GUATEMALA NEWS NOTES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000500410184-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 26, 2000
• Sequence Number: 184
• Publication Date: March 1, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

U.S. Officials Only
'
litl,
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
MFORMATION REPORT 25X1A
ONUS OOCIJ INt. COSTA INS IIIIO~tY~T10. ?flECTINO Tw[ NATIONAL DC[(SN(
OF tN( UNITED STATES, NI TOIN TN(N(.NINO OF TITL( to. SECTIONS 111
AND 711., O/ TN( U.S. COD[. AS .YEND(D. ITS TII.N1111S11ON ON NSV[.
L.TION OF IOU CONTENTS TO ON NECEIITI AT AN UN.UTNO0IE(O 1[NSON 11
R SIYE TO
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REPORT NO.
t1 _
1. ::1_:aCtO, C'.isc ssi^_j; the uneasiness that ---~rC1'cilod in CL:ctemala City ' cenuse of
announced tan against the Arbenz regime, commented editorially:
'The govern.^.e t must not lose its head,' and deplored the 1:idnapins by govern-
l
r.ient agents o- persons from
'itheir homes and public thoroughfares. Impacto re-
called how th~famous kidnaping of the Spanish monarchist Calvo Sotello by
agents of the Spanish Republic set off the bloody Spanish Civil War and said:
'This must no happen in Guatemala because it would ruin us, destroy us.'
Lipacto says it understands the situation: 'The government is at an ir:portant
cr ossro d: it L'acct a Ci?.i cl:lt :)r6 lc:.I 1 r,14 cy.
tiltv '1 12 ~O
C,--' ai1:L. :?G L,;.- O i ltit'1 _ trying to i O_,,_ ._O`:3 :.^ i..:@ L='. _nt of an
?nJ cc tac ov rt1~1'G?. of the current rerilae. ti_ is it ~"?'^C _ -T 0 nr.'Lur1 ,)
"C
t"'
C'. ther is acti-. _. -, to u:' cccver the truth, to 1_. rn uhc c th? ~ e; ? ; I l a:,--
= ive, but all this be 0_0 c honestly anC: 'Gi hri~etly . '
2. "The net:zya_ler :? ndo Libre edltcriully inauircz ;1'_y ti--! ;ovcrni' 'nt for I nor a then
a .'.:J:ith had b con 12illtiilC of conuniracios cgainzt it nu the Ciueation
sa"vinn; 'it al)y,ears 5.ost Zil: ly that this j' jjro; citUU, t0 ~uzti "sr in
Gtn te:;:ala a " OLotnzo" even ::Crc disastrous a'1ci bloody than that n COIL:"bin ...
The lead rn CL :1 be cure that) sonet1:3 ng ilis coohi l- in 'Lha ?Ot O the Co::1::unizt~C
nn(] their al:Lffes in the revolutionary parties.'
cailef Vi. ctor : r_ucl Guticrre::, .._A .-13U is :i.?Ci.' tery G:?earcl
the CGTG ~.nl: c ...1 o
'lty i"I~'tul^.1C:i 2'O^' i?lOUCGti, .CCLL^,Ui lJ' 'G,lct J'1'llii: CQ:?i-
T C ,'a inst C'I:GtC al_. 1: ; :k GCC, ~._ G_,?~r_ir
'~" U.. ~.. ^.1 .. en ^C' _ :O L
.--COi.'a' l.ll)OZ'^i 1:e IIa=._ th 1Ct'vl'.':' t:aN Qi?::n 1. .Iy ''the
:Cl'_.ul_1 t C col t'i1C a: cntu v ere O^. ?:C ' . ._ O: U:: ul'as.
said high tl'I
tit
Com?)an\" aou~::. LO tl'eiubl' ; with .:.r:::.^r ~'..:t . " COU. 7i: ,:ith
votes. SigriflIiC"All ~'_'y', C L a ~1 i'C s Oi:C of th 3ov ct t: G1 Ti la
th _ Con(Tutll)_^.Ory e1.L:C?eci a ca.)l_
Cot::
U.S. Officials Only
This report is for tie use within the USA of the Intelligence components of the Departments or
Agencies indicated above. It is not to be transmitted overseas without the concurrence of the
originating office through the Assistant Director of the OMee of Collection and Dissemination, CIA.
or Release 200/01/03 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500410184-0
 AII~proved For ReI~ ase1002/01/03 : CIA-RDP80-00809 000500410184-0
COI FID12 TIAL/US OFFICIALS ONLY 2~
government issued a white paper claming the pant as to invade Guatema a!
from the Pacific coast and neighboring countries and accused Genera 1 i Yd fn_or s,
ruen+es, defeated lpresidential candidate agcinst Arbenz in 1555C utfl1Carlos
uastilo Armas, of leading the novemen+ _ T+ ~+~+e,~ ~'.__ _?_ __ . : _
n
ranagus. - hotost is ~?rere Ix
hib'ited seeking to'!prove the complicity of, those named in the charges. These!
charges recall similar', accusations made following the abortive upr;sings in
Salami in I?iaz ch 1952, and the tense atmosphere that prevailed in 1;o4eLber 1
whe i' military scuads rushee: to the coast to ward off rumored landings 53,
and h gh-
ways and railway iah Fees n--
-r- .,-...:+..~ ~,, 1d ~U~ t1 jS;~U a :u .-re lc:ent
SOm6ia. The headouart'_rs of the plotters was i
I' n
a on Ciros, ha
beer apprehended onl 23 Jan 5!+?, but later released. Horatio C6rdova,Il who spo! -
sors'an anti-Co!r^:ur_'ist prograr, on one of Guatemala City's
oberto Vi n radio s ta ions, an ~ I
zcai?_o, Director of Radio Continental, also were arrested aria put in!
prison a
sue conspiracies; no hang has
happened and nothi ig is going to happen. ' He denied the police had I rode arr sts .
Iiowever, Charnaud said Roberto Castillo, Director of radio St '
i
e
en For oxaurple:l on the very day that Ch
ELr_
naudl,MacDonald was discussing the conspiracy, Col fogelio Cruz STer,IChief of
the
Guardia Civil, was protesting: 'There are no h
e result oP ,.he 'discovery of a
ive plot against the government,' but the governr..ent ther, dir~ not appear
publicize the m
ld t
The round.-up of various persons netted mostly those known for their anti-
Comcunist views. It was not officially confirmed until five days a ~t[er the
initial rumors in the press by Minister of ,Government, Augusto Charnaud iiac onald;
Charnaud claimed that various arrests wore
i
'th
G. "The detained include the four leaders of the recently organized Uni 'IlNaclonalde
Traba'jadores Libres I who challenged the Co:mnunist Party leaders to e lain t e
part) they play in Guatemalan life. These men are Ruben Villatoro, E{ ioue
Coronado, Ramiro A uilar and Miguel Angel uiroa. tirrants were iss ed for the
apprehension of three members of the City Council, Luis ieltranena, Pamiro
Castellanos, and Miguel Caraacho Labbe. Beltranena and Camacho tool: ref age in
the Salvadorean embassy and three days later Beltranena and Camach ~rlent to E
Salvador. o
The anti Communist Mayor of Guatemala City, Juan Luis Lizzesalde, ?}as
appointed by the City Council to investigate, the government persecution of hi
colleagues. The ex idire;ctor of the weekly Tribune of Truth, Jose Guzman, the
an~ti~Communist student Ricardo Lara G>Ivez, the attorney Guillermo Vila
Cordova, the businessman' Gabriel Fernandez also were arrested. The etired
newspaperman Carlos Gandara Duran took -asylum: in the (Nicaraguan emba syl1
Ber er, General Cashier of the Guater.iala Social Security Institute, 1 aJ~arrrOsc
es ed
as heI left his ho^ne alter attending the first coi:aiunior_ of Us daughtc-,z's
Shortry Y 'after erCc 's detention agents of
the Guardia Civil scarche.! the hou ei
of Miguel Comacho. Also captured were Gabri
l i'
a
d
e
ern
r
ez Giottiid Pl
var~!e !euljne
0 Suarez de T'
Fern ~n?? ez. ,
11. retlxed army captain, E^_rinue Trini ad Oliv
who had been detained earlier in the woe):, has denied any Violation oF1t the tr~f
fie 1w:rs'which was later , given by the Guardia Civil as an excuse for 3.rrestin-
7. "Oliva 's wife said that when the car was halted, the police opened and but the
door, and immediately afterwards found two hand grenades and a revolv44r'.'1 lIe
said neither he nor his wife use hand grenades and he has not had a pi0tol
since the was casniereci out of the army for his part in the ill-fated i}ur'ora
I._.volu,.ion of 1950. Oliva asked that he be committed to the p,enetent dry when
he thought his life would be more secure in view of his claims he was being
framed; than in the detention quarters of the Guardia Civil. Oliva's experi-
ence caused. Impacto ironically to warn its readers not~to open their cfors to
any .t rangers in uniform if they didn't want to be blamed for having bombs.
C. "The Comunist daily, Trlbuna Popular, claimed that a certain number o persons
was inierro~ated to establish the veracity
of ' concrete' denuneiat o!;, about
various subversive i:!OVC:iic i l , : s . Tribunes Popular clai!'led the th-arted
:rhatc cr uj~ iuirig was (planned and hqs the na!.:es of a Creat number of t iose pre-
sumed o t e compro:nis d in the conspiracy.
11
CO1 FIDE14TL'J /US OFFICIALS OIILYI
 Approved For Release 2002/01/03 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500410184-0
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"The Anti-Communist Youth Alliance telegraphed President Arbenz asking his
intervention to guarantee civil rights. The same group, together with the
Central Committee of Anti-Communist workers invited anti-Communists to meet
at the Casa de la Libertad to protest the capture of Horacio de Cordova
and other citizens. The directors of various radio stations interviewed
Charnaud MacDonald, asking the Minister of Government why there had been
detentions of station owners and other citizens and about the veracity of
an insistent rumor that all directors of radio stations were to be detained.
The directors explained that almost all radio stations have radio news-
papers (news broadcasts) for which they sell only the time and have no
responsibility for what is said during this period. Charnaud MacDonald
replied that the government will question any person who is suspected of
being involved in a subversive movement. Also the government is not
going to tolerate infractions of the law by any radio stations and said
that those connected with radio stations so far detained were apprehended
because of complaints they had solicited for funds to overthrow the govern-
ment under the threat of subjecting non-contributors to future reprisals.,
He said that after all, radio station directors were only individuals and
subject to penalties for violation of the laws. The attorney Ramiro
Castellanos Gonzalez filed suit against Guardia Civil chief Cruz Wer,
claiming that he was being persecuted by members of the Guardia Civil.
The appellate court accepted the suit and called on Cruz Her to explain
the Guardia Civil action.
10. "President Arbenz notified the recent meeting of the Democratic Front com-
posed of all the government political parties, he was confirming as Secretary
General of the presidency Jaime D~az Rozzotto, accused by his political
party, the Renovation National, of political corruption and mismanagement
of funds of that organization of which he nad been Secretary General. The
removal of DLaz Rozzotto had been recommended by Congress as an act of
reprimand for political gangsterism.
11. "Although the official version of the shooting of Deputy Guillermo Ovardo
Arriola, President of Congress, blamed the incident on a rabbit hunter,
the accepted version is that he was ambushed at night while driving his jeep
alone on the road between Quetzaltenango and Totonicapan. The official
version said the shooting had no importance and did not merit the large
headlines given it by the newspapers. The unofficial version, however,
said the shooting occurred at 12:30 a m when obviously there are no rabbit
hunters abroad. The newspaper El Espectador, 20 Jan [54], pointed out
that this is not the first time Ovando Arriola has been involved in
violence, explaining that he is a shock trooper of the PAR.
12i' "The second labor congress was staged by the CGTG the week end of 29-31 Jan [54J
and all political parties were invited to send delegates. In the preliminary
publicity published by the government press there were statements that Luis
Saillan~,Secretary of the World Federation of Trade Unions and of France,
Vicente Lombardo Toledano, of the CTAL, arid the Italian Communist worker
leaders Giuseppe Erudi and Giuseppe Cosadel were invited to be present and
to take active participation. Large de egations of Communists were requested
from Chile, Ecuador and Colombia. The Ministry of Education has given
financial assistance to the CGTG to stage this affair.
13. "The PAR has announced it would not approve the candidacy of Jorge Toriello
G. for the mayor of Guatemala City. The PAR prefers Juan de D(os uilar
or 'any person other than the reactionary' Toriello.
14 "The opposition newspapers claim the current Arbenz regime is threatening
the liberty of the press in Guatemala. El Espectador calls public
attention to the fact that the principal afternoon newspaper El Impartial
has called upon the Association of Newspapermen of Guatemala to be
vigilant and fight for maintenance of civil liberties, especially that of
CONFIDENTIAL/US OFFICIALS ONLY
 Approved For Release 2002/01/03 : CIA-RDP80-00809A0005004101p
CONFIDENTIAL/US OFFICIALS ONLY
freedom of thought. El Espectador comments: 'We have seen recent days
an increase of the threats against the press and newspapermen!-7no~Iconnected
with the sectarianism that invades the Guatemala October Revolution. The
Communists call for violence and destruction of our liberties in their own
organ of publicity as well as by some leaders from the speake s rostrums
each time they have an opportunity such as Gutigrrez (Communi.1t!chief
Victor Manuel Guti'rrez) the lst of May last year [1953J. .-Iso .lthere
are veiled threats in the official press and government cinch s: The
call of Guerra Borges (Alfredo Guerra. Borges, Director of the Communist
newspaper Tribune Popular) for the massacre of 'traitors" and I"reactionaries"
and the aggressive measures of some of the prominent leaders fl the PRG in
the closing minutes of their convention do not have the criminal a'ignificance
of the exhottations openly made through the editorial columns of the semi-
official newspaper Nuestro Diario.
LC;
15. "Espectador adds that Nuestro Diario publishes anti-democratic oison from
its non-Guatemalan columnists and editorialists whose names ar jknown and
whose affiliations and antecedents as agitators of internatio1'Communism
are well known.
16. "Santos Miguel Lima Bonilla, editor of the weekly I_a Pia who p, 13
up and seriously injured by four hoodlums in connection with h 's i anti-
Communist publication, printed a letter of thanks to those who 'ave' him
assistance afterwards and included Colonel Cruz Wer, Director IQfthe Civil
Guard, explaining he did so because he was not detained. MundIIL~ibre called
the beating a reappearance of the old vices of the dictators.. I i
17. "The ambassadors of the US and Mexico were not. present when Guillermo
Toriello received the foreign diplomatic corps in one of his first acts
after taking over the foreign ministry. Instead these two nations were
represented by.charges d'affaires because the ambassadors werrabent.
Toriello still has not been able to get agreement on Guatema s'participation
at the next meeting of the OAS at Caracas
-end-.
895.2
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111.7
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35E
111.62
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35e
114.572
35E
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 Approved For Release 2002/01/03 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500410184-0 25X1X
Approved For Release 2002/01/03 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500410184-0