364. Memorandum From William J. Jorden of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)1 2
SUBJECT:
- Guatemala Wipes Out Leadership of Communist Party
You should know that:
The Guatemalan Government has eliminated the top leadership of the country’s Communist Party.
In a raid by security forces on September 26, the Secretary General and four other members of the CP Central Committee were arrested. Also captured at the same time were three women (one a known CP member), and a Mexican male.
Following the arrests, President Arana and top-level officials of the Government met for four hours to determine the fate of the captured personnel. It was decided that they should all be killed. That action has been taken. The Government is reported to be confident the bodies will not be found.
The action reportedly was based on the conviction that any other course would have been read as a sign of weakness and an acknowledgment of the Government’s fear of retaliation by the extreme left.
Full details of this development are in the attached report from CIA.
- Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 785, Country Files, Latin America, Guatemala, Vol. I. Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. Sent for information. The memorandum was sent through Haig. Kissinger initialed the memorandum. Attached but not published is a September 27 CIA Intelligence Information Cable, TDCS DB–315/08103–72. In telegram 4337 from Guatemala City, September 29, the Embassy reported that the PGT’s top leadership had disappeared, concluding that the danger of retaliatory action by the extreme left increased so it was tightening security precautions. (Ibid., RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, POL 12 GUAT)↩
- Jorden informed Kissinger that the Guatemalan Government had captured and executed the top leadership of the country’s Communist Party.↩