The Rebel Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas Rebeldes, FAR) was a Guatemalan guerrilla organization established in 1961 and lasting until the peace agreements in 1996. In the late 1960s, the Guatemalan government began a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

-backed counter-insurgency campaign that killed between 2,800 and 8000 FAR supporters in eastern Guatemala. The survivors of this campaign, which devastated the FAR, regrouped in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

in the 1970s, and founded the

Guerrilla Army of the Poor The Guerrilla Army Of The Poor (EGP – ''Ejército Guerrillero de los Pobres'') was a Guatemalan leftist guerrilla movement, which commanded significant support among indigenous Maya people during the Guatemalan Civil War. Formation __NOTOC ...

(EGP), which succeeded in mobilizing tremendous popular support over the next few years. FAR is most significantly known for having killed the U.S. ambassador to Guatemala,

John Gordon Mein John Gordon Mein (September 10, 1913 – August 28, 1968) was the first United States ambassador to be assassinated while serving in office. Mein served as the United States Ambassador to Guatemala during the Guatemalan Civil War. It was during h ...

, in 1968. Also killed that year were two U.S. military advisers, Colonel John Webber and

Ernest Munro Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor *Ernest, M ...

, although they might have been killed at the command of PGT leader

Leonardo Castillo Johnson Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard. People Notable people with the name include: * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scientist ...

. In 1970, the group briefly kidnapped Guatemala's foreign minister

Alberto Fuentes Mohr Alberto Fuentes Mohr (born 22 November 1927 – assassinated 25 January 1979) was a Guatemalan economist and politician, one of the founders of the Social Democratic Party. He also served as Minister of Finance and foreign minister during the 19 ...

, but freed him in exchange for the release of a student leader.

Karl von Spreti Karl Borromäus Maria Heinrich Graf von Spreti (21 May 1907 – 5 April 1970) was a German diplomat. He is best known as the West German Ambassador to Guatemala from 1968 until his assassination in 1970. The story of his assassination by Guatem ...

, German ambassador to Guatemala, was kidnapped and murdered by the FAR as well in that year. Further actions that year included the kidnapping of U.S.

labor attaché Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Sean Holly, he was freed for the release of FAR prisoners.

Notes and references

;References ;Sources *

External links

Collection of FAR documents
{{Authority control 1961 establishments in Guatemala Guatemalan Civil War Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity Guerrilla movements in Latin America Military units and formations disestablished in 1996 Military units and formations established in 1961 Paramilitary organizations based in Guatemala

Notes and references

See also

External links