Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1976
Earthquake kills 22,000 in Guatemala. Reconstruction efforts help to consolidate leftist opposition
groups. The Carter administration bans military aid to Guatemala.
Feb 1982
Four powerful guerrilla organizations unite to form the URNG (Guatemalan National Revolutionary
Unity). An estimated half a million people actively support the guerrilla movement.
1982-83
State terror against rural indigenous communities peaks during the rule of General Efraín Ríos
Montt. Peasants, particularly in the highlands, begin an exodus to Mexico to escape violence from
both sides.
1990
The army massacres 13 Tz'utujil Maya (including three children) in Santiago Atitlán. Outraged, the
people of Santiago fight back, becoming the first town to succeed in expelling the army by popular
demand.
1992
Indigenous rights and peace activist Rigoberta Menchú is awarded the Nobel Prize for peace.
Menchú receives the award while living in exile in Mexico, returning to Guatemala two years later.
1996
After nearly a decade of talks, the Peace Accords are signed, bringing to an end the 36-year civil war
in which an estimated 200,000 Guatemalans died.
1998
The true nature of peace is questioned as Bishop Gerardi, author of a paper blaming the army for the
overwhelming amount of civil-war deaths, is found bludgeoned to death in his home.
2000-04
Presidency of Alfonso Portillo of the FRG party, led by Efraín Ríos Montt. Portillo begins by prosecut-
ing those responsible for the death of Bishop Gerardi, but is soon mired in corruption allegations.
2006
CAFTA, a free-trade agreement between the US and Central America, is ratified. Massive street
protests and seemingly endless media discussion have little effect on the final document.
