Guatamala’s Montt guilty of Atrocity; but what about Ronald Reagan? (Democracy Now!)

Juan Cole 05/16/2013

A Guatamalan court has sentenced former dictator Efrain Rios Montt to 80 years in prison for his responsibility for the slaughter of some 1,771 members of the Maya Ixil by the army during his period in power, 1982-83.

What the court did not decide was the culpability of Ronald Reagan for the atrocity, given his warm support for Montt and Guatamalan right wing repression in that period.

Kate Doyle has assembled relevant documentation at the National Security Archive.

Democracy Now! interviews Allan Nairn on the issue:

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page