on 17 August 1848. Yucateco forces, aided by fresh guns, money, and troops from Mexico, rallied and pushed the Indigenous people back from more than half of the state. By 1850, the Maya occupied two distinct regions in the southeast, inspired to continue their struggle by the apparition of the "Talking Cross." This apparition, believed to be a divine communication with the Maya, dictated that the war should persist. ''Chan Santa Cruz'' (Small Holy Cross) became the religious and political center of the Maya resistance, imbuing the rebellion with religious significance. It also became the name of the largest independent Maya state and its capital, which is now
Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo Felipe Carrillo Puerto is the municipal seat and largest city in Felipe Carrillo Puerto Municipality in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 25,744 persons, mostly of Maya descent.
. The followers of the Cross were known as the "Cruzob." The Yucatán government declared the war over in 1855, but hopes for peace were premature. Regular skirmishes and occasional major deadly assaults into each other's territories continued from both sides. The
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...
recognized the Chan Santa Cruz Maya as a "de facto" independent nation, partly due to significant trade between Chan Santa Cruz and
British Honduras British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973
.


Battle of La Arada

After Carrera returned from exile in 1849, Vasconcelos granted asylum to Guatemalan liberals, who harassed the Guatemalan government in various ways. José Francisco Barrundia did so through a liberal newspaper established for that purpose, while Vasconcelos supported the rebel faction "La Montaña" in eastern Guatemala by distributing money and weapons for a whole year. By late 1850, Vasconcelos, growing impatient with the slow progress of the war with Guatemala, decided to plan an open attack. In this context, the Salvadoran head of state launched a campaign against the conservative Guatemalan regime, inviting
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
and
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
to join the alliance; only Honduras, under
Juan Lindo Juan Nepomuceno Fernández Lindo y Zelaya, generally known as Juan Lindo (16 May 1790 – 23 April 1857), was a conservative Central American politician, provisional president of the Republic of El Salvador from 1841 to 1842, and President ...
, accepted. Meanwhile, in Guatemala, where the invasion plans were well known, President Mariano Paredes began taking precautions to face the threat, while Guatemalan Archbishop
Francisco de Paula García Peláez Francisco de Paula García y Peláez (April 2, 1785 – January 25, 1867) was a Guatemalan historian and economist who served as Archbishop of Guatemala from 1845 until his death. As a historian, García Peláez was commissioned to write histo ...
ordered peace prayers throughout the archdiocese."In the Conservative regime of Guatemala, the Catholic Church was entangled with the Government, and the leaders of both were mostly relatives of the Aycinena family. In: Woodward (1993). ''Rafael Carrera and the Emergence of the Republic of Guatemala''. On 4 January 1851,
Doroteo Vasconcelos Doroteo Vasconcelos Vides y Ladrón de Guevara (February 6, 1803–March 10, 1883) was President of El Salvador 7 February 1848 - 1 February 1850 and 4 February 1850 – 1 March 1851. Vasconcelos was close friend of Honduran general Francisc ...
and Juan Lindo met in
Ocotepeque Ocotepeque is a municipality in the Honduran department of Ocotepeque. The town of Nueva Ocotepeque is the municipal seat and the capital of the department. The department borders two countries, Guatemala and El Salvador and covers 1,630&nb ...
, Honduras, where they signed an alliance against Guatemala. The Salvadoran army, comprising 4,000 men, was well-trained, armed, and supported by artillery, while the Honduran army numbered 2,000 men. The coalition army was stationed in
Metapán Metapán is a city and municipality in the Santa Ana department of El Salvador. Metapán is situated in the northern part of the department, bordering Honduras and Guatemala. It is the second largest city in the department after Santa Ana and ...
, El Salvador, near the Guatemalan and Honduran borders. On 28 January 1851, Vasconcelos sent a letter to the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Relations demanding that the Guatemalan president relinquish power, allowing the alliance to designate a new head of state loyal to the liberals, and that Carrera be exiled, escorted by a Salvadoran regiment to any of the Guatemalan southern ports. The Guatemalan government refused these terms, prompting the Allied army to invade Guatemalan territory at three different points. On 29 January, a 500-man contingent led by General Vicente Baquero entered through Piñuelas, Agua Blanca and
Jutiapa Jutiapa is a city and a municipality in the Jutiapa department of Guatemala. Located 124 km from the city of Guatemala City, at an altitude of 892 m (2,926 ft), it is the capital of the department of Jutiapa. Its Catedral San Crist ...
, while the main invading force marched from Metapán. The Allied army, composed of 4,500 men under Vasconcelos as Commander in Chief, included other commanders such as generals
José Santos Guardiola José Santos Guardiola Bustillo (1 November 181611 January 1862) was a two-term President of Honduras. He is the only President of Honduras to be assassinated while in office in a crime committed by his personal guard. Early life José San ...
, Ramón Belloso,
José Trinidad Cabañas José Trinidad Cabañas Fiallos (9 June 1805– 8 January 1871) was a liberal Honduran military general and politician who served as President of Honduras on two separate occasions: From 1 March to 6 July 1852. And 31 December 1853 to 6 J ...
, and
Gerardo Barrios José Gerardo Barrios Espinoza (September/October 1813 – 29 August 1865) was a Salvadoran military officer and politician who served as president of El Salvador on three occasions between June 1858 and his overthrow in October 1863. Born in 1 ...
. Guatemala, with 2,000 men, was led by Lieutenant General Carrera as Commander in Chief, supported by several colonels. Carrera's strategy involved feigning a retreat, drawing the enemy into a location of his choosing. On 1 February 1851, both armies faced each other, separated only by the San José River. Carrera had fortified the foothills of La Arada, whose summit rose approximately 50 meters above the river. A meadow 300 meters wide lay between the hill and the river, bordered by a sugar cane plantation. Carrera divided his forces into three sections: the left wing led by Cerna and Solares, the right wing by Bolaños, and he himself led the central battalion, placing his artillery there. Five hundred men remained in
Chiquimula Chiquimula is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Chiquimula and the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It is located some 174 km from Guatemala City and within Guatemala known as "La p ...
to defend the city and assist in case of a retreat, leaving only 1,500 Guatemalans against the 4,500-strong Allied force. The battle began at 8:30 a.m. with the Allied troops launching an attack at three points, and both sides engaged in intense fire. The first Allied attack was repelled by the defenders on the foothill; during the second attack, the Allied troops managed to take the first line of trenches but were eventually expelled. The third attack saw the Allied forces advance to the point where the battle turned into a mêlée, making it hard to distinguish between Guatemalan and Allied troops. At this critical moment, Carrera ordered the sugar cane plantation surrounding the meadow to be set ablaze. The invading forces were now surrounded—facing Guatemalan firepower at the front, a blazing inferno on the flanks, and the river behind, making retreat nearly impossible. The central division of the Allied army panicked and began a disorderly retreat, soon followed by the rest of the Allied troops. The 500 men of the Guatemalan rearguard pursued the remnants of the Allied army, which fled desperately toward the borders of their respective countries. The final count of Allied losses was 528 dead, 200 prisoners, 1,000 rifles, 13,000 rounds of ammunition, numerous pack animals and baggage, 11 drums, and seven artillery pieces. Vasconcelos sought refuge in
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
, while two generals, mounted on the same horse, were seen crossing the Honduran border. Carrera regrouped his army and crossed into Salvadoran territory, occupying Santa Ana, before receiving orders from Guatemalan President Mariano Paredes to return to Guatemala, as the Allies were requesting a cease-fire and a peace treaty.


Concordat of 1854

The Concordat of 1854 was an international treaty between Carrera and the
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
, signed in 1852 and ratified in 1854. Through this agreement, Guatemala entrusted the education of its people to the Catholic Church's religious orders, pledged to respect ecclesiastical property and monasteries, imposed mandatory tithing, and allowed bishops to censor publications. In return, Guatemala received dispensations for military personnel, permitted those who had acquired Church property confiscated by the liberals in 1829 to retain it, received taxes generated by Church properties, and retained the right to judge certain clergy crimes under Guatemalan law. The concordat, designed by Juan José de Aycinena y Piñol, not only reestablished but also strengthened the Church-State relationship in Guatemala. It remained in effect until the fall of Field Marshal
Vicente Cerna y Cerna Vicente Cerna y Cerna (22 January 1815 – 27 June 1885) was president of Guatemala from 24 May 1865 to 29 June 1871. Loyal friend and comrade of Rafael Carrera, was appointed army's Field Marshal after Carraera's victory against Salvadorian lea ...
's conservative government. In 1854, on the initiative of
Manuel Francisco Pavón Aycinena Manuel Francisco Pavón Aycinena (January 30, 1798 – April 19, 1855) was a conservative Guatemalan politician during the regime of General Rafael Carrera. He was influential in the founding of the government's executive branch and held several ...
, Carrera was declared "supreme and perpetual leader of the nation" for life, with the power to choose his successor. He held this position until his death on 14 April 1865. While he took steps to establish economic prosperity to appease conservative landowners, military challenges—both domestic and in a three-year war with
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
, El Salvador, and
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
—dominated his presidency. His rivalry with
Gerardo Barrios José Gerardo Barrios Espinoza (September/October 1813 – 29 August 1865) was a Salvadoran military officer and politician who served as president of El Salvador on three occasions between June 1858 and his overthrow in October 1863. Born in 1 ...
, President of El Salvador, escalated into open war in 1863. At Coatepeque, the Guatemalans suffered a significant defeat, followed by a truce. Honduras allied with El Salvador, while Nicaragua and
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
sided with Guatemala. Ultimately, the conflict was settled in Carrera's favor, as he besieged and occupied San Salvador and gained control over Honduras and Nicaragua. He remained aligned with the Clerical Party and maintained friendly relations with European governments. Before his death, Carrera nominated his friend and loyal soldier, Army Marshal Vicente Cerna y Cerna, as his successor.


Wyke-Aycinena treaty

The Belize region, originally Maya territory in the
Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...
, was never occupied by either Spain or Guatemala. Spain conducted some exploratory expeditions in the 16th century that formed the basis for its claim to the area. Guatemala inherited this claim but never sent an expedition to the region after gaining independence from Spain, due to the ensuing Central American civil war that lasted until 1860. The British had established a small settlement there by the mid-17th century, primarily as quarters for
buccaneers Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailors, and pirates particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 unti ...
and later for wood production. Although these settlements were never formally recognized as British colonies, they were somewhat under the jurisdiction of the British government in Jamaica. In the 18th century, Belize became a major smuggling center for Central America, despite British acceptance of Spanish sovereignty over the region through treaties signed in 1783 and 1786. These treaties granted a ceasefire and authorized British subjects to work in the forests of Belize. After 1821, Belize emerged as a key point for Britain's commercial interests in the isthmus. British commercial brokers established themselves and developed prosperous trade routes through the Caribbean harbors of Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. When Carrera came to power in 1840, he ceased the complaints about Belize and established a Guatemalan consulate in the region to oversee Guatemalan interests. Belize's commerce flourished until 1855, when the construction of a transoceanic railway by the Colombians improved trade efficiency between the oceans, leading to a decline in Belize's commercial importance. During the
Caste War of Yucatán The Caste War of Yucatán or ''ba'atabil kichkelem Yúum'' (1847–1915) began with the revolt of Indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous Maya peoples, Maya people of the Yucatán Peninsula against Hispanic populations, called ''Yucatecos''. Th ...
in the
Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...
, Belize and Guatemalan representatives were on high alert. Yucatán refugees fled into both Guatemala and Belize, and Belize's superintendent feared that Carrera, given his strong alliance with Guatemalan natives, might support the native uprisings. In the 1850s, the British worked to resolve territorial disputes with Central American countries. They withdrew from the Mosquito Coast in
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
, initiating talks that culminated in the return of the territory to Nicaragua in 1894. They also returned the Bay Islands to
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
and negotiated with the American
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...
William Walker William Walker may refer to: Arts * William Walker (engraver) (1791–1867), mezzotint engraver of portrait of Robert Burns * William Sidney Walker (1795–1846), English Shakespearean critic * William Walker (composer) (1809–1875), American Bap ...
to prevent his invasion of Honduras. They also signed a treaty with Guatemala concerning Belize's borders, which some Guatemalans have since referred to as the worst mistake made by Rafael Carrera.
Pedro de Aycinena y Piñol Pedro de Aycinena y Piñol (19 October 1802 – 14 May 1897) was a Guatemalan conservative politician and member of the Aycinena clan that worked closely with the conservative regime of Rafael Carrera. He was interim president of Guatemala in 186 ...
, as Foreign Secretary, made significant efforts to maintain good relations with
the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
. In 1859, with Walker threatening Central America once more, Carrera's regime had to negotiate with the British over Belize to secure the necessary weapons. On 30 April 1859, the Wyke-Aycinena Treaty was signed between British and Guatemalan representatives. The treaty comprised two main parts: * The first six articles clearly defined the Guatemala-Belize border, with Guatemala acknowledging British sovereignty over Belize. * The seventh article addressed the construction of a road between Guatemala City and the Caribbean coast. This road was intended to benefit both parties: Belize needed a route to the Pacific coast to enhance its commercial relevance, while Guatemala sought improved communication with its Atlantic coast. However, the road was never built due to disagreements over its location and the subsequent change in government in Guatemala in 1871, which led the liberal government to declare the treaty void. Among those who signed the treaty was
José Milla y Vidaurre José Milla y Vidaurre (August 4, 1822 in Guatemala City, First Mexican Empire — Guatemala City, Guatemala September 30, 1882) was a notable Guatemalan writer of the 19th century. He was also known by the name Pepe Milla and the pseudonym Salom ...
, who was working with Aycinena in the Foreign Ministry at the time. Carrera ratified the treaty on 1 May 1859, and Charles Lennox Wyke, British consul in Guatemala, secured royal approval in Great Britain on 26 September 1859. American consul Beverly Clarke, along with some liberal representatives, objected, but the issue was resolved. In 1850, Guatemala's population was estimated at 600,000. Guatemala's "Liberal Revolution" occurred in 1871 under the leadership of
Justo Rufino Barrios Justo Rufino Barrios Auyón (19 July 1835 – 2 April 1885) was a Guatemalan politician and military general who served as President of Guatemala from 1873 to his death in 1885. He was known for his liberal reforms and his attempts to reun ...
, who aimed to modernize the country, improve trade, and introduce new crops and manufacturing. During this period, coffee became an important crop for Guatemala. Barrios also had ambitions of reuniting Central America and waged war in an unsuccessful attempt to achieve this goal, ultimately losing his life on the battlefield in El Salvador in 1885.


Justo Rufino Barrios government

The Conservative government in
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
supported a group of Guatemalan Conservatives seeking to reclaim control of their government, prompting Barrios to declare war on Honduras. Concurrently, Barrios, along with President
Luis Bogran Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...
of
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
, declared their intention to reunify the old
United Provinces of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...
. During his tenure, Barrios pursued the liberal reforms initiated by García Granados but was more aggressive in their implementation. A summary of his reforms includes: * Definitive separation between Church and State: He expelled the
regular clergy Regular clergy, or just regulars, are clerics in the Catholic Church who follow a rule () of life, and are therefore also members of religious institutes. Secular clergy are clerics who are not bound by a rule of life. Terminology and history ...
, similar to Morazán's actions in 1829, and confiscated their properties. :: * Forbidden mandatory tithing to weaken
secular clergy In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. Secular priests (sometimes known as diocesan priests) are priests who commit themselves to a certain geograph ...
members and the archbishop. * Established civil marriage as the only official form of marriage in the country. * Created secular cemeteries. * Made civil records supersede religious ones. * Implemented secular education across the country. * Established free and mandatory elementary schools. * Closed the Pontifical University of San Carlos and created the secular National University in its place. Barrios had a National Congress entirely devoted to his will, enabling him to create a new constitution in 1879 that allowed for his reelection as president for another six-year term. He was also intolerant of political opponents, forcing many to flee the country and constructing the infamous Guatemalan Central Penitentiary, where numerous individuals were incarcerated and tortured. During Barrios' tenure, the lands of the Maya, which had been strongly defended by the conservative regime of
Rafael Carrera José Rafael Carrera y Turcios (24 October 1814 – 14 April 1865) was the president of Guatemala from 1844 to 1848 and from 1851 until his death in 1865, after being appointed President for life in 1854. He ruled during the establishment of ne ...
, were confiscated and redistributed among the officers who had supported him during the Liberal Revolution of 1871. Decree #170 (also known as the Census Redemption Decree) facilitated the confiscation of these lands in favor of army officers and German settlers in Verapaz by allowing the public sale of Maya communal lots. Consequently, a fundamental characteristic of the productive system during Barrios' regime was the concentration of large tracts of land among a few owners and a form of "farmland servitude" based on the exploitation of Maya day laborers. To ensure a steady supply of day laborers for the coffee plantations, Barrios' government enacted the ''Day Laborer Regulations'', which placed the entire native population at the disposal of both new and traditional Guatemalan landlords. The regular clergy, eventually expelled from the country and stripped of their properties, were exempt from this legislation. The decree stipulated the following for native Guatemalans: # They were legally obligated to work on farms when required by the owners, regardless of their native towns' locations. # They were under the control of local authorities, who ensured that laborers were dispatched to farms as needed. # They were subject to ''habilitation'': a form of forced advance payment that entrenched them in debt, allowing landlords to retain them on their land indefinitely. # The ''day laborer booklet'': a document verifying that a laborer had no debts to their employer. Without this booklet, laborers were vulnerable to exploitation by local authorities and landlords. In 1879, Guatemala ratified its first constitution as an independent nation, replacing the previous decree-based rule of the Conservador regime. In 1880, Barrios was reelected President for a six-year term. He unsuccessfully sought U.S. mediation to resolve the disputed boundary between Guatemala and Mexico.


Government of Manuel Lisandro Barillas

General
Manuel Lisandro Barillas Bercián Manuel Lisandro Barillas Bercián (17 January 1845 – 7 April 1907) was a Guatemalan general and acting president of Guatemala from 6 April 1885 to 15 March 1886 and President from 16 March 1886 to 15 March 1892. He was born in Quetzaltenango, ...
became interim president of
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
following the death of President
Justo Rufino Barrios Justo Rufino Barrios Auyón (19 July 1835 – 2 April 1885) was a Guatemalan politician and military general who served as President of Guatemala from 1873 to his death in 1885. He was known for his liberal reforms and his attempts to reun ...
in the Battle of Chalchuapa in
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
in April 1885 and the resignation of first designate
Alejandro Manuel Sinibaldi Castro Alejandro Manuel Sinibaldi Castro (1825–1896) was acting President of Guatemala from April 2, 1885, to April 5, 1885. Biography Of partial Italian descent, Sinibaldi Castro was a businessman who was "First Designate to the Presidency", ...
. He executed a clever scheme: he visited the General Cemetery during Barrios's funeral and told the president of Congress, "Please prepare room and board for the 5,000 troops that I have waiting for my orders in Mixco." Fearing the threat, the Congress president declared Barillas interim president on the spot. By the time the deception was discovered, it was too late to reverse the decision. Instead of calling for elections, as required, Barillas Bercián was declared President on 16 March 1886 and served until 1892. During Barillas's government, the Carrera Theater was remodeled to commemorate the fourth centennial of the Discovery of America. The Italian community in Guatemala donated a statue of
Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...
(Cristóbal Colón in Spanish), which was placed next to the theater. The venue was henceforth known as the "Colón Theater". In 1892, Barillas called for elections to attend to his personal affairs. This was the first election in Guatemala where candidates were allowed to campaign in local newspapers. Barillas Bercián was unique among Guatemalan liberal presidents from 1871 to 1944 for peacefully transferring power to his successor. As elections approached, he invited the three Liberal candidates to present their government plans. Satisfied with the proposal from General Reyna Barrios, Barillas ensured that a large group of Indigenous people from Quetzaltenango and Totonicapán were mobilised to vote for Reyna Barrios. Reyna was elected president. To avoid offending the losing candidates, Barillas provided them with checks to cover their campaign expenses. Reyna Barrios assumed the presidency on 15 March 1892.


20th century

In the 1890s, the United States began implementing the
Monroe Doctrine The Monroe Doctrine is a foreign policy of the United States, United States foreign policy position that opposes European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. It holds that any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by foreign ...
, expelling European
colonial powers Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an imperialist project, colonialism can also take ...
and establishing U.S. hegemony over resources and labor in Latin American nations. The dictators who ruled Guatemala during the late 19th and early 20th centuries were generally very accommodating to U.S. business and political interests. Consequently, unlike other Latin American nations such as Haiti, Nicaragua, and Cuba, the U.S. did not need to use overt military force to maintain dominance in Guatemala. The Guatemalan military and police worked closely with the
U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...
and
State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
to secure U.S. interests. The Guatemalan government exempted several U.S. corporations from paying taxes, particularly the
United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (later the United Brands Company) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was ...
, privatized and sold off publicly owned utilities, and transferred large tracts of public land.


Manuel Estrada Cabrera regime (1898–1920)

After the assassination of General
José María Reina Barrios José María Reyna Barrios (December 24, 1854 – February 8, 1898) was President of Guatemala from March 15, 1892 until his assassination on February 8, 1898. He was a moderate of Guatemala's Liberal Party, who worked to solidify the less ...
on 8 February 1898, the Guatemalan cabinet convened an emergency meeting to appoint a new successor but did not invite
Estrada Cabrera Manuel José Estrada Cabrera (21 November 1857 – 24 September 1924) was the President of Guatemala from 1898 to 1920. A lawyer with no military background, he modernised the country's industry and transportation infrastructure, via granting c ...
to the meeting, despite him being the First Designated to the Presidency. There are two versions of how he managed to become president: * (a) Estrada Cabrera entered "with pistol drawn" to assert his entitlement to the presidency * (b) Estrada Cabrera showed up unarmed and demanded the presidency, asserting his position as the First Designated The first Guatemalan head of state from civilian life in over 50 years, Estrada Cabrera overcame resistance to his regime by August 1898 and called for September elections, which he won handily. At that time, Estrada Cabrera was 44 years old; he was stocky, of medium height, dark, and broad-shouldered. His mustache gave him a plebeian appearance. He had dark eyes, a metallic voice, and a rather sullen, brooding mien. His courage and character were evident on the night Reina Barrios died, when he stood in front of the ministers meeting in the Government Palace to choose a successor and said: ''Gentlemen, let me please sign this decree. As First Designated, you must hand me the Presidency.'' His first decree was a general
amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...
, and his second was to reopen all elementary schools closed by Reina Barrios , both administrative and political measures aimed at gaining public support. Estrada Cabrera was almost unknown in the political circles of the capital, and the nature of his government and his intentions were unclear. In 1898, the Legislature convened to elect President Estrada Cabrera, who triumphed due to the significant number of soldiers and policemen who voted in civilian clothing, as well as the large number of illiterate families they brought to the polls. Additionally, effective propaganda was disseminated through the official newspaper ''La Idea Liberal''. The newspaper was managed by the poet Joaquín Méndez, with contributions from writers such as
Enrique Gómez Carrillo Enrique Gómez Carrillo (February 27, 1873 in Guatemala City – November 29, 1927 in Paris) was a Guatemalan literary critic, writer, journalist and diplomat, and the second husband of the Salvadoran-French writer and artist Consuelo Suncin de ...
, who had just returned from Paris and believed that Estrada Cabrera was the president Guatemala needed;
Rafael Spinola Rafael Spínola (1866 – 4 October 1901 in Guatemala City) was a writer, journalist, politician and public speaker from Guatemala. Director of the well known cultura magazine ''La Ilustración Guatemalteca'' in 1896 and 1897, was Secretary of ...
;
Máximo Soto Hall Máximo Soto Hall (1871-1944) was a Guatemalan novelist. He is most known for his 1899 novel ''El problema'', though he is recognized in Central America for the whole of his literary output. He was born in Guatemala City in 1871, and served in the ...
; and Juan Manuel Mendoza, who would later become Gómez Carrillo's biographer. In recognition of his work as a political propagandist, Gómez Carrillo was appointed General Consul in Paris with a monthly salary of 250 gold pesos and immediately returned to Europe. One of Estrada Cabrera's most infamous legacies was his decision to allow the
United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (later the United Brands Company) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was ...
to enter the Guatemalan economic and political arena. As a member of the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
, he aimed to develop the nation's infrastructure, including highways, railroads, and
sea ports A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manchest ...
, to expand the export economy. By the time Estrada Cabrera assumed the presidency, there had been repeated efforts to construct a railroad from the major port of
Puerto Barrios Puerto Barrios () is a city in Guatemala, located within the Gulf of Honduras. The city is located on Bahia de Amatique. Puerto Barrios is the departmental seat of Izabal department and is the administrative seat of Puerto Barrios municipality. ...
to the capital, Guatemala City. However, due to a lack of funding exacerbated by the collapse of the internal coffee trade, the railway fell short of its goal. Estrada Cabrera decided, without consulting the legislature or judiciary, that making a deal with the United Fruit Company was the only way to complete the railway. In 1904, he signed a contract with UFCO's
Minor Cooper Keith Minor Cooper Keith (19 January 1848 – 14 June 1929) was an American businessman whose railroad, commercial agriculture, and cargo liner enterprises had a major impact on the national economies of the Central American countries, as well as on t ...
, granting the company tax exemptions, land grants, and control of all railroads on the Atlantic coast. Estrada Cabrera often employed brutal methods to assert his authority, reflecting the tyrannical style of government in Guatemala at the time. Like his predecessors
Rafael Carrera José Rafael Carrera y Turcios (24 October 1814 – 14 April 1865) was the president of Guatemala from 1844 to 1848 and from 1851 until his death in 1865, after being appointed President for life in 1854. He ruled during the establishment of ne ...
y Turcios and
Justo Rufino Barrios Justo Rufino Barrios Auyón (19 July 1835 – 2 April 1885) was a Guatemalan politician and military general who served as President of Guatemala from 1873 to his death in 1885. He was known for his liberal reforms and his attempts to reun ...
, who had led similarly autocratic regimes, Cabrera began his first presidential term by prosecuting political rivals and establishing a well-organised network of spies. One American ambassador returned to the United States after learning that the dictator had ordered his poisoning. Former President
Manuel Barillas Manuel Lisandro Barillas Bercián (17 January 1845 – 7 April 1907) was a Guatemalan general and acting president of Guatemala from 6 April 1885 to 15 March 1886 and President from 16 March 1886 to 15 March 1892. He was born in Quetzaltenango, ...
was stabbed to death in Mexico City, outside the Mexican Presidential Residence, on Cabrera's orders; the street where this occurred is now named Calle Guatemala. Cabrera also responded violently to workers' strikes against the
United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (later the United Brands Company) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was ...
(UFCO). In one instance, after the armed forces refused to intervene, UFCO went directly to Cabrera. The president then ordered an armed unit to enter the workers' compound, where they fired indiscriminately into the workers' sleeping quarters, wounding and killing an unspecified number of people. In 1906, Cabrera faced serious revolts supported by some Central American governments, but he succeeded in suppressing them. Elections held against Cabrera's will resulted in the murder of the president-elect in retaliation. In 1907, the brothers Avila Echeverría, along with a group of associates, planned to kill Cabrera with a bomb. Despite their education at foreign universities and their prominent backgrounds, they returned to find a nation under constant fear and a president ruling without opposition. The attack was carefully planned, but when Cabrera went for a carriage ride, the bomb exploded, killing the horse and driver but only slightly injuring the president. The attackers, unable to escape, took their own lives. Their families were subsequently imprisoned in the notorious ''Penitenciaría Central'', where conditions were cruel and foul. Political prisoners were tortured daily, and their screams were heard throughout the penitentiary. Many prisoners died under these harsh conditions, as political crimes were not pardonable. It has been suggested that Estrada Cabrera's extreme despotic characteristics emerged following this attempt on his life in 1907. Estrada Cabrera remained in power until he was forced to resign in 1920 due to new revolts. By this time, his power had significantly waned, and he was reliant on the loyalty of a few generals. Although the United States had threatened intervention if he were removed through revolution, a bipartisan coalition formed to oust him. He was deposed after the national assembly declared him mentally incompetent and was replaced by Carlos Herrera on 8 April 1920. In 1920, Prince Wilhelm of Sweden visited Guatemala and provided an objective account of Guatemalan society and the Estrada Cabrera government in his book ''Between Two Continents: Notes from a Journey in Central America, 1920''. The prince described Guatemalan society as having three sharply defined classes: *
Criollos In Hispanic America, criollo () is a term used originally to describe people of full Spanish descent born in the viceroyalties. In different Latin American countries, the word has come to have different meanings, mostly referring to the local ...
: A minority descended from Spanish conquerors who, by 1920, were heavily mixed with foreigners and had significant indigenous ancestry. They dominated both politics and intellectual life due to their superior education compared to the rest of the population and their control over much of the country's cultivated land. * Ladinos: The middle class, comprising individuals of mixed indigenous, black, and Criollo ancestry. In 1920, they held minimal political power and were primarily artisans, storekeepers, tradesmen, and minor officials. Agricultural laborers were also found in the eastern part of the country. * Indians (Maya): A large, uneducated group that was disinclined to change. They were a major part of the agricultural workforce and were often employed as soldiers due to their respect for authority. They were divided into three categories: ** "Mozos colonos": Settled on plantations with a small piece of land for personal cultivation, working on plantations for part of the year. ** "Mozos jornaleros": Day-laborers hired for specific periods, paid daily wages. Although theoretically free, they were often bound by debt to their employers, making it difficult to leave. If they attempted to escape, they could be pursued and imprisoned at their own expense. ** Independent tillers: Residing in remote areas, they grew crops such as maize, wheat, or beans for personal use and occasional sale in town markets, sometimes traveling up to to do so.


Jorge Ubico regime (1931–1944)

In 1931, General
Jorge Ubico Jorge Ubico Castañeda (10 November 1878 – 14 June 1946), nicknamed Number Five or also Central America's Napoleon, was a Guatemalan military officer, politician, and dictator who served as the president of Guatemala from 1931 to 1944. A ge ...
came to power, supported by the United States, and established one of the most repressive regimes in Central American history. Like his predecessor, Estrada Cabrera, Ubico created an extensive network of spies and informants, resulting in the torture and execution of numerous political opponents. A wealthy aristocrat (with an estimated income of $215,000 per year in 1930s dollars) and a staunch anti-communist, Ubico consistently aligned himself with the
United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (later the United Brands Company) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was ...
, Guatemalan landowners, and urban elites in conflicts with peasants. Following the 1929
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
crash, the peasant system established by Barrios in 1875, which had initially stimulated coffee production, became inadequate. Ubico then imposed a system of
debt slavery Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, or whe ...
and forced labour to ensure a sufficient workforce for the coffee plantations and UFCO operations. Allegedly, Ubico enacted laws permitting landowners to execute workers as a "disciplinary" measure. He openly identified as a fascist, admiring
Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...
,
Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" * Franco of Cologne (mid to late 13th cent ...
, and
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
, and once stated, "I am like Hitler. I execute first and ask questions later." Ubico expressed disdain for the indigenous population, describing them as "animal-like" and arguing that they required mandatory military training to become "civilized," likening it to "domesticating donkeys." He granted hundreds of thousands of hectares to the
United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (later the United Brands Company) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was ...
(UFCO), exempted them from taxes in
Tiquisate Tiquisate () is a town, with a population of 29,193 (2018 census), and a municipality in the Escuintla department of Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and ...
, and allowed the U.S. military to establish bases in Guatemala. Ubico viewed himself as a modern-day
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, dressing ostentatiously and surrounding himself with statues and paintings of the emperor. He frequently remarked on their similarities. He militarised various political and social institutions—including the post office, schools, and symphony orchestras—and appointed military officers to many government positions. Ubico regularly conducted "inspections" throughout the country, accompanied by a military escort, a mobile radio station, an official biographer, and cabinet members. On the other hand, Ubico was an efficient administrator: * His new decrees, though unfair to most of the indigenous population, benefitted the Guatemalan economy during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, as they boosted coffee production nationwide. * He reduced bureaucrats' salaries by nearly half, helping to curb inflation. * He maintained peace and order in
Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...
by effectively combating crime.


October Revolution (1944)

After 14 years, Ubico's repressive policies and arrogant demeanor led to passive resistance by urban middle-class intellectuals, professionals, and junior army officers in 1944. On 25 June, a peaceful demonstration by female schoolteachers was suppressed by government troops, resulting in the assassination of María Chinchilla, who became a national heroine. On 1 July 1944, Ubico resigned amidst a
general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...
and nationwide protests. Initially, he planned to hand over power to former police director General Roderico Anzueto, whom he believed he could control. However, his advisors noted that Anzueto's pro-Nazi sympathies had made him highly unpopular and unmanageable by the military. Consequently, Ubico selected a triumvirate of Major General Bueneventura Piñeda, Major General Eduardo Villagrán Ariza, and General
Federico Ponce Vaides Juan Federico Ponce Vaides (27 March 1889 – 29 January 1956) was the acting President of Guatemala from 4 July 1944 to 20 October 1944. He was overthrown by a popular uprising on 20 October 1944 that began the Guatemalan Revolution. Life P ...
. The three generals promised to convene the national assembly to elect a provisional president. However, when Congress met on 3 July, soldiers held everyone at gunpoint and forced them to vote for General Ponce instead of the popular civilian candidate, Dr. Ramón Calderón. Ponce, who had previously retired from military service due to alcoholism, took orders from Ubico and retained many officials from the Ubico administration, continuing its repressive policies. Opposition groups began organizing again, joined by many prominent political and military leaders who deemed the Ponce regime unconstitutional. Among the military officers in the opposition were Jacobo Árbenz and Major
Francisco Javier Arana Francisco Javier Arana Castro (; 3 December 1905 – 18 July 1949) was a Guatemalan military leader and one of the three members of the revolutionary junta that ruled Guatemala from 20 October 1944 to 15 March 1945 during the early part of th ...
. Ubico had fired Árbenz from his teaching post at the ''Escuela Politécnica'', and since then, Árbenz had been living in El Salvador, organizing a group of revolutionary exiles. On 19 October 1944, a small group of soldiers and students led by Árbenz and Arana attacked the National Palace in what became known as the "October Revolution". Ponce was defeated and driven into exile, and Árbenz, Arana, and lawyer Jorge Toriello established a junta. They declared that democratic elections would be held before the end of the year. The winner of the 1944 elections was
Juan José Arévalo Juan José Arévalo Bermejo (10 September 1904 – 8 October 1990) was a Guatemalan statesman and professor of philosophy who became Guatemala's first democratically elected president in 1945. He was elected following a popular uprising again ...
, PhD, a teaching major who had earned a scholarship in Argentina during General
Lázaro Chacón Lázaro is a Spanish or Portuguese-based given name or surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Lazaro (footballer) (born 1977), Lazaro Paulo de Sousa, Brazilian football striker * Lázaro (footballer, born 1990), full name Lázar ...
's government due to his outstanding teaching skills. Arévalo spent several years in South America, working as a university professor in various countries. When he returned to Guatemala during the early years of
Jorge Ubico Jorge Ubico Castañeda (10 November 1878 – 14 June 1946), nicknamed Number Five or also Central America's Napoleon, was a Guatemalan military officer, politician, and dictator who served as the president of Guatemala from 1931 to 1944. A ge ...
's regime, his colleagues asked him to propose the creation of the Faculty of Humanism at the
National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highe ...
, a project to which Ubico was strongly opposed. Recognising Ubico's dictatorial nature, Arévalo left Guatemala and returned to Argentina. After the 1944 Revolution, he came back to Guatemala and ran under a coalition of leftist parties known as the Partido Acción Revolucionaria (Revolutionary Action Party, PAR), winning 85% of the vote in elections widely considered to have been fair and open. Arévalo implemented social reforms, including minimum wage laws, increased educational funding, near-universal suffrage (excluding illiterate women), and labor reforms. However, many of these changes primarily benefited the upper-middle classes and did little for the peasant agricultural laborers who constituted the majority of the population. Although his reforms were relatively moderate, he was widely disliked by the United States government, the Catholic Church, large landowners, employers such as the United Fruit Company, and Guatemalan military officers, who viewed his government as inefficient, corrupt, and heavily influenced by communists. At least 25 coup attempts occurred during his presidency, mostly led by wealthy liberal military officers.


Presidency of Juan José Arévalo (1945–1951)

Árbenz served as defense minister under President Arévalo, becoming the first to hold this position after it had previously been called the ''Ministry of War''. In 1947, Dr. Arévalo, along with a friend and two Russian dancers visiting Guatemala, was involved in a car accident on the road to Panajachel. Arévalo fell into a ravine and was seriously injured, while all his companions were killed. The official party leaders then signed a pact with Lieutenant Colonel Arana, in which he pledged not to attempt a coup against the ailing president in exchange for being recognized by the revolutionary parties as the official candidate in the next election. However, Arévalo's recovery was almost miraculous, and he was soon able to resume governing. Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Javier Arana had agreed to the pact because he wanted to be seen as a democratic hero of the uprising against Ponce, and he believed the ''Barranco Pact'' secured his position for the upcoming presidential elections. Arana was a highly influential figure in Arévalo's government and had secured his nomination as the next presidential candidate, surpassing Captain Árbenz, who was told that due to his young age, he would have no difficulty waiting for his turn in the subsequent election. Arana died in a gun battle against a military civilian attempting to capture him on 18 July 1949, at the Bridge of Glory in
Amatitlán Amatitlán () is a town, with a population of 98,176 (2018 census),Citypopulation.de
Population of cities & t ...
, where he and his assistant commander had gone to inspect weapons that had been seized at the Aurora Air Base a few days earlier. There are varying accounts of who ambushed him and who ordered the attack; both Arbenz and Arévalo have been accused of orchestrating an attempt to remove Arana from the presidential race. The death of Lieutenant Colonel Arana is of critical importance in the history of Guatemala, as it marked a turning point in the Guatemalan revolution. His death not only cleared the path for Colonel Árbenz to be elected president in 1950 but also triggered a major crisis in the government of Dr. Arévalo Bermejo. Suddenly, Arévalo faced opposition from an army more loyal to Arana than to him, as well as from elite civilian groups who seized the opportunity to protest vigorously against his administration. Before his death, Arana had planned to run in the upcoming 1950 presidential elections. His death left Árbenz without any significant rivals, which led some, including the CIA and U.S. military intelligence, to speculate that Árbenz had him eliminated for this reason. Árbenz received more than three times as many votes as the runner-up,
Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes José Miguel Ramón Ydígoras Fuentes (17 October 1895 – 27 October 1982) was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who served as the 32nd president of Guatemala from 1958 to March 1963. He was also the main challenger to Jacobo Árben ...
. Fuentes claimed that electoral fraud had benefited Árbenz; however, scholars have noted that while fraud may have given Árbenz some votes, it was not the reason for his victory. In 1950s Guatemala, only literate men could vote by secret ballot; illiterate men and literate women voted by open ballot, while illiterate women were not enfranchised at all. For the 1950 campaign, Árbenz asked
José Manuel Fortuny José Manuel Fortuny Arana (22 March 1916 – 18 March 2005) was an important communist leader in Latin America. He became well known for his friendship with Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz, and was one of the main advisers in his governme ...
, a high-ranking member of the Guatemalan Communist Party, to write some of his speeches. The central theme of these speeches was land reform, Árbenz's "pet project." Árbenz won a comfortable victory in the late 1950 elections, after which he and Fortuny collaborated closely on government tasks. While many leaders of the ruling coalition sought personal benefits from their proximity to the president, the leaders of the Guatemalan Labor Party, especially Fortuny, were among Árbenz's closest advisers. The election of Árbenz alarmed U.S. State Department officials, who remarked that Arana had always represented the "only positive conservative element" in the Arévalo administration, that his death would "materially strengthen the Left," and that "developments forecast a sharp leftist trend within the government."


Presidency of Jacobo Árbenz Guzman (1951–1954)

In his inaugural address, Árbenz promised to transform Guatemala from "a backward country with a predominantly feudal economy into a modern capitalist state". He declared his intent to reduce dependency on foreign markets and diminish the influence of foreign corporations on Guatemalan politics. He also stated that he would modernize Guatemala's infrastructure without relying on foreign capital. Based on his government plan, he: # Promulgated Decree 900, expropriating idle land from UFCO. # Began construction of the Atlantic Highway. # Initiated construction of the Santo Tomas de Castilla port, where Puerto Matías de Gálvez used to be, to compete with UFCO's Puerto Barrios. # Began studies for the ''Jurun Marinalá'' generation plant to compete with the American-owned electric company. Árbenz was a
Christian socialist A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...
and governed as a European-style
democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-mana ...
, taking great inspiration from Franklin Delano Roosevelt's
New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
. According to historian Stephen Schlesinger, while Árbenz had a few communists in lower-level positions in his administration, he "was not a dictator, he was not a crypto-communist." Nonetheless, some of his policies, particularly his agrarian reforms, were branded "communist" by Guatemala's upper classes and the
United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (later the United Brands Company) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was ...
.


= Land reform

= Prior to Árbenz's election in 1950, a handful of U.S. corporations controlled Guatemala's primary electrical utilities, the nation's only railroad, and the banana industry, which was Guatemala's chief agricultural export. By the mid-1940s, Guatemalan banana plantations accounted for more than one-quarter of all of the
United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (later the United Brands Company) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was ...
's production in Latin America. Land reform was the centerpiece of Árbenz's election campaign. The revolutionary organizations that had helped put Árbenz in power applied constant pressure on him to fulfill his campaign promises regarding land reform. Árbenz continued Arévalo's reform agenda, and in June 1952, his government enacted an agrarian reform program. Árbenz made land reform his central goal, as only 2% of the population owned 70% of the land. On 17 June 1952, Árbenz's administration enacted an agrarian reform law known as
Decree 900 Decree 900 (), also known as the Agrarian Reform Law, was a Guatemalan land-reform law passed on June 17, 1952, during the Guatemalan Revolution. The law was introduced by President Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán and passed by the Guatemalan Congress. ...
. The law empowered the government to create a network of agrarian councils, which would be in charge of expropriating uncultivated land on estates larger than . The land was then allocated to individual families. Owners of expropriated land were compensated according to the value claimed in May 1952 tax assessments, which they had often dramatically understated to avoid paying taxes. The land was paid for in 25-year bonds with a 3% interest rate. The program was in effect for 18 months, during which it distributed to about 100,000 families. Árbenz himself, a landowner through his wife, gave up of his own land in the land reform program. In 1953, the reform was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court; however, the democratically elected Congress later impeached four judges associated with the ruling. Decree 900, which implemented Agrarian Reform in Guatemala, provided the opportunity for landless field workers to cultivate crops. The effect of this law was similar to what occurred in Europe after the bubonic plague in the Middle Ages. After the plague, which killed one-third of Europe's population, the number of landowners decreased, releasing much of the land, increasing supply, and lowering land prices. Simultaneously, many farmers died, reducing the labor force, which, in turn, led to higher wages. The economic effects of the plague mirrored those of Guatemala's land reform. During the first harvest after the law's implementation, the average income of farmers increased from Q225.00 per year to Q700.00 per year. Some analysts argue that conditions in Guatemala improved after the reform, leading to a "fundamental transformation of agricultural technology due to the reduced labor supply." Similarly, rising living standards and large-scale technological advances occurred in Europe during the fifteenth century, with the missing workforce acting as "the mother of invention." The reform's benefits extended beyond the working class, resulting in increased consumption, production, and domestic private investment.


= Construction of transport infrastructure

= To establish the necessary physical infrastructure for "independent" and national capitalist development, and reduce extreme dependence on the United States while breaking the American monopolies in the country—primarily those controlling the banana enclave economy—Árbenz and his government began planning and constructing the Atlantic Highway. This highway aimed to compete with the
United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (later the United Brands Company) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was ...
's (UFCO) monopoly on land transport, which was managed through its subsidiary, the International Railways of Central America (IRCA). The IRCA had held this concession since 1904, granted by then-President
Manuel Estrada Cabrera Manuel José Estrada Cabrera (21 November 1857 – 24 September 1924) was the President of Guatemala from 1898 to 1920. A lawyer with no military background, he modernised the country's industry and transportation infrastructure, via granting c ...
. Construction of the highway was initiated by the Roads Department of the Ministry of Communications, with assistance from the military engineering battalion. The highway was designed to run parallel to the railway line wherever possible. Additionally, the construction of a new port was intended to challenge another UFCO monopoly: Puerto Barrios, which was exclusively owned and operated by The Great White Fleet, another UFCO subsidiary.


= National power plant Jurun Marinalá

= The Jurun Marinalá electric power generation plant was planned as Guatemala's first national hydroelectric power plant. Its goal was to challenge the monopoly of the Electric Company, a subsidiary of American Electric Bond and Share (Ebasco), which used fossil fuels instead of local water resources, thus draining foreign currency reserves. Due to its significant economic importance, construction continued beyond the Árbenz presidency and was completed under President
Julio César Méndez Montenegro Julio César Méndez Montenegro (November 23, 1915 – April 30, 1996) was a Guatemalan academic who served as the 34th president of Guatemala from July 1966 to July 1970. Mendez was elected on a platform promising democratic reforms and the cur ...
in 1968. The plant is located in the village of Agua Blanca, within El Salto,
Escuintla Escuintla () is an industrial city in Guatemala, its land extension is 4,384 km2, and it is nationally known for its sugar agribusiness. Its capital is a municipality with the same name. Citizens celebrate from December 6 to 9 with a small f ...
.


= Catholic national pilgrimage campaign against communism

= The
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, which held significant power in Central America during the Colonial Era, gradually lost its influence following independence from Spain. Initially, the rise of liberal forces displaced the conservative Guatemalan elites, including senior clergy, who had previously wielded considerable power. By 1838, with the fall of liberal President Mariano Gálvez, Lieutenant General Rafael Carrera emerged as the conservative leader. Carrera restored the Church's influence in Guatemala, which became the last bastion of conservatism in the region. The Central American Federation, which was liberal in nature, could not be established due to Carrera's military power, and he eventually founded the Republic of Guatemala on 21 March 1847. After Carrera's death in 1865, Guatemalan Liberals seized the opportunity to reclaim power, leading to the Liberal Revolution of 1871. This period saw increased attacks on the senior clergy, secular education, freedom of religion, the expulsion of religious orders, and the expropriation of church properties. These policies continued through subsequent liberal governments until the October Revolution of 1944, which worsened the situation as revolutionary factions became increasingly anti-religious. By 1951, Archbishop
Mariano Rossell y Arellano Mariano Rossell y Arellano (18 July 1894, Esquipulas, Guatemala - 10 December 1964, Guatemala City) was a Guatemalan Roman Catholic clergyman. He was the fifteenth archbishop of Guatemala from 1939 to 1964 and the first Prelate Nullius of Es ...
sought to restore the Catholic Church's elite position in Guatemala. He allied with the
United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (later the United Brands Company) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was ...
and the National Liberation Movement, aiming to overthrow the revolutionary government, which he denounced as
atheists Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
and
communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...
. After the consecration of the Shrine of Esquipulas in 1950, Rossell y Arellano commissioned sculptor Julio Urruela Vásquez to create a replica of the Christ of Esquipulas. This bronze replica, established as a symbol of the national pilgrimage against communism, was appointed as the ''Commander in Chief'' of the National Liberation Movement's forces during the June 1954 invasion. On 4 April 1954, Rossell y Arellano issued a pastoral letter condemning the progress of communism in the country and calling on Guatemalans to rise up against this common enemy of God and the nation. The letter was widely distributed throughout the country.


= National Liberation (1954)

=


= Agrarian Reform and UFCo conflict

= In 1953, when the government implemented
Agrarian Reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...
, its goal was to redistribute large holdings of unused land to peasants, both Latino and Amerindian, for subsistence farming. The reform expropriated 250,000 of the 350,000 hectares held by the
United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (later the United Brands Company) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was ...
(UFCO) and, according to Decree 900, intended to redistribute this land for agricultural purposes. UFCO continued to hold thousands of hectares of pastureland and substantial forest reserves. The Guatemalan government offered the company Q 609,572 in compensation for the appropriated land. The company contested the expropriation with several legal arguments. It claimed the government had misinterpreted its own law, which was meant to target unused land suitable for agricultural development. According to the company, land in pasture, forest cover, and under cultivation should have remained untouched. UFCO argued that most of the land taken was cultivated and in use, making the expropriation illegal. Additionally, the company contended that the offered compensation was inadequate for the amount and value of the land taken. The valuations of UFCO's rural property were based on values declared in its tax filings. In 1945, Arevalo's administration ordered new assessments to be completed by 1948. UFCO submitted the assessment by the due date but later claimed that the values used for taxation purposes were outdated and did not reflect the true value of the land. The government had investigated in 1951, but a new assessment was never completed. UFCO argued that the 1948 assessment was outdated and estimated that just compensation should be as high as Q 15,854,849, nearly twenty times more than what the Guatemalan government had offered. The U.S. State Department and embassy actively supported the position of UFCO, a major U.S. company. The Guatemalan government faced significant pressure as a result. While the U.S. officially acknowledged Guatemala's right to conduct its own politics and business, U.S. representatives claimed they were protecting UFCO, a company that generated substantial revenue and contributed to the U.S. economy. Arbenz's administration maintained that Agrarian Reform was essential for improving Guatemala's economy. He insisted on adopting nationalist economic policies if necessary, stating that all foreign investments would be subject to Guatemalan laws. Arbenz was resolute in promoting Agrarian Reform and, within a few years, acted decisively. He asserted that the Guatemalan government could not make exceptions for the U.S. concerning Decree 900 and that it was not Guatemala's fault that UFCO had understated the value of its land on tax forms. As Arbenz resisted pressure to reconsider the expropriation of UFCO's land, his government was targeted by propaganda. For the U.S., national security concerns were paramount, intertwining political and economic interests. The fear of communist influence was shared by Guatemala's urban elite and middle classes, who were reluctant to relinquish their privileges. Local media outlets, such as the newspapers ''
El Imparcial ''El Imparcial'', founded in 1918, was "an anti-'' Popular'', pro-Independence tabloid" in Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of ...
'' and ''La Hora'', exploited press freedoms under the regime and, with UFCO's sponsorship, criticized communism and the government's legal recognition of the Communist Party. Opposing political parties organized anti-communism campaigns, drawing large crowds to rallies and steadily increasing membership in anti-communist organizations.


= Arrival of John Peurifoy to Guatemala

= Between 1950 and 1955, during General Eisenhower's presidency in the United States, a witch hunt for communists known as
McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...
was conducted. This period was marked by the persecution of innocent people based on mere suspicion, leading to unfounded accusations, interrogations, job losses, passport denials, and even imprisonment. These methods of social control and repression in the U.S. bordered on totalitarian and fascist practices. One of the key figures of
McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...
was
John Peurifoy John Emil Peurifoy (August 9, 1907 – August 12, 1955) was an American diplomat and ambassador in the early years of the Cold War. He served as ambassador to Greece, Thailand, and Guatemala. In this latter country, he was serving during the 19 ...
, who was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala. Guatemala was the first country in the American sphere of influence after World War II to include openly communist elements in its government. Peurifoy, who had previously engaged in anti-communist activities in Greece, was installed as ambassador in November 1953, around the time
Carlos Castillo Armas Carlos Castillo Armas (; 4 November 191426 July 1957) was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who was the 28th president of Guatemala, serving from 1954 to 1957 after taking power in a coup d'état. A member of the far-right Nationa ...
was organizing his small revolutionary army. After a lengthy meeting, Peurifoy informed President Arbenz that the U.S. was concerned about the communist elements in his government. He reported to the
Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...
that while Arbenz himself was not a communist, it was likely that a communist leader would follow him. In January 1954, he told ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine, ''"American public opinion could force us to take some measures to prevent Guatemala from falling into the orbit of international communism."''


= Operation PBSuccess

= The Communist Party was not the focal point of the communist movement in Guatemala until
Jacobo Árbenz Juan Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán (; 14 September 191327 January 1971) was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who served as the 25th president of Guatemala. He was Minister of National Defense from 1944 to 1950, before he became the secon ...
came to power in 1951. Prior to 1951, communism existed within urban labor forces in small study groups from 1944 to 1953, exerting considerable influence on these groups. Despite its limited size in Guatemala, many Communist leaders were highly vocal about their beliefs, particularly through protests and literature. In 1949, the Communist Party had fewer than forty members in Congress, but by 1953, this number had increased to nearly four thousand. Before Árbenz came to power, the communist movement largely operated through mass organizations. Following Árbenz's rise, the Guatemalan Communist Party expanded its activities into the public sphere. Upon assuming power in 1951, Árbenz extended political freedoms, allowing communists in Guatemala to engage in politics. This policy enabled many opponents of Ubico's regime to identify as communists. By 1952, Árbenz implemented land reform, redistributing about of unused agricultural land from large landowners to rural workers and farmers. The land, primarily taken from the United Fruit Company, was to be compensated; however, the UFC argued that the compensation was insufficient. Meanwhile, Árbenz permitted the Communist Party to organize and include leaders, notably his leftist adviser. The propaganda campaign by the United Fruit Company against the Guatemalan revolution influenced the U.S. government to combat communism in Guatemala. The
Eisenhower administration Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following his landslide victor ...
in the U.S. was displeased with Árbenz's government, viewing him as too aligned with communism. There were reports suggesting that Árbenz's wife was a communist and part of the Communist Party in Guatemala. Despite the lack of concrete evidence linking Guatemala to the Soviet Union, the U.S. was inclined to believe in the presence of communism in Guatemala. As Árbenz proceeded with land reform, the
United Fruit Company The United Fruit Company (later the United Brands Company) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was ...
, which had a near-monopoly on Guatemalan fruit production and some industry, lobbied the
Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
administration to remove him. More significantly, there was widespread American concern about the potential establishment of a so-called "
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
beachhead." Árbenz's sudden legalization of the Communist Party and the importation of arms from the Soviet-
satellite state A satellite state or dependent state is a country that is formally independent but under heavy political, economic, and military influence or control from another country. The term was coined by analogy to planetary objects orbiting a larger ob ...
of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, among other actions, convinced major policy makers in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
and
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
to seek Árbenz's removal, despite his term being due to end naturally in two years. This led to a CIA-orchestrated coup in 1954, known as
Operation PBSuccess Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
, which resulted in Árbenz being toppled and forced into exile by Colonel
Carlos Castillo Armas Carlos Castillo Armas (; 4 November 191426 July 1957) was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who was the 28th president of Guatemala, serving from 1954 to 1957 after taking power in a coup d'état. A member of the far-right Nationa ...
. Although many Guatemalans were committed to the original ideals of the 1944 uprising, some private sector leaders and military figures came to view Árbenz as a communist threat and supported his overthrow, hoping that his successor would continue the more moderate reforms initiated by Arevalo. Armed and trained by the CIA, groups of Guatemalan exiles, commanded by Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas, invaded Guatemala on 18 June 1954. The Americans portrayed this as an anti-communist coup against Árbenz. Supported by CIA radio broadcasts, the Guatemalan army did not resist the coup, leading to Árbenz's resignation. In 1954, a military government replaced Árbenz's administration, disbanded the legislature, and arrested communist leaders, with Castillo Armas assuming the presidency. Following the CIA coup, hundreds of Guatemalans were rounded up and killed. Documents obtained by the
National Security Archive The National Security Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-governmental, non-profit research and archival institution located on the campus of the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1985 to check rising government secrecy, the N ...
revealed that the CIA was involved in planning the assassinations of enemies of the new military government, should the coup prove successful.


1976 earthquake


Civil war (1960–1996)

The government, right-wing paramilitary organizations, and left-wing insurgents were all engaged in the
Guatemalan Civil War The Guatemalan Civil War was fought from 1960 to 1996 between the government of Guatemala and various Left-wing politics, leftist rebel groups. The Guatemalan government forces committed Guatemalan genocide, genocide against the Maya population o ...
(1960–96). Contributing factors included social and economic injustice, racial discrimination suffered by the indigenous population, the 1954 coup that reversed reforms, weak civilian control of the military, U.S. support for the government, and
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
n support for the insurgents. The
Historical Clarification Commission The Commission for Historical Clarification (; abbreviated CEH) was a Guatemalan government commission established in 1994 in order to investigate atrocities and human rights violations committed during the Guatemalan Civil War, which began in 1962 ...
(commonly known as the "Truth Commission") estimated that more than 200,000 people were killed, the vast majority of whom were indigenous civilians. 93% of the human rights abuses reported to the commission were attributed to the military or other government-supported forces. The commission also determined that the government was responsible for acts of
genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...
."Guatemala: Memory of Silence"
, English summary of Commission report. See paragraphs 82 and 108–123
In response to the increasingly autocratic rule of Gen. Ydígoras Fuentes, who took power in 1958 following the murder of Col.
Castillo Armas Carlos Castillo Armas (; 4 November 191426 July 1957) was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who was the 28th president of Guatemala, serving from 1954 to 1957 after taking power in a coup d'état. A member of the far-right Nationa ...
, a group of junior military officers revolted in 1960. When their revolt failed, several went into hiding and established close ties with
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. This group became the nucleus of the forces that mounted armed insurrection against the government for the next 36 years. In 1966, the left-of-center former law professor
Julio César Méndez Montenegro Julio César Méndez Montenegro (November 23, 1915 – April 30, 1996) was a Guatemalan academic who served as the 34th president of Guatemala from July 1966 to July 1970. Mendez was elected on a platform promising democratic reforms and the cur ...
became President of Guatemala while holding the rank of civilian. However, the historical political odds were still in favor of the nation's military. Shortly after Méndez Montenegro took office, the Guatemalan army launched a major counterinsurgency campaign that largely dismantled the guerrilla movement in the countryside. The guerrillas concentrated their attacks in Guatemala City, where they assassinated several prominent figures, including U.S. Ambassador
John Gordon Mein John Gordon Mein (September 10, 1913 – August 28, 1968) was an American diplomat who served as the United States ambassador to Guatemala. He was the first United States ambassador to be assassinated while serving in office. Early career John ...
in 1968. Despite these challenges, Méndez Montenegro successfully completed his four-year term as president before being succeeded by Army Colonel
Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio (July 17, 1918 – December 6, 2003) was a military officer and politician who served as the 35th president of Guatemala from 1970 to 1974. A member of the National Liberation Movement, his government enforced tortur ...
in 1970. For nearly two decades thereafter, Méndez Montenegro was the only civilian to lead Guatemala until the inauguration of
Vinicio Cerezo Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo (born December 26, 1942) is a Guatemalan politician who served as the 40th President of Guatemala from 1986 to 1991. He also served as the Secretary General of the Central American Integration System (SICA) from 2 ...
in 1986.


= Franja Transversal del Norte

= The first settler project in the FTN was established in Sebol-Chinajá in
Alta Verapaz Alta Verapaz () is a department in the north central part of Guatemala. The capital and chief city of the department is Cobán. Verapaz is bordered to the north by El Petén, to the east by Izabal, to the south by Zacapa, El Progreso, and ...
. Sebol, then regarded as a strategic point and route through the Cancuén River, communicated with Petén via the Usumacinta River on the border with Mexico. The only road at that time was a dirt track built by President
Lázaro Chacón Lázaro is a Spanish or Portuguese-based given name or surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Lazaro (footballer) (born 1977), Lazaro Paulo de Sousa, Brazilian football striker * Lázaro (footballer, born 1990), full name Lázar ...
in 1928. In 1958, during General
Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes José Miguel Ramón Ydígoras Fuentes (17 October 1895 – 27 October 1982) was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who served as the 32nd president of Guatemala from 1958 to March 1963. He was also the main challenger to Jacobo Árben ...
's government, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) financed infrastructure projects in Sebol, which eventually adopted the name "Fray Bartolomé de las Casas," a municipality created in 1983 in Alta Verapaz. In 1960, then Army Captain
Fernando Romeo Lucas García Fernando Romeo Lucas García (4 July 1924 – 27 May 2006) was a military officer and politician who served as the 37th president of Guatemala from July 1, 1978, to March 23, 1982. He was elected as the nominee for the Institutional Democratic ...
acquired the Saquixquib and Punta de Boloncó farms in northeastern Sebol. In 1963, he purchased the "San Fernando" farm, El Palmar de Sejux, and later acquired the "Sepur" farm near San Fernando. During these years, Lucas, a member of the Guatemalan legislature, lobbied Congress to boost investment in the region. During this period, the region's importance lay in livestock, the exploitation of precious export wood, and archaeological wealth. Timber contracts were awarded to multinational companies such as Murphy Pacific Corporation from California, which invested US$30 million in the colonization of southern Petén and Alta Verapaz, forming the North Impulsadora Company. Colonization involved granting inhospitable areas of the FTN to native peasants. In 1962, the DGAA became the National Institute of Agrarian Reform (INTA) through Decree 1551, which established the Agrarian Transformation Law. In 1964, INTA defined the FTN's geography as the northern part of the departments of Huehuetenango, Quiché, Alta Verapaz, and Izabal. That same year, priests from the
Maryknoll Maryknoll is a Catholic non-profit mission movement consisting of four organizations. Together, they work as missioners around the world as Lay People, Priests, Brothers and Sisters. Mary's Knoll to Maryknoll In 1912, the Catholic Foreign Missi ...
order and the Order of the Sacred Heart, in collaboration with INTA, began the first colonization process, bringing settlers from Huehuetenango to the Ixcán sector in Quiché. The Northern Transversal Strip was officially established during General Carlos Arana Osorio's government in 1970, through Decree 60–70 in Congress, aimed at promoting agricultural development.


= Guerrilla Army of the Poor

= On 19 January 1972, members of a new Guatemalan guerrilla movement entered Ixcán from Mexico and were welcomed by many farmers. In 1973, after an exploratory mission into the municipal seat of Cotzal, the insurgent group decided to establish an underground camp in the mountains of Xolchiché, in the municipality of Chajul. In 1974, the insurgent guerrilla group held its first conference, during which it outlined its strategy for the coming months and named itself the Guerrilla Army of the Poor (Ejército Guerrillero de los Pobres, EGP). By 1975, the organization had expanded its presence in the northern mountainous regions of the municipalities of Nebaj and Chajul. As part of its strategy, the EGP aimed to carry out actions that would gain public attention and symbolically represent the establishment of "social justice" against the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the State's judicial and administrative systems. The group believed these actions would encourage the indigenous rural population to identify with the insurgency and join their cause. As part of this plan, they initiated so-called "executions." The EGP selected their targets based on complaints received from the public. For example, they chose Guillermo Monzón, a military commissioner in Ixcán, and José Luis Arenas, the largest landowner in the Ixcán area, who had been reported for allegedly having land conflicts with neighboring communities and abusing workers.José Luis Arenas, who at that time a journalist called "Ixcán Tiger" had been active in Guatemalan politics. He joined as Congress of Republic in the period of Jacobo Arbenz in the opposition; in 1952, he founded the Anti-communist Unification Party (AUP), which later became part of the liberationist movement; went into exile when the first armed clashes between the "Liberation Army" and the Guatemalan Army occurred, but returned with the victory of the National Liberation Movement and during the government of colonel
Carlos Castillo Armas Carlos Castillo Armas (; 4 November 191426 July 1957) was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who was the 28th president of Guatemala, serving from 1954 to 1957 after taking power in a coup d'état. A member of the far-right Nationa ...
he held various public offices. In the presidential term of Carlos Arana Osorio (1970–1974) Arenas was in charge of the Promotion and Development of Petén (FYDEP). Later, he left politics for agriculture in his coffee and cardamom plantations in the Ixcán and Ixil, in Quiché.
On Saturday, 7 June 1975, José Luis Arenas was killed by unknown assailants while at his farm "La Perla" to pay wage workers. Approximately two to three hundred people had gathered in front of his office to receive their payments, with four members of the EGP mingling among the farmers. The guerrillas then destroyed the farm's communication radio and executed Arenas. After the murder, the guerrilla members addressed the farmers in the Ixil language, identifying themselves as members of the Guerrilla Army of the Poor and stating that they had killed the "Tiger of Ixcán." They requested that animals be prepared to transport the injured to Chajul for medical treatment, after which they fled in that direction. José Luis Arenas' son, who was in San Luis Ixcán at the time, sought refuge in a nearby mountain while waiting for a plane to take him to the capital to report the incident to the Minister of Defense. The minister responded, "You are mistaken, there are no guerrillas in the area."


= Panzós massacre

= Also located in the Northern Transversal Strip, the Polochic River Valley has been inhabited since ancient times by the K'ekchí and P'okomchi peoples. In the second half of the 19th century, President
Justo Rufino Barrios Justo Rufino Barrios Auyón (19 July 1835 – 2 April 1885) was a Guatemalan politician and military general who served as President of Guatemala from 1873 to his death in 1885. He was known for his liberal reforms and his attempts to reun ...
began allocating land in the area to German farmers. Settlers from Germany arrived in the mid-19th century, acquired land, and established coffee plantations in Alta Verapaz and Quetzaltenango. Decree 170, also known as the Census Redemption Decree, facilitated the expropriation of indigenous lands in favor of the Germans by promoting the auction of communal lands. Since that time, the primary economic activity in the region has been export-oriented, especially in coffee, bananas, and cardamom. Communal property, previously used for subsistence farming, was converted to private property, leading to the mass cultivation and commercialization of agricultural products. Consequently, the Guatemalan production system has since been characterized by the concentration of land ownership in a few hands, along with a form of "farm servitude" based on the exploitation of "settler farmers".According to Guatemalan leftists, this term was essentially a
euphemism A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...
for "native slaves".
In 1951, an agrarian reform law was enacted to expropriate idle land from private owners, but after the 1954 National Liberation Movement coup, supported by the United States, most of the expropriated land was returned to its former owners. Flavio Monzón was appointed mayor and, over the next twenty years, became one of the largest landowners in the area. In 1964, several communities that had settled for decades along the
Polochic River The Polochic River () is a river in eastern Guatemala. The 194 kilometers long river flows eastwards through a deep valley and flows into Lake Izabal at . The river is navigable for to Panzós. It was used many years ago to transport coffee and ...
applied for property titles to INTA, which had been created in October 1962. However, the land was awarded to Monzón. A Mayan peasant from Panzós later recalled that Monzón "secured the signatures of the elders before going to INTA to discuss the land. When he returned, he gathered the people and said that, due to an INTA mistake, the land had been registered in his name." Throughout the 1970s, Panzós farmers continued to seek INTA's regularization of land ownership, receiving legal advice from FASGUA (Autonomous Trade Union Federation of Guatemala), an organization that supported the peasants' claims through legal procedures. However, no peasant ever received a property title. Some received promises, others obtained provisional titles, and some were only granted permission to plant. The peasants began facing evictions by farmers, the military, and local authorities, all of whom favored the economic interests of Izabal Mining Operations Company (EXMIBAL) and Transmetales. Another threat to peasant landowners at the time came from mining projects and oil exploration, with companies like Exxon, Shenandoah, Hispanoil, and Getty Oil holding exploration contracts. Additionally, there was a need for territorial expansion for two major projects of that era: the Northern Transversal Strip and the Chixoy Hydroelectric Plant. In 1978, a military patrol was stationed a few kilometers from the county seat of Panzós, in a place called "Quinich." By this time, the organizational capacity of the peasants had increased, as they formed committees to claim titles to their land, a development that worried the landowning class. Some of these landowners, including Monzón, stated: "Several peasants living in villages and settlements want to burn urban areas to gain access to private property",Gobernación Departamental de Alta Verapaz: ''5 May 1978 Audience'', signatories: colonel Benigno Álvarez S., Alta Verapaz governor, and Flavio Monzón, Héctor Monzón, Raúl Aníbal Ayala, Joaquín González, Mario Cazs, and José María Borges. and they requested protection from the governor of Alta Verapaz.In municipal act 34–64 (published 9 January 1965) one can see the first indication of military presence in the region, when it was written that it was imperative to incorporate order and security in the area. On 29 May 1978, peasants from the villages of Cahaboncito, Semococh, Rubetzul, Canguachá, Sepacay, the Moyagua plantation, and the La Soledad neighborhood decided to stage a public demonstration in the Plaza de Panzós to demand land rights and express their discontent over the arbitrary actions of landowners and civil and military authorities. Hundreds of men, women, and indigenous children gathered in the municipal square of Panzós, armed with tools, machetes, and sticks. One participant stated: "The idea was not to fight; we wanted clarification on the status of the land. People came from various places, and some had guns." There are differing accounts of how the shooting started. Some say it began when "Mama Maquín," a prominent peasant leader, pushed a soldier who was blocking her way. Others suggest it started when the crowd surged forward, attempting to enter the municipality, which the soldiers interpreted as aggression. The mayor at the time, Walter Overdick, stated, "People in the middle of the group pushed those at the front." A witness recounted that a protester grabbed a soldier's gun but did not use it, while several others reported hearing a military voice shout, "One, two, three! Fire!" Ultimately, the lieutenant in charge of the troops ordered them to open fire on the crowd. For about five minutes, gunfire rang out, with the soldiers using their regulation firearms and three machine guns positioned around the square. Several peasants armed with machetes injured soldiers, although no soldiers were shot. The square was left covered in blood. Immediately after, the army sealed off the main access roads, while the indigenous people were reportedly "terrified." An army helicopter flew over the town before evacuating the wounded soldiers.


= Transition between Laugerud and Lucas Garcia regimes

= Due to his seniority within both the military and economic elites of Guatemala, as well as his fluency in Q'eqchi, one of the country's indigenous languages, Lucas García was seen as the ideal official candidate for the 1978 elections. To further bolster his image, he was paired with the left-leaning doctor
Francisco Villagrán Kramer Francisco Villagrán Kramer (5 April 1927 – 12 July 2011) was a Guatemalan attorney and social democrat who served as vice president in the government of General Romeo Lucas García, beginning in 1978. He resigned from office on 1 September ...
as his running mate. Villagrán Kramer, a man of recognized democratic principles who had participated in the 1944 Revolution, was connected to the interests of transnational corporations and elites, as he served as a key adviser to Guatemala's agricultural, industrial, and financial chambers. Despite the democratic appearance, Lucas García's electoral victory did not come easily, and the establishment had to impose him, which further discredited the electoral system – already tainted by fraud during the 1974 elections when General Laugerud was imposed. In 1976, a student group called "FRENTE" emerged at the
University of San Carlos The University of San Carlos (USC or colloquially San Carlos) is a private, Catholic, research, coeducational basic and higher education institution administered by the Philippine Southern Province of the Society of the Divine Word missionarie ...
, winning all student body positions up for election that year. The leaders of FRENTE were mostly members of the Patriotic Workers' Youth, the youth wing of the Guatemalan Labor Party (-Partido Guatemalteco del Trabajo- PGT), which had been operating covertly since its banning in 1954. Unlike other Marxist groups in Guatemala at the time, PGT leaders believed in gaining power through mass movements and elections. FRENTE used its influence within the student associations to launch a political campaign for the 1978 university general elections, allied with leftist faculty members grouped under "University Vanguard." This alliance was successful, with
Oliverio Castañeda de León Oliverio is a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Oliverio Carafa Oliviero Carafa (10 March 1430 – 20 January 1511), in Latin Oliverius Carafa, was an Italian Cardinal (catholicism), cardinal and dip ...
being elected President of the Student Body and Saúl Osorio Paz becoming University President. Their PGT connections also helped them forge ties with the university workers' union (STUSC). Osorio Paz provided support to the student movement, and instead of creating conflict, different groups collaborated to build a higher education institution with a strong social focus. In 1978, the University of San Carlos became one of the most politically influential sectors in Guatemala. That year, the student movement, faculty, and University Governing Board -Consejo Superior Universitario- united against the government, advocating for greater opportunities for the country's most marginalized sectors. To expand its outreach, the Student Body (AEU) rehabilitated the "Student House" in downtown
Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...
, where they provided support to politically sensitized villagers and peasant families. They also organized workers in the informal economy. At the beginning of his tenure as president, Saúl Osorio founded the weekly ''Siete Días en la USAC'', which not only reported on university activities but also consistently exposed human rights violations, particularly the repression of the popular movement. The publication also covered revolutionary movements in
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
and
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
. For a short period, the state university became a united and progressive institution, preparing to confront the State directly. FRENTE then had to contend with the radical left, represented by the Student Revolutionary Front "Robin García" (FERG), which emerged during the Labor Day march on 1 May 1978. FERG coordinated student associations across different colleges at the University of San Carlos and public secondary schools. This coordination between legal groups was linked to the
Guerrilla Army of the Poor The Guerrilla Army Of The Poor (, EGP) was a Guatemalan leftist guerrilla movement, which commanded significant support among indigenous Maya people during the Guatemalan Civil War. Formation __NOTOC__ In the aftermath of the 1954 Guatem ...
(EGP), a guerrilla group that had surfaced in 1972 and had its base in the oil-rich region of northern Quiché, specifically the Ixil Triangle of Ixcán, Nebaj, and Chajul in the
Franja Transversal del Norte The Franja Transversal del Norte (English: Northern Transversal Strip) is a region in Guatemala delimited to the north by an imaginary line between Vértice de Santiago in Huehuetenango and Modesto Méndez Port in Izabal and in the south by La M ...
. Although not strictly an armed group, FERG frequently sought confrontation with government forces, often promoting actions that escalated into mass violence and paramilitary activities. Its members had no interest in working within institutional frameworks and never sought permission for public demonstrations or actions. On 7 March 1978, Lucas García was elected president, and shortly after, on 29 May 1978, during the final days of General Laugerud García's government, a peaceful peasant demonstration in the central square of
Panzós Panzós () is a town with a population of 22,068 (2018 census) and a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Alta Verapaz. On 29 May 1978, the village of Panzós was the site of a massacre in which between 30 and 106 local inhabitants (figu ...
,
Alta Verapaz Alta Verapaz () is a department in the north central part of Guatemala. The capital and chief city of the department is Cobán. Verapaz is bordered to the north by El Petén, to the east by Izabal, to the south by Zacapa, El Progreso, and ...
, was attacked by members of the Zacapa Military Zone, resulting in numerous deaths. The demonstrators, indigenous peasants who had been called to the square, were fighting for the legalization of public lands they had occupied for years. Their struggle placed them in direct conflict with investors seeking to exploit the area's mineral wealth, particularly oil reserves controlled by Basic Resources International and Shenandoah Oil, and nickel reserves managed by EXMIBAL. The Panzós Massacre caused an uproar at the university due to the high number of victims, and conflicts arose over the
exploitation of natural resources The exploitation of natural resources describes using natural resources, often non-renewable or limited, for economic growth or development. Environmental degradation, human insecurity, and social conflict frequently accompany natural resource ex ...
by foreign companies. In 1978, for example, Osorio Paz and other university members received death threats for their vocal opposition to the construction of an inter-oceanic pipeline intended to facilitate oil exploration. On 8 June, the AEU organized a massive protest in downtown Guatemala City, where speakers condemned the Panzós massacre and expressed their strongest opposition yet to the Laugerud García regime.


= Escalation of violence

= After the execution of José Luis Arenas, support for the new guerrilla movement increased among the populations of the villages of Hom, Ixtupil, Sajsivan, and Sotzil, neighbors of La Perla and its annexes. This was largely due to the ongoing land dispute between the peasants and the farm owners, with the execution being viewed as an act of "social justice." The murder of the owner of the farm "La Perla," located in the municipality of Chajul, led to an escalation of violence in the region. While part of the population gravitated toward the guerrillas, others in Hom chose to distance themselves from the insurgency. In 1979, the farm owners established ties with the army, and for the first time, a military detachment was stationed on the property, where the first civil patrol in the area was also formed. The army high command was initially pleased with the results of the operation, believing they had succeeded in dismantling most of the social base of the EGP, which had to be expelled from the "Ixil Triangle." At this point, the presence of the EGP in the area significantly diminished due to the army's repressive actions. The army's strategy extended beyond targeting armed combatants; officers were instructed to destroy any towns suspected of collaborating with the EGP and eliminate all sources of resistance. Army units operating in the "Ixil Triangle" were part of the Mariscal Zavala Brigade, based in
Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...
. Although the guerrillas did not directly intervene when the army attacked the civilian population—likely due to a lack of supplies and ammunition—they did support survival strategies. For example, they organized "survival plans" that provided evacuation instructions in the event of military incursions. As a result, much of the population began participating in these schemes, finding them their only alternative to military repression.


= Lucas Garcia presidency

= The election of
Lucas García Lucas Gabriel López García (born 13 January 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Greek Super League 2 club Iraklis Larissa. His first match as a professional football player and his first m ...
on 7 March 1978 marked the resumption of counterinsurgency practices reminiscent of the Arana period. This shift was further fueled by the Guatemalan military's reaction to the situation in Nicaragua, where the
Sandinista The Sandinista National Liberation Front (, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistan ...
insurgency was on the verge of overthrowing the
Somoza The Somoza family () is a political family which ruled Nicaragua under a dictatorship over a period of forty-three years, from 1936 to 1979. Founder, Anastasio Somoza García – who served as the President of Nicaragua from 1937 until 1956 – ...
regime. To prevent a similar uprising in Guatemala, the government escalated its repressive campaign against the predominantly indigenous mass movement, intensifying and becoming more overt. On 4 August 1978, high school and university students, along with other popular movement sectors, organized the first major urban protest of the Lucas García era. Intended as a march against violence, the protest attracted an estimated 10,000 participants. Donaldo Alvarez Ruiz, the new minister of the interior under Lucas García, vowed to suppress any unauthorized demonstrations. When the protesters declined to seek permission, they were confronted by the Pelotón Modelo (Model Platoon) of the National Police, equipped with new anti-riot gear provided by the
United States Government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
. The platoon surrounded the marchers and deployed tear gas, forcing students to retreat and resulting in the hospitalization of dozens, mostly adolescents. This incident was followed by additional protests and death squad killings throughout the year. In September 1978, a
general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...
erupted in response to sharp increases in
public transportation Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...
fares. The government's harsh response included arrests and injuries, but ultimately led to concessions, such as a
public transportation Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...
subsidy A subsidy, subvention or government incentive is a type of government expenditure for individuals and households, as well as businesses with the aim of stabilizing the economy. It ensures that individuals and households are viable by having acc ...
. Concerned that these concessions might spur further protests, the military government, supported by state-sponsored
paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
death squads A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings, massacres, or enforced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in ...
, created an environment of insecurity for public leaders. In the first half of 1978 alone, the administrator of a large cemetery in Guatemala City reported that over 760 unidentified bodies, presumed victims of death squads, had been interred.
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
described disappearances as an "epidemic" in Guatemala, reporting more than 2,000 killings between mid-1978 and 1980. Between January and November 1979, the Guatemalan press reported 3,252 disappearances.


Spanish Embassy fire

On 31 January 1980, a group of displaced K'iche' and Ixil peasant farmers occupied the
Spanish Embassy Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine ** Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
in Guatemala City to protest the kidnapping and murder of peasants in
Uspantán Uspantán is a municipality in the Guatemalan department of El Quiché. It is one of the largest municipalities of El Quiché and stretches from the mountainous highlands in the South to the tropical lowlands in the North. The municipal seat is ...
by elements of the Guatemalan Army. During the subsequent police raid, despite objections from the Spanish ambassador, police attacked the building with incendiary explosives. A fire broke out as the police prevented those inside from escaping, resulting in the deaths of 36 people. The victims' funeral, which included the previously unknown father of
Rigoberta Menchú Rigoberta Menchú Tum (; born 9 January 1959) is a K'iche' Guatemalan human rights activist, feminist, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Menchú has dedicated her life to publicizing the rights of Guatemala's Indigenous peoples during and afte ...
, Vicente Menchú, drew hundreds of thousands of mourners. A new guerrilla group, the ''Frente Patriótico 31 de Enero'' (Patriotic Front of 31 January), was formed to commemorate the event. The incident is considered "the defining event" of the Guatemalan Civil War. The Guatemalan government claimed that its forces had entered the embassy at the request of the Spanish Ambassador and that the occupiers, whom they labeled "
terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
s," had "sacrificed the hostages and immolated themselves afterward." Ambassador Cajal denied these claims, and Spain immediately severed diplomatic relations with Guatemala, denouncing the action as a violation of "the most elementary norms of international law". Diplomatic relations between Spain and Guatemala were not restored until 22 September 1984.


Increased insurgency and state repression: 1980–1982

In the months following the Spanish Embassy fire, the human rights situation in Guatemala continued to deteriorate. The daily number of killings by official and unofficial security forces increased from an average of 20 to 30 in 1979 to a conservative estimate of 30 to 40 daily in 1980. Human rights sources estimated that 5,000 Guatemalans were killed by the government for "political reasons" in 1980 alone, making it the worst human rights violator in the hemisphere after
El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
. In a report titled ''Guatemala: A Government Program of Political Murder,''
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
stated, "Between January and November of 1980, some 3,000 people described by government representatives as 'subversives' and 'criminals' were either shot on the spot in political assassinations or seized and murdered later; at least 364 others seized in this period have not yet been accounted for." The government's repression and excessive force against the opposition became a source of contention within Lucas García's administration. This internal conflict led Vice President
Francisco Villagrán Kramer Francisco Villagrán Kramer (5 April 1927 – 12 July 2011) was a Guatemalan attorney and social democrat who served as vice president in the government of General Romeo Lucas García, beginning in 1978. He resigned from office on 1 September ...
to resign on 1 September 1980, citing his disapproval of the government's human rights record as one of his primary reasons. Following his resignation, Kramer went into voluntary exile in the United States, where he took a position in the Legal Department of the
Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America. It serves as one of the leading sources of development financing for the countri ...
.


Insurgent mobilization

The effects of state repression further radicalized individuals within the mass movement, leading to increased popular support for the insurgency. By late 1979, the EGP expanded its influence, controlling significant territory in the Ixil Triangle in El Quiché and holding demonstrations in Nebaj, Chajul, and Cotzal. While the EGP expanded in the Altiplano, a new insurgent movement called ORPA (Revolutionary Organization of Armed People) emerged. Composed of local youths and university intellectuals, ORPA evolved from the Regional de Occidente, which had split from the FAR-PGT in 1971. The ORPA's leader, Rodrigo Asturias (son of
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
-winning author
Miguel Ángel Asturias Miguel Ángel Asturias Rosales (; 19 October 1899 – 9 June 1974) was a Guatemalan poet-diplomat, novelist, playwright and journalist. Winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1967, his work helped bring attention to the importance of i ...
), formed the organization after returning from exile in Mexico. ORPA established its base in the mountains and rainforests above the coffee plantations of southwestern Guatemala and around
Lake Atitlán Lake Atitlán (, ) is a lake in the Guatemalan Highlands of the Sierra Madre mountain range. The lake is located in the Sololá Department of southwestern Guatemala. It is known as the deepest lake in Central America. Name Atitlán means "betwe ...
, where it enjoyed considerable popular support. On 18 September 1979, ORPA publicly announced its existence by occupying the Mujulia coffee farm in Quezaltenango province, holding a political education meeting with the workers. Insurgent movements active during the early phase of the conflict, such as the FAR, also reemerged in 1980, intensifying guerrilla operations in both urban and rural areas. The insurgents carried out armed propaganda acts and assassinated prominent right-wing Guatemalans and landowners, including Enrique Brol, a prominent Ixil landowner, and Alberto Habie, president of CACIF (Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial, and Financial Associations). Encouraged by guerrilla successes elsewhere in Central America, Guatemalan insurgents, especially the EGP, rapidly expanded their influence across diverse geographic areas and ethnic groups, broadening their popular support base. In October 1980, a tripartite alliance was formalized between the EGP, FAR, and ORPA as a precondition for Cuban support. In early 1981, the insurgents launched the largest offensive in Guatemala's history, followed by another offensive later in the year. Civilians were often coerced into assisting the insurgents, sabotaging roads, army establishments, and anything of strategic value. By 1981, between 250,000 and 500,000 members of Guatemala's
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
communities actively supported the insurgency, with Army Intelligence (G-2) estimating at least 360,000 indigenous supporters of the EGP alone. From late 1981, the Army implemented a scorched-earth strategy in Quiché, aimed at eliminating the guerrilla's social base. Some communities were forced by the military to relocate to county seats under military control, while others sought refuge in the mountains. Those who fled to the mountains were identified by the Army as guerrilla sympathizers and were subjected to military siege, including continuous attacks that deprived them of food, shelter, and medical care.


La Llorona massacre, El Estor

La Llorona, located about 18 kilometers from El Estor in the department of Izabal (part of the Northern Transversal Strip), was a small village with no more than twenty houses. Most of the first settlers had arrived from the areas of Senahú and Panzós, both in Alta Verapaz. By 1981, the total population was around 130 people, all of whom belonged to the Q'eqchi' ethnic group. Few villagers spoke Spanish, and most worked in their own cornfields, occasionally working for local landowners. Nearby villages included El Bongo, Socela, Benque, Rio Pita, Santa Maria, Big Plan, and New Hope. Conflicts in the area revolved around land tenure, particularly the uncertainty about boundaries between farms and communities, and the lack of land titles. Since the National Institute of Agrarian Transformation (INTA) had no record of a legitimate owner of the land occupied by La Llorona, the community believed the land belonged to the state and had taken steps to obtain title to the property. However, a powerful local farmer occupied part of the land, leading to a conflict between him and the community. The village men, on their own initiative, devised a new boundary between community land and the farmer's property, but the problem remained unresolved. In the late 1970s, reports began to surface about the presence of guerrillas in the villages. The guerrilla commander known as Ramón introduced himself to the villagers, identifying his group as the Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP). They visited many villages, inquiring about local issues and offering to resolve them. The guerrillas told the peasants that the land belonged to the poor and encouraged them to trust the movement. In 1977, Ramón regularly visited La Llorona, and after discovering that land disputes were causing significant problems in the community, he taught the villagers new surveying techniques, which alarmed local landowners. That same year, Ramón's group arbitrarily executed Spanish landowner José Hernández near his property, El Recreo. In response, a clandestine group of mercenaries, dubbed the "Fighters of the Rich," was formed to protect the interests of the landlords. The local authorities in El Estor organized and funded the group, which was supported by the region's major landowners. This irregular group was connected to military commissioners and army commanders in the region, though internal rivalries also existed. The secret organization murdered several people, including victims who had no connection to insurgent groups. In December 1978, Ramón, the leader of the EGP group, was captured by soldiers from the military detachment in El Estor and transferred to the military zone in Puerto Barrios. After two years, he returned to El Estor, this time as an officer in Army Intelligence (G-2), joining a group of soldiers who came to the village.


Killings

On the evening of 28 September 1981, an army officer, accompanied by four soldiers and a military commissioner, met with about thirty civilians. At seven o'clock, over thirty civilians, mostly from "Nueva Esperanza," including several 'informants' connected to military intelligence, gathered near La Llorona. Along with some military commissioners, a small group of soldiers and army officers, they entered the village. Civilians and commissioners went into twelve houses, dragging out the men and shooting them dead outside their homes. Those who tried to escape were also killed. Women who attempted to protect their husbands were beaten. While the military commissioners and civilians executed the men, the soldiers looted the victims' belongings. Within half an hour, the perpetrators of the assault left the village. Aftermath The bodies of the victims, fourteen in all, lay in front of their houses. Despite being threatened with death if they revealed what had happened, the women ran to the nearest village, El Bongo, seeking help. After a few hours, they returned with people who helped bury the bodies. Days later, the widows, along with nearly 60 fatherless children, were taken in by the parish of El Estor for several days until soldiers forced them to return to their village. Two widows of those executed on 29 September developed close relations with the military commissioners from Bongo, causing divisions that persist in the community. Economic and social life in the village was severely disrupted. The widows had to take on their husbands' work, but due to their inexperience in farming, they harvested very little corn and beans. Diseases, especially among children and the elderly, spread as there was a lack of food and clothing. The village teacher, who only worked part-time out of fear, eventually left when he realized it was no longer worthwhile, as young people had to work and could not afford to travel. The village remained without a teacher for the next four years. The events ultimately fractured the community. Some village women believed their husbands were killed due to the involvement of three individuals, connected to the guerrillas, who were involved in a land dispute. According to the Historical Clarification Commission, the landowner involved in the dispute took advantage of the situation to appropriate an additional of land.


= List of other massacres perpetrated by the Army in the Franja Transversal del Norte

= The report of the Recovery of Historical Memory lists 422 massacres committed by both sides in the conflict; however, it also states that they did the best they could in terms of obtaining information and therefore the list is incomplete; therefore here are the cases that have also been documented in other reports as well.


= List of massacres perpetrated by the EGP in FTN

= According to a report by the rightist magazine ''Crónica'', there were 1,258 guerrilla actions against civilians and infrastructure in Guatemala, including more than 200 murders, 68 kidnappings, 11 bombings of embassies, and 329 attacks on civilians. Most guerrilla massacres occurred in 1982, during a period of intensified militarization and widespread PAC presence in communities. Many victims were targeted for non-cooperation with the guerrillas, and some attacks followed prior PAC assaults. Guerrilla massacres did not typically involve informants, population concentration, or group separation, and there are no reports of rape or repeated slaughter. Instances of razed villages were recorded, though mass flight was less common, despite some occurrences. The use of lists was more frequent. In a publication by the Army of Guatemala, it was reported that the EGP was responsible for sixty massacres, which were largely overlooked by REHMI and the Historical Clarification Commission reports. Additionally, it was reported that in mid-1982, 32 members of the "Star Guerrilla Front" were executed for failing to raise the EGP flag.


= Civil war in Guatemala city

= On 31 January 1980, Guatemala gained worldwide attention when the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala City was burned down, resulting in 37 deaths, including embassy personnel and high-ranking Guatemalan former government officials. A group of indigenous people from
El Quiché EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...
occupied the embassy in a desperate attempt to draw attention to their issues with the Army in that region, which was rich in oil and had been recently populated as part of the "Franja Transversal del Norte" agricultural program. The fire, which started when the police attempted to retake the building, resulted in the deaths of 37 people. Following this incident, Spain severed its diplomatic relations with Guatemala. On 5 September 1980, a terrorist attack by the
Ejército Guerrillero de los Pobres The Guerrilla Army Of The Poor (, EGP) was a Guatemalan leftist guerrilla movement, which commanded significant support among indigenous Maya people during the Guatemalan Civil War. Formation __NOTOC__ In the aftermath of the 1954 Guatemala ...
(EGP) occurred in front of the Guatemalan National Palace, which was then the headquarters of the Guatemalan government. The attack aimed to disrupt a major demonstration planned by General Lucas García's government for 7 September 1980. The incident resulted in the deaths of six adults and one child when two bombs exploded inside a vehicle. The attack caused an undetermined number of injuries and significant material damage, affecting not only the art pieces in the National Palace but also surrounding buildings, particularly the Lucky Building, located directly across from the Presidential Office. Among the deceased were Domingo Sánchez, the Secretary of Agriculture's driver; Joaquín Díaz y Díaz, a car washer; and Amílcar de Paz, a security guard. Attacks on private financial, commercial, and agricultural targets increased during Lucas García's presidency, as leftist Marxist groups perceived these institutions as "
reactionary In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...
" and "millionaire exploiters" collaborating with the repressive government. The following is a non-exhaustive list of terrorist attacks that occurred in Guatemala City and are detailed in the UN Commission report: Despite the insurgency's advances, it made several fatal strategic errors. Successes by revolutionary forces in Nicaragua against the Somoza regime, combined with the insurgency's own achievements against the Lucas government, led rebel leaders to mistakenly believe that they were reaching a military equilibrium in Guatemala. As a result, the insurgency underestimated the government's military strength. Consequently, the insurgents were overwhelmed and unable to secure their gains or protect the indigenous civilian population from reprisals by the security forces.


= 'Operation Ceniza'

= In response to the guerrilla offensive in early 1981, the Guatemalan Army initiated a large-scale rural counter-offensive. The Lucas government instituted a policy of forced recruitment and began organizing a "task-force" model for fighting the insurgency, whereby strategic mobile forces were drawn from larger military brigades. To reduce civilian participation in the insurgency and distinguish "hostile" from compliant communities, the army resorted to "civic action" measures. Under Chief of Staff Benedicto Lucas García (the President's brother), the army began recruiting civilians into pro-government
paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
patrols to combat insurgents and eliminate their collaborators. In 1980 and 1981, the United States, under the
Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following his landslide victory over ...
, delivered $10.5 million worth of
Bell 212 The Bell 212 (also known as the ''Bell Two-Twelve'') is a two-blade, twin-engine, medium helicopter that first flew in 1968. Originally manufactured by Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, production was moved to Mirabel, Queb ...
and
Bell 412 The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter of the Huey family manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212, with the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor. It is a twin-turbine helicopter that has been ...
helicopters and $3.2 million worth of military trucks and jeeps to the Guatemalan Army. In 1981, the Reagan administration also approved a $2 million covert CIA program for Guatemala. On 15 April 1981, EGP rebels attacked a Guatemalan Army patrol near the village of Cocob, close to Nebaj, killing five personnel. On 17 April 1981, a reinforced company of airborne troops was deployed to the village, where they encountered guerrillas, foxholes, and a hostile population appearing to fully support the insurgents. "The soldiers were forced to fire at anything that moved". The army killed 65 civilians, including 34 children, five adolescents, 23 adults, and two elderly individuals. In July 1981, the armed forces began a new phase of counterinsurgency operations under the code-name ''Operación Ceniza'' (Operation Ashes), lasting through March 1982. The goal was to "separate and isolate the insurgents from the civilian population.". During ''Operación Ceniza'', around 15,000 troops were gradually deployed through the predominantly indigenous Altiplano region, covering the departments of
El Quiché EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...
and
Huehuetenango Huehuetenango () is a city and municipality in the highlands of western Guatemala. It is also the capital of the department of Huehuetenango. The city is situated from Guatemala City, and is the last departmental capital on the Pan-American Hi ...
. The Guatemalan military's counterinsurgency efforts resulted in widespread civilian casualties and displacement. To sever the insurgents' ties with the civilian population, the army executed mass killings, burned villages and crops, and slaughtered livestock, depriving survivors of their livelihoods. The human rights office of the Catholic Church estimated that 11,000 people, mostly
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
peasants from the highlands, died in 1981 alone. Other sources put the death toll from government repression that year between 9,000 and 13,500. As repression intensified, tensions between the Guatemalan military and the Lucas García regime grew. Military professionals viewed the Lucas government's heavy-handed approach as counterproductive, arguing that its reliance on military force and systematic terror failed to address the social and ideological roots of the insurgency while further radicalizing the civilian population. Tensions escalated when Lucas endorsed his defense minister, Angel Aníbal Guevara, as the candidate for the March 1982 presidential elections, going against military interests. In 1982, the guerrilla organizations merged to form the
Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity The Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (in Spanish: ''Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca'', URNG-MAIZ or most commonly URNG) is a Guatemalan political party that started as a guerrilla movement in 1982. The party laid down its ar ...
(URNG). Concurrently, extreme right-wing vigilante groups such as the Secret Anti-Communist Army (ESA) and the White Hand (''La Mano Blanca'') were actively torturing and murdering students, professionals, and peasants suspected of leftist involvement. On 23 March 1982, junior army officers staged a coup d'état to block General
Ángel Aníbal Guevara Ángel Aníbal Guevara Rodríguez () is a Guatemalan soldier and politician. He was born in La Democracia, Escuintla in 1925. Having served as defense minister in the previous administration, Guevara was victorious in the 7 March 1982 preside ...
from assuming power, denouncing his election win as fraudulent. Guevara had been selected by outgoing President General
Romeo Lucas García Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a prie ...
. The coup leaders invited retired General
Efraín Ríos Montt José Efraín Ríos Montt (; 16 June 1926 – 1 April 2018) was a Guatemalan military officer, politician, and dictator who served as ''de facto'' President of Guatemala from 1982 to 1983. His brief tenure as chief executive was one of the blo ...
to negotiate Lucas' departure. Ríos Montt, a former presidential candidate for the
Guatemalan Christian Democracy Guatemalan Christian Democracy (, DCG) was a Christian democratic political party in Guatemala. The DCG was a member of Christian Democrat International.Peter Calvert (2004) ''A Political and Economic Dictionary of Latin America'', Routledge Hi ...
party in 1974, was believed to have lost due to electoral fraud. By 1982, he had become a lay pastor in the evangelical Protestant Church of the Word. In his inaugural address, he claimed his presidency was ordained by God, and he was seen as enjoying strong backing from the
Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party and became an important figure in ...
administration. Ríos Montt established a three-member
military junta A military junta () is a system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''Junta (governing body), junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the Junta (Peninsular War), national and local junta organized by t ...
that annulled the 1965 constitution, dissolved
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
, suspended political parties, and canceled the electoral law. After a few months, Montt dismissed the other junta members and assumed the title of "President of the Republic". Guerrilla forces and their leftist allies condemned Montt, who sought to defeat them through a mix of military actions and economic reforms, summarized by his slogan, "rifles and beans". In May 1982, the Conference of Catholic Bishops held Montt responsible for increased militarization and continued military massacres. On 18 July 1982, an army officer reportedly told an indigenous audience in
Cunén Santa María Cunén (usually abbreviated to Cunén) is a town and municipality in the El Quiché department of Guatemala. The municipality covers 195 km2. At an average altitude of 1,827 metres above sea level, its climate is temperate. It is ...
: "If you are with us, we'll feed you; if not, we'll kill you".Raymond Bonner, "Guatemala Enlists Religion in Battle", ''New York Times,'' 18 July 1982. On the same day, the
Plan de Sánchez Plan de Sánchez is a small village in the municipality of Rabinal, Baja Verapaz department, Guatemala. On July 18, 1982, while General Efraín Ríos Montt was President of Guatemala, a massacre was committed there by government forces during wh ...
massacre took place. The government also began organizing civilian defense patrols (PACs). Though participation was supposedly voluntary, many rural men, including boys and the elderly, were forced to join or be branded as guerrillas. At its peak, the PACs are estimated to have included 1 million conscripts. Montt's conscript army and the PACs recaptured almost all guerrilla-controlled areas. Guerrilla activity diminished, becoming mostly limited to hit-and-run attacks, though this partial victory came at a tremendous cost in civilian lives. Montt's brief presidency was likely the most violent period of the 36-year internal conflict, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of unarmed indigenous civilians. While leftist guerrillas and right-wing death squads also carried out
summary executions In civil and military jurisprudence, summary execution is the putting to death of a person accused of a crime without the benefit of a free and fair trial. The term results from the legal concept of summary justice to punish a summary offense, a ...
, forced disappearances, and torture of noncombatants, the vast majority of human rights violations were committed by the Guatemalan military and the PACs under their control. The internal conflict is extensively detailed in the reports of the
Historical Clarification Commission The Commission for Historical Clarification (; abbreviated CEH) was a Guatemalan government commission established in 1994 in order to investigate atrocities and human rights violations committed during the Guatemalan Civil War, which began in 1962 ...
(CEH) and the Archbishop's Office for Human Rights (ODHAG). The CEH estimated that government forces were responsible for 93% of the violations, while ODHAG had previously estimated 80%. On 8 August 1983, Montt was overthrown by his Minister of Defense, General
Óscar Humberto Mejía Víctores Óscar Humberto Mejía Víctores (December 9, 1930 – February 1, 2016) was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who served as the Head of Government from August 1983 to January 1986. A member of the military, he was head of state dur ...
, who then assumed power as the ''de facto'' president of Guatemala. Mejía justified the coup by citing issues with "religious fanatics" in the government and "official corruption." Seven people were killed during the coup. Montt survived and later founded a political party, the Guatemalan Republic Front, eventually becoming President of Congress in 1995 and again in 2000. Awareness in the United States about the Guatemalan conflict, particularly its ethnic aspects, increased with the 1983 publication of the testimonial ''I, Rigoberta Menchú'', a memoir by a prominent activist.
Rigoberta Menchú Rigoberta Menchú Tum (; born 9 January 1959) is a K'iche' Guatemalan human rights activist, feminist, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Menchú has dedicated her life to publicizing the rights of Guatemala's Indigenous peoples during and afte ...
was awarded the 1992
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
for her advocacy of broader social justice. In 1998, a book by U.S. anthropologist David Stoll questioned some details of Menchú's account, sparking international debate. The Nobel Committee, however, maintained that the prize was awarded based on Menchú's undisputed work in promoting human rights and the peace process. General Mejía facilitated a controlled return to democracy in Guatemala, beginning with a 1 July 1984 election for a
Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
to draft a new constitution. After nine months of deliberation, the assembly completed the draft on 30 May 1985, and the new
Constitution of Guatemala The Constitution of Guatemala is the supreme law of the Republic of Guatemala. It sets the bases for the organization of Guatemalan government and it outlines the three main branches of Guatemalan government: executive branch, legislative branc ...
took immediate effect. In the first election held under the new constitution,
Vinicio Cerezo Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arévalo (born December 26, 1942) is a Guatemalan politician who served as the 40th President of Guatemala from 1986 to 1991. He also served as the Secretary General of the Central American Integration System (SICA) from 2 ...
, the Christian Democracy Party's candidate, won with nearly 70% of the vote and assumed office on 14 January 1986.


1986 to 1996: From Constitution to Peace Accords

Upon its inauguration in January 1986, President Cerezo's civilian government prioritized ending political violence and establishing the rule of law. Reforms included new laws on
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...
and '' amparo'' (court-ordered protection), the creation of a legislative human rights committee, and the establishment of the Office of Human Rights Ombudsman in 1987. The Supreme Court also initiated reforms to combat corruption and enhance the efficiency of the legal system. With Cerezo's election, the military returned to its traditional role of internal security, focusing on combating armed insurgents. The first two years of Cerezo's administration saw a stable economy and a significant reduction in political violence. However, military dissatisfaction led to two coup attempts in May 1988 and May 1989, though the military leadership supported the constitutional order. The government faced strong criticism for its failure to investigate or prosecute cases of human rights violations. The latter part of Cerezo's presidency was marked by a deteriorating economy, strikes, protest marches, and widespread allegations of corruption. The government's inability to address social and health issues—such as infant mortality, illiteracy, inadequate health and social services, and rising violence—fueled public discontent. Presidential and congressional elections were held on 11 November 1990. After a runoff, Jorge Antonio Serrano Elías was inaugurated on 14 January 1991, marking the first successful transition from one democratically elected civilian government to another. With his Movement of Solidarity Action (MAS) Party holding only 18 of 116 seats in
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
, Serrano formed a fragile coalition with the Christian Democrats and the National Union of the Center (UCN) to govern. The Serrano administration's record was mixed. It achieved some success in consolidating civilian control over the army, replacing several senior officers and encouraging the military to engage in peace talks with the URNG. Serrano also took the politically unpopular step of recognizing the sovereignty of
Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...
, which Guatemala had long claimed as a province. Additionally, his government reversed the economic decline it inherited, reducing inflation and stimulating real growth. In 1992, Efraín Bámaca, a prominent guerrilla leader known as
Comandante Everardo Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...
, was "disappeared". It was later revealed that Bámaca had been tortured and killed that year by Guatemalan Army officers. His widow, American Jennifer Harbury, along with the
Guatemala Human Rights Commission The Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA (GHRC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, humanitarian organization that monitors, documents, and reports on the human rights situation in Guatemala. GHRC advocates for survivors of human rights abuses in Guatema ...
in Washington, D.C., protested, leading the United States to declassify documents dating back to 1954 regarding its actions in Guatemala. It was discovered that the CIA had been funding the military, despite Congress prohibiting such funding since 1990 due to the Army's human rights abuses. Congress compelled the CIA to cease its aid to the Guatemalan Army. On 25 May 1993, Serrano unlawfully dissolved Congress and the Supreme Court, and attempted to restrict civil freedoms under the guise of combating corruption. This ''
autogolpe A self-coup, also called an autocoup () or coup from the top, is a form of coup d'état in which a political leader, having come to power through legal means, stays in power illegally through the actions of themselves or their supporters. The le ...
'' (palace coup) failed due to widespread protests from Guatemalan society, international pressure, and the army's enforcement of the Constitutional Court's ruling against the takeover. Confronted with this opposition, Serrano fled the country. On 5 June 1993, Congress, in accordance with the 1985 constitution, elected
Ramiro de León Carpio Ramiro de León Carpio (12 January 1942 – 16 April 2002) was a Guatemalan politician who served as the 43rd president of Guatemala from June 1993 until January 1996. He served as Guatemala's Attorney for Human Rights from August 1987 to ...
, the Human Rights Ombudsman, to complete Serrano's presidential term. De León, who was not affiliated with any political party, lacked a political base but garnered strong popular support. He launched an ambitious anti-corruption campaign to "purify" Congress and the Supreme Court, calling for the resignation of all members of both bodies. Despite significant resistance from Congress, pressure from the presidency and the public led to a November 1993 agreement brokered by the Catholic Church between the administration and Congress. This package of constitutional reforms was approved by popular referendum on 30 January 1994. In August 1994, a new Congress was elected to complete the unexpired term. Controlled by anti-corruption parties—the populist
Guatemalan Republican Front The Institutional Republican Party (, PRI), until 2013 known as the Guatemalan Republican Front (''Frente Republicano Guatemalteco'', FRG), was a right-wing to far-right political party in Guatemala. History It was created in 1989 by former pres ...
(FRG) led by Ríos Montt, and the center-right
National Advancement Party The National Advancement Party () was a conservative political party in Guatemala. It was founded in 1989. In the 1990 and 1995 elections its presidential candidate was Álvaro Arzú who won in 1995, becoming Guatemala's 32nd president (1996– ...
(PAN)—the new Congress began to distance itself from the corruption that plagued its predecessors. Under de León, the peace process, now facilitated by the United Nations, gained new momentum. The government and the URNG signed agreements on human rights (March 1994), resettlement of displaced persons (June 1994), historical clarification (June 1994), and indigenous rights (March 1995). They also made significant progress on a socioeconomic and agrarian agreement. National elections for president, Congress, and municipal offices were held in November 1995. With nearly 20 parties competing in the first round, the presidential election went to a runoff on 7 January 1996, where PAN candidate
Álvaro Arzú Irigoyen Álvaro or Álvar (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname of Germanic Visigothic origin. The patronymic surname derived from this name is Álvarez. Given name Artists *Álvaro Carrillo, Afro-Mexican songwriter. ...
defeated Alfonso Portillo Cabrera of the FRG by just over 2% of the vote. Arzú won due to his strong support in Guatemala City, where he had previously served as mayor, and the surrounding urban areas. Portillo secured victories in all rural departments except Petén. Under the Arzú administration, peace negotiations were concluded, and the government signed peace accords in December 1996, ending the 36-year internal conflict (see section on the peace process).


1996 Peace Accords to Present

The human rights situation remained challenging during Arzú's tenure, although initial steps were taken to reduce the military's influence in national affairs. The most notable human rights case of this period was the brutal slaying of Bishop
Juan José Gerardi ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...
on 24 April 1998, two days after he publicly presented a major Catholic Church-sponsored human rights report known as '' Guatemala: Nunca Más'', summarising testimony about human rights abuses during the Civil War. It was prepared by the Recovery of Historical Memory project, known by the acronym REMHI. In 2001, three Army officers were convicted in civil court and sentenced to lengthy prison terms for his murder. Guatemala held presidential, legislative, and municipal elections on 7 November 1999, followed by a runoff presidential election on 26 December.
Alfonso Portillo Alfonso Antonio Portillo Cabrera (born 24 September 1951) is a Guatemalan politician who served as the 45th president of Guatemala from 2000 to 2004. He took office on 14 January 2000, representing the Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG), the p ...
faced criticism during the campaign for his ties to the FRG's chairman, former president
Ríos Montt Rios, Ríos or Riós are Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician surnames. The name has numerous origins. In Germany, Italy, France, UK, and the Americas the Ríos surname can also be found in the surname history books. The name was derived from the ...
, who was accused of committing some of the worst human rights violations during his rule. In the first round, the
Guatemalan Republican Front The Institutional Republican Party (, PRI), until 2013 known as the Guatemalan Republican Front (''Frente Republicano Guatemalteco'', FRG), was a right-wing to far-right political party in Guatemala. History It was created in 1989 by former pres ...
(FRG) won 63 of 113 legislative seats, while the
National Advancement Party The National Advancement Party () was a conservative political party in Guatemala. It was founded in 1989. In the 1990 and 1995 elections its presidential candidate was Álvaro Arzú who won in 1995, becoming Guatemala's 32nd president (1996– ...
(PAN) secured 37. The New Nation Alliance (ANN) won nine seats, and three minority parties won the remaining four. In the runoff on 26 December,
Alfonso Portillo Alfonso Antonio Portillo Cabrera (born 24 September 1951) is a Guatemalan politician who served as the 45th president of Guatemala from 2000 to 2004. He took office on 14 January 2000, representing the Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG), the p ...
(FRG) won 68% of the vote, compared to 32% for
Óscar Berger Óscar José Rafael Berger Perdomo (; born 11 August 1946) is a Guatemalan businessman and politician who served as the 46th president of Guatemala from 2004 to 2008. He previously served as mayor of Guatemala City from 1991 to 1999. Early y ...
(PAN). Portillo carried all 22 departments and Guatemala City, which was considered PAN's stronghold. Portillo's decisive electoral victory gave him a strong mandate to implement his reform program. He pledged to maintain strong ties with the United States, enhance Guatemala's cooperation with Mexico, and participate in the integration process in Central America and the Western Hemisphere. Domestically, he promised to support continued economic liberalisation, increase investment in human capital and infrastructure, establish an independent central bank, and boost revenue through stricter tax enforcement rather than increasing taxation. Portillo also committed to continuing the peace process, appointing a civilian defense minister, reforming the armed forces, replacing the military presidential security service with a civilian one, and strengthening the protection of
human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
. He appointed a diverse cabinet, including
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
members and individuals independent of the FRG ruling party. Progress in implementing Portillo's reform agenda during his first year in office was slow. Consequently, public support for the government fell to near-record lows by early 2001. While the administration made some progress in taking state responsibility for past human rights cases and supporting human rights in international forums, it struggled with prosecuting past human rights cases and achieving military reforms or a fiscal pact to finance peace implementation programs. Additionally, it sought legislation to increase political participation among residents. The prosecution of suspects in Bishop Gerardi's murder set a precedent in 2001, marking the first time military officers in Guatemala were tried in civil courts. Confronted with a high crime rate, public corruption, and frequent harassment and intimidation of human rights activists, judicial workers, journalists, and witnesses in human rights trials, the government began serious attempts in 2001 to open a national dialogue to address the country's substantial challenges. In July 2003, the
Jueves Negro Black Thursday () was a series of violent political demonstrations in Guatemala City, Guatemala during the 2003 Guatemalan general election. Armed supporters of the Guatemalan Republican Front and former President Efraín Ríos Montt rioted in p ...
demonstrations rocked the capital, leading to the closure of the US embassy and the UN mission. Supporters of Ríos Montt called for his return to power and demanded that the courts lift a ban on former coup leaders participating in government. They wanted Montt to run as a presidential candidate in the 2003 elections, and the FRG supported the demonstrators. On 9 November 2003,
Óscar Berger Óscar José Rafael Berger Perdomo (; born 11 August 1946) is a Guatemalan businessman and politician who served as the 46th president of Guatemala from 2004 to 2008. He previously served as mayor of Guatemala City from 1991 to 1999. Early y ...
, a former mayor of Guatemala City, won the presidential election with 39% of the vote. Failing to achieve a majority, he proceeded to a runoff election on 28 December, which he also won. He defeated center-left candidate
Álvaro Colom Álvaro Colom Caballeros (; 15 June 1951 – 23 January 2023) was a Guatemalan engineer, businessman, and politician who served as the 47th president of Guatemala from 2008 to 2012, as well as the General-Secretary of the political party, Natio ...
, while Montt, allowed to run, trailed in a distant third with 11% of the vote. In early October 2005, Guatemala was devastated by
Hurricane Stan Hurricane Stan was the deadliest tropical cyclone of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. A relatively weak system that affected areas of Central America and Mexico in early October 2005, Stan was the eighteenth named storm and eleventh hurric ...
. Although a relatively weak storm, it triggered severe flooding, resulting in at least 1,500 deaths and thousands of people left homeless. Determined to address crime and internal police corruption, Óscar Berger reached an agreement with the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
in December 2006 to support judicial enforcement. They established the
International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (, CICIG) was an international body charged with investigating and prosecuting serious crime in Guatemala. On January 7, 2019, the agreement between the United Nations and Guatemala was te ...
(CICIG), an independent institution designed to assist the Office of the Prosecutor of Guatemala, the National Police Force, and other investigative bodies. CICIG's goal was to prosecute cells linked to organised crime and drug trafficking. It has the authority to conduct its own inquiries and refer significant cases to the national judiciary, aiming to "reinforce the national criminal justice system and support its reforms.""Guatemala: The Need for Accountability"
, Trial, 2010, accessed 13 June 2013.
, CICIG has led inquiries into approximately 20 cases and is acting as Deputy Prosecutor in eight others. CICIG conducted investigations that led to an arrest warrant for
Erwin Sperisen Erwin may refer to: People Given name * Erwin Chargaff (1905–2002), Austrian biochemist * Erwin Chemerinsky (born 1953), American legal scholar * Erwin Dold (1919–2012), German concentration camp commandant in World War 2 * Erwin Hauer (1926 ...
, former Head of the National Civilian Police (Policía Nacional Civil – PNC) from 2004 to 2007. With dual Swiss-Guatemalan citizenship, Sperisen fled to Switzerland to avoid prosecution in Guatemala for numerous extrajudicial killings and police corruption. Additionally, 17 other individuals, including several former high-ranking political figures from Guatemala, are covered by arrest warrants related to these crimes.


= Otto Pérez Molina government and "La Línea" case

= Retired General
Otto Pérez Molina Otto Fernando Pérez Molina (born December 1, 1950) is a Guatemalan politician and retired general who served as the 48th president of Guatemala from 2012 to 2015. Standing as the Patriotic Party (''Partido Patriota'') candidate, he lost the ...
was elected president alongside Roxana Baldetti, Guatemala's first female vice president, and they began their term on 14 January 2012. However, on 16 April 2015, the UN anti-corruption agency CICIG issued a report implicating several high-profile politicians, including Vice President Baldetti's private secretary, Juan Carlos Monzón, and the director of the Guatemalan Internal Revenue Service. The revelations generated public outrage reminiscent of the period during General Kjell Eugenio Laugerud Garcia's presidency. The CICIG, working with the Guatemalan attorney general, exposed the "La Línea" scam, which involved officials accepting bribes from importers in exchange for reducing tariffs. This practice was rooted in a long tradition of customs corruption in the country, dating back to successive military governments that sought to fund counterinsurgency operations during Guatemala's 36-year
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. Citizens organized a Facebook event inviting people to gather in
Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...
to demand Vice President Baldetti's resignation, using the hashtag #RenunciaYa (Resign Now). Within days, over 10,000 people pledged to attend. The organizers emphasized that the event was non-political and instructed protesters to follow the law, avoid covering their faces or wearing party colors, and bring essentials like water, food, and sunblock. Tens of thousands took to the streets, leading to Baldetti's resignation a few days later. She was forced to remain in Guatemala after the United States revoked her visa, and the Guatemalan government investigated her for involvement in the "La Línea" scandal. The prominent role of US Ambassador Todd Robinson in the investigation fueled suspicions among Guatemalans that the US government sought to replace the Guatemalan administration with one more sympathetic to its interests, particularly to counter China and Russia's influence in the region. Since then, the UN anti-corruption committee has reported on additional cases, leading to the resignation or arrest of over 20 government officials. Among the most significant cases are those involving two former presidential private secretaries: Juan de Dios Rodríguez, from the Guatemalan Social Service, and Gustavo Martínez, who was implicated in a bribery scandal involving the Jaguar Energy power plant. Martínez was also the son-in-law of President Pérez Molina. Political opposition leaders have also been implicated in CICIG investigations. Several legislators and members of the Libertad Democrática Renovada (LIDER) party were formally accused of bribery, leading to a sharp decline in support for its presidential candidate, Manuel Baldizón. Before April, Baldizón had been the frontrunner in the 6 September 2015 presidential election. However, his popularity plummeted, and he even accused CICIG leader Iván Velásquez of international interference in Guatemalan affairs before the Organization of American States. CICIG presented so many cases on Thursdays that Guatemalans began referring to them as "CICIG's Thursdays." However, it was a Friday press conference that escalated the crisis to its peak: on Friday, 21 August 2015, CICIG and Attorney General Thelma Aldana presented evidence suggesting that both President Pérez Molina and former Vice President Baldetti were the actual leaders of "La Línea." Baldetti was arrested that same day, and an impeachment request was made for the president. In response, several cabinet members resigned, and public calls for the president's resignation reached unprecedented levels after Pérez Molina defiantly announced in a televised message on 23 August 2015 that he would not step down. After thousands of protesters took to the streets to demand the increasingly isolated president's resignation, Guatemala's Congress appointed a commission of five legislators to consider removing the president's immunity from prosecution, a request that was approved by the Supreme Court. A major day of action began on Thursday, 27 August, with marches and roadblocks across the country. Urban groups, which had been leading regular protests since the scandal broke in April, sought to unite with rural and indigenous organizations that were orchestrating roadblocks. The strike in Guatemala City drew a large, peaceful crowd that included a diverse range of participants, from the indigenous poor to wealthy elites, as well as students from public and private universities. Hundreds of schools and businesses closed in support of the protests. An organization representing Guatemala's most powerful business leaders issued a statement demanding Pérez Molina's resignation and urged Congress to strip him of immunity. The Attorney General's Office also released a statement urging the president to resign "to prevent ungovernability that could destabilize the nation." As the pressure mounted, two of the president's former ministers of defense and the interior, who were implicated in the corruption investigation and had recently resigned from the cabinet, left the country. Meanwhile, Pérez Molina continued to lose support daily. The powerful private sector – which had been a loyal supporter of Molina, their former defender in the Army during the
Guatemalan Civil War The Guatemalan Civil War was fought from 1960 to 1996 between the government of Guatemala and various Left-wing politics, leftist rebel groups. The Guatemalan government forces committed Guatemalan genocide, genocide against the Maya population o ...
– called for his resignation. However, he managed to garner support from entrepreneurs outside the private sector chambers, such as Mario López Estrada, the billionaire owner of cellular phone companies and the grandson of former dictator
Manuel Estrada Cabrera Manuel José Estrada Cabrera (21 November 1857 – 24 September 1924) was the President of Guatemala from 1898 to 1920. A lawyer with no military background, he modernised the country's industry and transportation infrastructure, via granting c ...
, whose executives took over the vacated cabinet positions. The Guatemalan radio station TGTO ("Emisoras Unidas") reported a text message exchange with Pérez Molina, who, when asked whether he planned to resign, responded, "I will face whatever is necessary to face, and what the law requires." Some protesters demanded that the general election be postponed, citing both the ongoing crisis and accusations of irregularities. Others warned that suspending the vote could lead to an institutional vacuum. However, on 2 September 2015, Molina resigned from office after Congress impeached him the day before. On 3 September 2015, he was summoned to the Justice Department to face his first legal hearing for the La Línea case.


= Tenures of Jimmy Morales and Alejandro Giammattei (2016–2024)

= In October 2015, following massive anti-corruption demonstrations, former TV comedian
Jimmy Morales James Ernesto Morales Cabrera (; born 18 March 1969) is a Guatemalan politician, actor, and comedian who served as the 50th president of Guatemala from 2016 to 2020. Early and personal life Morales was born in Guatemala City to José Everar ...
was elected as the new President of Guatemala in the
2015 Guatemalan general election General elections were held in Guatemala on 6 September 2015 to elect the President and Vice President, all 158 Congress deputies, all 20 deputies to the Central American Parliament, and mayors and councils for all 338 municipalities in the c ...
. He took office in January 2016. In January 2017, President Morales announced that Guatemala would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, becoming the first nation to follow the United States. In January 2020,
Alejandro Giammattei Alejandro Eduardo Giammattei Falla (; born 9 March 1956) is a Guatemalan politician who was the 51st president of Guatemala from 2020 to 2024. He is a former director of the Guatemalan penitentiary system and participated in Guatemala's presid ...
replaced Jimmy Morales as President of Guatemala after winning the
2019 Guatemalan general election General elections were held in Guatemala on 16 June 2019, to elect the president, Congress and local councils. A second round of the presidential elections was held on 11 August 2019, since no candidate won a majority in the first round. Aleja ...
in August 2019, running on a "tough-on-crime" platform. In November 2020, large protests and demonstrations erupted across Guatemala against President Alejandro Giammattei and the legislature, sparked by cuts to education and health spending.


Tenure of Bernardo Arévalo (2024 onwards )

In August 2023,
Bernardo Arévalo César Bernardo Arévalo de León (; born 7 October 1958) is a Guatemalan diplomat, sociologist, writer, and politician serving as the 52nd and current president of Guatemala since 2024. A member and co-founder of the Movimiento Semilla, Semill ...
, the candidate of the centre-left Semilla Movement and son of former president
Juan José Arévalo Juan José Arévalo Bermejo (10 September 1904 – 8 October 1990) was a Guatemalan statesman and professor of philosophy who became Guatemala's first democratically elected president in 1945. He was elected following a popular uprising again ...
, achieved a landslide victory in Guatemala's
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...
. On 14 January 2024, Bernardo Arévalo was sworn in as Guatemala's president.


See also

*
List of presidents of Guatemala The president of Guatemala (), officially titled President of the Republic of Guatemala (), is the head of state and head of government of Guatemala, elected to a single four-year term. The position of President was created in 1839. Selectio ...
*
Politics of Guatemala Politics of Guatemala takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, where by the President of Guatemala is both head of state, head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by t ...
*
Route of the Agroindustry and the Architecture Victoriana of Guatemala The Route of the Agroindustry and the Architecture Victoriana is located in the central part of Guatemala. The site is being considered for inclusion in the World Heritage list of sites with "outstanding universal value" to the world. Site descript ...
* Route of the Dominican Evangelisation of Guatemala * Route of the Franciscan Evangelisation in Guatemala *
Spanish colonization of the Americas The Spanish colonization of the Americas began in 1493 on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) after the initial 1492 voyage of Genoa, Genoese mariner Christopher Columbus under license from Queen Isabella ...
*
Timeline of Guatemala City The following is a timeline of the Guatemala City#History, history of Guatemala City, Republic of Guatemala. Prior to 20th century * 1776 – Nueva Guatemala de la Asuncion founded, following destruction by 1773 Guatemala earthquake, earthqua ...


Notes and references


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

*Woodward, Ralph Lee (1992). ''Guatemala''. Oxford, England; Santa Barbara, California : Clio Press


Conquest and Colonial era

*Cortijo Ocaña, Antonio, & Adelaida Cortijo Ocaña. ''Cartas desde México y Guatemala (1540–1635). El proceso Díaz de la Reguera''. Cáceres, Berkeley: Universidad de Extremadura, The Bancroft Library, 2003. * Few, Martha. ''For All of Humanity: Mesoamerican and Colonial Medicine in Enlightenment Guatemala''. Tucson: University of Arizona Press 2015. * Few, Martha. ''Women Who Live Evil Lives: Gender, Religion, and the Politics of Power in Colonial Guatemala''. Austin: University of Texas Press 2002. * Komisaruk, Catherine. ''Labor and Love in Guatemala: The Eve of Independence''. Stanford University Press 2013. * Lanning, John Tate. ''The Eighteenth-Century Enlightenment in the University of San Carlos de Guatemala''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press 1956. * Lovell, W. George. ''Conquest and Survival in Colonial Guatemala: A Historical Geography of the Cuchumatán Highlands, 1500–1821''. 3rd edition. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press 2005. * Meneray, Wilbur E. ''The Kingdom of Guatemala during the Reign of Charles III, 1759–1788''. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Dissertation: Ph.D. University of North Carolina 1975 * Martínez Peláez, Severo. ''La Patria Criollo: An Interpretation of Colonial Guatemala''. Trans. Susan M. Neve and W. George Lovell. Durham: Duke University Press 2009. *Orellana, Sandra. ''Indian Medicine in Highland Guatemala: The Pre-Hispanic and Colonial Periods''. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press 1987. * Van Oss, Adriaan C. ''Catholic Colonialism: A Parish History of Guatemala, 1524–1821''. New York: Cambridge University Press 1986.


Post-independence

* Adams, Richard N. ''Crucifixion by Power: Essays on Guatemalan National Social Structure, 1944–1966''. Austin: University of Texas Press 1970. * * Carmack, Robert, ed. ''Harvest of Violence: The Maya Indians and the Guatemalan Crisis''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 1982. * * Dosal, Paul J. ''Doing Business with the Dictators: A Political History of United Fruit in Guatemala 1899–1944'', Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources 1993 * Garrard-Burnett, Virginia, ''Terror in the land of the Holy Spirit: Guatemala under General Efraín Ríos Montt, 1982–1983''. Oxford; New York : Oxford University Press, 2010. * Gibbings, Julie. "In the Shadow of Slavery: Historical Time, Labor, and Citizenship in Nineteenth-Century Alta Verapaz, Guatemala," ''Hispanic American Historical Review'' 96.1, (February 2016): 73–107. * Grieb, Kenneth. ''Guatemalan Caudillo''. Athens: Ohio University Press 1979. * Gleijeses, Piero, ''Shattered Hope: The Guatemalan Revolution and the United States, 1944–1954''. Princeton University Press, 1991 * Grandin, Greg. ''The Last Colonial Massacre: Latin America in the Cold War'', Chicago 2004 *Green, Dee F., and Gareth W. Lowe, eds. 1989 Olmec Diffusion: A Sculptural View from Pacific Guatemala. In ''Regional Perspectives on the Olmec'' (Robert J. Sharer and David C. Grove, eds.): 227–246. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Eng. * Griffith, William J. ''Empires in the Wilderness: Foreign Colonization and Development in Guatemala, 1834–1844''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press 1965. * Hernández Sandoval, Bonar L. ''Guatemala's Catholic Revolution: A History of Religious and Social Reform, 1920–1968'' (U of Notre Dame Press, 2018
Online review
*''Historia General de Guatemala, 1999'', several authors . * Immerman, R. H., ''The CIA in Guatemala: The Foreign Policy of Intervention'', University of Texas Press: Austin, 1982. * *Jonas, Susanne. ''The Battle for Guatemala: Rebels, Death Squads, and U.S. Power''. Boulder: Westview Press 1991. * Kinzer, Stephen. ''Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq''. Henry Holt and Company, LLC. New York, 2006. * Walter LaFeber, ''Inevitable Revolutions: The United States in Central America''. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1993. *Malmström, Vincent H. ''The Origins of Civilization in Mesoamerica: A Geographic Perspective'', Department of Geography, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire * McCreery, David. ''Rural Guatemala, 1760–1940''. Stanford: Stanford University Press 1994. * Menchú, Rigoberta. ''I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala''. (1984). *Morier-Genoud, Eric. "Sant’ Egidio et la paix. Interviews de Don Matteo Zuppi & Ricardo Cannelli"

no. 13, Oct. 2003, pp. 119–145 * *Samson, Matt. "The Martyrdom of Manuel Saquic. Constructing Maya Protestantism in the face of war in contemporary Guatemala", '' LFM. Social sciences & missions'', no. 13, Oct. 2003, pp. 41–74 * Sanford, Victoria. ''Buried secrets : truth and human rights in Guatemala'', New York .a.: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003 * Schlesinger, Stephen and Stephen Kinzer,''Bitter Fruit: The Untold Story of the American Coup in Guatemala'', Garden City, New York : Doubleday, 1982 * Wasserstrom, Robert. "Revolution in Guatemala: Peasants and Politics under the Arbenz Government", ''Comparative Studies in Society and History'' 17(4), 433–78. * Woodward, Ralph Lee. ''Class Privileges and Economic Development: The Consulado de Comericio in Guatemala, 1793–1871''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press 1966.


External links

*
Guatemala: Memory of Silence
– English-language summary report of the
Historical Clarification Commission The Commission for Historical Clarification (; abbreviated CEH) was a Guatemalan government commission established in 1994 in order to investigate atrocities and human rights violations committed during the Guatemalan Civil War, which began in 1962 ...
report
Background Note: Guatemala
– Information from the US State Department
Rights Action
– Website of Rights Action, with special reports on mining, human rights, the struggles of indigenous people, and impunity
Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA
– Website of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA, with special reports on human rights, genocide trials, impunity, the Mérida Initiative, femicide, Bishop Gerardi's assassination, and more.
The Guatemalan Military: What the U.S. Files Reveal
– from
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
's
National Security Archive The National Security Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-governmental, non-profit research and archival institution located on the campus of the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1985 to check rising government secrecy, the N ...
Electronic Briefing Book No. 32 {{Years in Guatemala