The 1960 Guatemalan Military Insurrection or the 13th of November was a military insurrection in Guatemala, started in November 13th, 1960 against the dictatorship of Ydígoras Fuentes. It was led by young military officers who seized the Zacapa military base. The rebellion would spark the Guatemalan Civil War.
| 1960 Guatemalan Military Insurrection | |||||||
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| Part of Guatemalan Civil War | |||||||
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 MLN |
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Background
editIn 1944, the president Jorge Ubico was deposed via a coup d'etat by Jacobo Árbenz in October, an event also known as the "October Revolution". The 1944-1954 period in Guatemala was known as the Guatemalan Revolution. It saw the implementation of social, political, and especially agrarian reforms that were influential across Latin America.[2]
The period ended in 1954, when a CIA backed coup deposed democratically elected president Jacobo Árbenz. Carlos Castillo Armas was installed as the military dictator. Carlos Castillo Armas was assassinated in 1957, and elections were held immediately afterwards by a military junta.[3] The election was so fraudulent, that it forced a new ballot, Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes was eventually elected, his government was marked by continuous corruption scandals and sparked significant social turmoil along the population.[3] This would make military officers outraged and to cause the rebellion.
History
editIn November 13, 1960, the insurrection started at dawn when the Military offficers seized the Zacapa military base. The insurrection happened at the country's entire eastern military district; including the Jutiapa military zone and Puerto Barrios military base.[4]
After a few skirmishes, it was defeated in 3 days. The CIA flew B-26 bombers disguised as Guatemalan military jets to bomb the rebel bases because the coup threatened U.S. plans for the invasion of Cuba as well as the Guatemalan regime it supported. The rebels fled to the hills of eastern Guatemala and neighboring Honduras and formed the MR-13 (Movimiento Revolucionario 13 Noviembre).[5] The rebels in Puerto Barrios resisted but were defeated by the government in a battle.[4]
Aftermath
editAfter the conflict, the rebels in honduras penetrated into Guatemala in March 1961, and they would later attack the United Fruit Company's headquarters at Bananera as the MR-13.[4]
References
edit- ↑ Sosa, Yon (April 1968). "Breves apuntes históricos del movimiento revolucionario 13 de noviembre" (PDF).
- ↑ Gleijeses, Piero (1992-08-17). Shattered Hope: The Guatemalan Revolution and the United States, 1944-1954. Princeton University Press. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-691-02556-8.
- 1 2 Gordon, Max (April 1971). "A Case History of U. S. Subversion: Guatemala, 1954". Science & Society: A Journal of Marxist Thought and Analysis. 35 (2): 152. doi:10.1177/003682377103500201. ISSN 0036-8237.
- 1 2 3 Sosa, Yon (April 1968). "Breves apuntes históricos del movimiento revolucionario 13 de noviembre" (PDF).
- ↑ McClintock, Michael (1985). The American Connection. Zed Books. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-86232-258-8.