Office of the Historian

234. Airgram A–132 From the Embassy in Guatemala to the Department of State1

Guatemala City, November 8, 1976.

SUBJECT

  • Monthly Report on Political Violence and Human Rights: September, 1976

Summary: Incidents of probable political violence in September rose to the second highest total in the past 24 months. The focus of EGP activity shifted from El Quiché to the south coast where two plantations were raided and burned. In the East, a small war between the EGP and the Army followed capture of an important EGP official. The EGP has also begun short nightly broadcasts on a mobile clandestine radio, exhorting the public to fight their oppressors. A new rightist group [Page 641] calling itself the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional took credit for a shooting in Quezaltenango. The GOG declared the strengthening of the security forces to be a matter of national emergency and announced the formation of specially equipped anti-guerrilla commands to combat the increased violence. Neither measure is likely to be effective. The ordeals of the Castellanos and Poggio families continued amid continuing publicity and open letters to President Laugerud appealing for Castellanos’ release. A Christian Democratic Mayor was kidnapped and DCG leader Rene de Leon Schlotter urged the Government to sign and ratify three international conventions on human and social rights. End summary.

[Omitted here is the body of the airgram.]

  1. Summary: The Embassy reported on escalating political violence in Guatemala.

    Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P760177–0026. Confidential. Drafted in the Political Section by Snyder and Chamberlin, cleared by Jones and Thomas, and approved by Andrews. All brackets appear in the original except those indicating text omitted by the editors. In telegram 231122, September 17, 1976, the Department instructed all diplomatic and consular posts to bring the human rights portions of the International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Act of 1976 to the attention of host governments. (Ibid., D760353–0541) In telegram 7209 from Guatemala City, October 18, the Embassy reported that it had communicated this information to Guatemala’s Foreign Minister. (Ibid., D760392–0202) In telegram 7580 from Guatemala City, November 5, the Embassy reported that it had received an October 26 note from the Foreign Ministry thanking the Embassy for “its interesting communication, which has been made known to the appropriate high authorities.” (Ibid., D760414–1019)

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