ABSTRACT
The brutal civil war in Guatemala certainly did constitute genocide, as upwards of 200,000 people, the large majority of whom were indigenous people, were killed. Not only did the United States organize and help carry out the coup that overthrew President Arbenz in 1954, which had the effect of throwing the country into a decades-long civil war, but it also armed and equipped the various military dictatorships that directed and carried out the war. In response to the findings of the Guatemalan Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which tied US policy directly to this genocide, in 1999 President Bill Clinton issued a state apology for the country's support for “unjust regimes.” The following film focuses on efforts to bring the Guatemalan perpetrators to justice. To my knowledge, there has not been a comparable effort to hold US operatives accountable as well.
