-
Mar 27, 1524
Conquering
Guatamela was conquered by a Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvardo in 1524. -
Gained Independence
Guatemala gained independence from Spain on September 15, 1821; it briefly became part of the Mexican Empire and then for a period belonged to a federation called The United Provinces of Central America, until the federation broke up in civil war in 1838–1840 -
Joins Province
Guatemala becomes part of the United Provinces of Central America. This also include Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. -
Ruling
Guatemala ruled by liberal President Justo Rufino Barrios, who modernises the country. And developed the army and introduces coffee growing. -
New President Rules
Juan Jose Arevalo becomes president following the overthrow of Ubico and introduces social-democratic reforms, including setting up a social security system and redistributing land to landless peasants. -
Assassination
President Carlos Castillo Arama became president in 1954. Only three years later he was assassinated. -
Presidential Security
A US State Dept. security official wrote a memo describing how a safe house was set up in the presidential palace. Only to be used by Guatemalan security agents and their United States contacts. -
Land Destruction
Hurricane Fifi struck Guatamala at 110 mph. This hurricane killed around 8,000 people. -
Attacks
In Guatemala the Spanish Embassy was attacked and 37 people were killed. The dead included the father of Rigoberta Menchu, who later filed charges in Spain against Rios Montt, 5 Guatemalan generals and 2 civilians for war crimes. -
Xococ
In Guatemala 73 men and women from Rio Negro were ordered by the local military commander to report to Xococ, a village upstream from the reservoir zone which had a history of land conflicts and hostility with Rio Negro. Only one woman out of the 73 villagers returned to Rio Negro, the rest were raped, tortured and then murdered by Xococ's Civil Defense Patrol, or PAC, one of the notorious paramilitary units used by the state as death squads. -
Xaman
In Xaman village, Guatemala, 11 war refugees were killed by government soldiers. In 1999 25 soldiers were convicted for homicide. 12 soldiers were sentenced to 5 years in prison and the rest to 4 years already served. In 2004 an officer and 13 soldiers were each sentenced to 40 years in prison for the Xaman massacre of recently returned civil war refugees. -
Commander Captured
Rafael Augusto Valdizon, rebel commander, was captured in connection with the kidnapping of 86-year-old Olga Novella, wife of a cement company owner, in September. He negotiated his freedom in exchange for her release. She was released and he disappeared. -
Violent Crime Rates
Guatemala has one of the highest violent crime rates in Latin America. The country saw 6,000 violent deaths in 2014.