Guatemala Military Coup Brings Ríos Montt to Power with Reagan Support

General Efraín Ríos Montt seizes power in Guatemala through a military coup, beginning what would become the bloodiest period in the nation’s history. The Reagan administration, seeking regional allies for its covert war against Nicaragua’s Sandinista government, immediately embraces the new military dictator despite clear evidence of massive human rights violations.

President Reagan personally champions Ríos Montt and actively works to lift congressional sanctions that had barred U.S. military assistance to Guatemala due to previous army atrocities. The Reagan administration restores aid in January 1983, providing millions in military equipment including jeeps, trucks, and helicopter parts, despite explicit reports from both the CIA and international watchdogs documenting ongoing genocide.

During Ríos Montt’s 17-month reign from March 1982 to August 1983, an estimated 86,000 Guatemalans are killed in a savage counterinsurgency campaign targeting indigenous Mayan populations. The Historical Clarification Commission later attributes 93% of atrocities to government forces, finding that 83% of victims were indigenous. In 2013, Guatemalan judges convict Ríos Montt of genocide and crimes against humanity for the systematic destruction of the Ixil Mayan people.

The Reagan administration’s unflinching support for the Guatemalan military, despite documented evidence of genocide, represents one of the most egregious examples of Cold War realpolitik prioritizing anti-communist ideology over fundamental human rights.