Efraín Ríos Montt (Guatemala)

About

Efraín Ríos Montt was a Guatemalan military officer, politician, and dictator who served as the de facto President of Guatemala from 1982 to 1983. Born on June 16, 1926, in Huehuetenango, he rose through the ranks of the Guatemalan army, becoming a brigadier general and army chief of staff. Ríos Montt's tenure was marked by a bloody counter-insurgency campaign against Marxist guerrillas, leading to accusations of war crimes and genocide, particularly against the indigenous Ixil population. Ríos Montt's rule was controversial, with significant human rights abuses. He was later tried and convicted for genocide and crimes against humanity in 2013, though his conviction was overturned. His regime received support from U.S. evangelical groups and the Reagan administration, despite widespread human rights violations. Ríos Montt's legacy is complex, marked by both his military career and his later role as a lay preacher after converting to evangelical Christianity. He passed away on April 1, 2018.