The Rebel Armed Forces (, FAR) was a
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
n 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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
-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 is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
in the 1970s, and founded the
Guerrilla Army of the Poor (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, in 1968. Also killed that year were two U.S. military advisers, Colonel John Webber and
Ernest Munro, although they might have been killed at the command of
PGT leader
Leonardo Castillo Johnson.
In 1970, the group briefly kidnapped Guatemala's
foreign minister
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
Alberto Fuentes Mohr, but freed him in exchange for the release of a student leader.
Karl von Spreti, West 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 Sean Holly, he was freed for the release of FAR prisoners.
Notes and references
;References
;Sources
*
See also
*
Revolutionary Movement 13th November
External links
Collection of FAR documents{{Authority control
1961 establishments in Guatemala
Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity
Guerrilla movements in Latin America
Organizations of the Guatemalan Civil War
Military units and formations disestablished in 1996
Military units and formations established in 1961
Paramilitary organizations based in Guatemala