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Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity

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The Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (in Spanish : Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca , URNG-MAIZ or most commonly URNG ) is a Guatemalan political party that started as a guerrilla movement but laid down its arms in 1996 and became a legal political party in 1998 after the peace process which ended the Guatemalan Civil War .

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122-621: Since the CIA -backed coup in 1954, opposition groups were continuously forming in an attempt to fight against the repression that the military and wealthy landowners in Guatemala had created. The ensuing military dictatorship of Carlos Castillo Armas immediately on 28 June 1954 banned the Guatemalan Party of Labour (PGT) and shortly later other labor unions and left-wing parties with suspected communist sympathies via Decree 4880. After

244-513: A CIA domestic surveillance program was uncovered that had not been subject to congressional oversight. When the CIA was created, its purpose was to create a clearinghouse for foreign policy intelligence and analysis, collecting, analyzing, evaluating, and disseminating foreign intelligence, and carrying out covert operations. As of 2013, the CIA had five priorities: The CIA has an executive office and five major directorates: The director of

366-534: A CIA paid mob led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini would spark what a U.S. embassy officer called "an almost spontaneous revolution" but Mosaddegh was protected by his new inner military circle, and the CIA had been unable to gain influence within the Iranian military. Their chosen man, former General Fazlollah Zahedi, had no troops to call on. After the failure of the first coup, Roosevelt paid demonstrators to pose as communists and deface public symbols associated with

488-466: A Presidential military order issued by President Roosevelt on June 13, 1942. The idea for a centralized intelligence organization was first proposed by General William J. Donovan, who envisioned an intelligence service that could operate globally to counter communist threats and provide crucial intelligence directly to the President. Donovan proposed the idea to President Roosevelt in 1944, suggesting

610-642: A Russian translator and Soviet spy. However, the CIA was successful in influencing the 1948 Italian election in favor of the Christian Democrats . The $ 200 million Exchange Stabilization Fund (equivalent to $ 2.5 billion in 2023), earmarked for the reconstruction of Europe, was used to pay wealthy Americans of Italian heritage. Cash was then distributed to Catholic Action , the Vatican's political arm, and directly to Italian politicians. This tactic of using its large fund to purchase elections

732-457: A consequence of the repression, a large contingent of the FAR came to the conclusion that they needed to change their strategy. Instead of continuing with the foco strategy of confronting the army in the countryside, which inflicted heavy losses on them, they saw the need to expand their social base to indigenous communities and middle class intellectuals and professionals. This perception gave rise to

854-662: A former leader inside the EGP and critique from Soto, who rejected cooperation with the FRG. Later in May 2002, Soto also left the party to found the New Nation Alternative , taking fewer than 200 members with him. In the legislative election , held on 9 November 2003, the severely fractured party saw their vote share decrease to 4.2% of the popular vote, returning 2 out of 158 seats to Congress . Elected were Maldonado Guevara via

976-526: A gestation period of 8 years, operating clandestinely, mainly recruiting soldiers and accruing arms, before committing their first operation in September 1979. The group would soon grow famous for acts of armed propaganda in this mold, wherein they disarmed the local police and military forces and read out revolutionary statements, while handing out propaganda leaflets. Similarly the Guerrilla Army of

1098-636: A legal party inside the Guatemalan political system in June 1997. The group was formally registered as a political party in December 1998. In March 1982, only one month after their formation, the URNG experienced an attack ordered by then president, retired General Efraín Ríos Montt . Backed by the CIA, Ríos Montt led a " scorched-earth " counter-insurgency campaign against the URNG and its supporters until he

1220-721: A member of the National Front , was elected Iranian prime-minister. As prime minister, he nationalized the Anglo-Persian Oil Company which his predecessor had supported. The nationalization of the British-funded Iranian oil industry, including the largest oil refinery in the world, was disastrous for Mosaddegh. A British naval embargo closed the British oil facilities, which Iran had no skilled workers to operate. In 1952, Mosaddegh resisted

1342-461: A number of subversive operations in the country, all of which failed due to the presence of double agents. Millions of dollars were spent in these efforts. These included a team of young CIA officers airdropped into China who were ambushed, and CIA funds being used to set up a global heroin empire in Burma's Golden Triangle following a betrayal by another double agent. In 1951, Mohammad Mosaddegh ,

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1464-631: A political solution. According to a report in NACLA 's Report on the Americas (May/June 1997), The government and army maintained that since they had "defeated" the URNG, they had no need to negotiate until the guerrillas had laid down their arms. The subsequent settlements ending the wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador stiffened the elites' resolve "never" to permit such an outcome in Guatemala. The URNG functioned as an umbrella organization to represent

1586-641: A principal member of the United States Intelligence Community (IC), the CIA reports to the director of national intelligence and is primarily focused on providing intelligence for the president and Cabinet . The agency's founding followed the dissolution of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) at the end of World War II by President Harry S. Truman , who created the Central Intelligence Group under

1708-523: A variety of activities such as the CIA's drone fleet and anti- Iranian nuclear program activities, accounts for $ 2.6 billion. There were numerous previous attempts to obtain general information about the budget. As a result, reports revealed that CIA's annual budget in Fiscal Year 1963 was $ 550 million (inflation-adjusted US$ 5.5 billion in 2024), and the overall intelligence budget in FY 1997

1830-778: Is responsible for all matters pertaining to congressional interaction and oversight of US intelligence activities. It claims that it aims to: The CIA established its first training facility, the Office of Training and Education, in 1950. Following the end of the Cold War , the CIA's training budget was slashed, which had a negative effect on employee retention . In response, Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet established CIA University in 2002. CIA University holds between 200 and 300 courses each year, training both new hires and experienced intelligence officers, as well as CIA support staff. The facility works in partnership with

1952-402: Is responsible for collecting foreign intelligence (mainly from clandestine HUMINT sources), and for covert action. The name reflects its role as the coordinator of human intelligence activities between other elements of the wider U.S. intelligence community with their HUMINT operations. This directorate was created in an attempt to end years of rivalry over influence, philosophy, and budget between

2074-665: The Catholic Church were also a part of. Ríos Montt's eventual downfall from power followed a similar path as his ascension, with a coup by his Minister of Defence Óscar Humberto Mejía Víctores in August 1983. His overthrow ended the bloodiest episode of the civil war and the Guatemalan genocide , in which approximately 150,000 civilians were killed between mid 1981 and 1983 and which led to widespread displacement of another 1.5 million people. The Victoria 82 campaign, as it

2196-475: The Departments of State and War . The division lasted only a few months. The first public mention of the "Central Intelligence Agency" appeared on a command-restructuring proposal presented by Jim Forrestal and Arthur Radford to the U.S. Senate Military Affairs Committee at the end of 1945. Army Intelligence agent Colonel Sidney Mashbir and Commander Ellis Zacharias worked together for four months at

2318-795: The Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP), the Revolutionary Organization of People in Arms (ORPA), the Rebel Armed Forces (FAR) and the National Directing Nucleus of PGT (PGT-NDN) on 8 February 1982. The unification process was mediated by the Cuban government, who only wanted to support a unitary and forceful insurgency. In consequence, the group became the public face of the long-running insurgency against

2440-682: The National Intelligence University , and includes the Sherman Kent School for Intelligence Analysis , the Directorate of Analysis' component of the university. For later stage training of student operations officers, there is at least one classified training area at Camp Peary , near Williamsburg, Virginia . Students are selected, and their progress evaluated, in ways derived from the OSS, published as

2562-540: The National Security Council issued Directive 10/2 calling for covert action against the Soviet Union , and granting the authority to carry out covert operations against "hostile foreign states or groups" that could, if needed, be denied by the U.S. government. To this end, the Office of Policy Coordination (OPC) was created inside the new CIA. The OPC was unique; Frank Wisner , the head of

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2684-595: The Organization of People in Arms (ORPA) and Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP) in the early 1970s. The former was formed in 1971 as the Organización Regional de Occidente , as a branch of the FAR in western Guatemala, before splitting outright in mid 1972. The split was effectuated by their differences regarding organizational and ideological questions, particularly the role of ethnicity in the economic exclusion of indigenous people. The group underwent

2806-818: The Rebel Armed Forces (FAR). After barely any preparation the FAR launched its first attacks against remote military installations and properties of the United Fruit Company on 6 February 1962. The failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961 and his purported erratic behavior convinced part of the military and the United States to rid themselves of Ydígoras Fuentes, which finally succeeded after several attempts in March 1963. This putsch , led by his Minister of Defense Alfredo Enrique Peralta Azurdia , denoted

2928-1003: The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in India , the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in Pakistan , the General Intelligence Service in Egypt , Mossad in Israel , and the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in South Korea . The CIA was instrumental in the establishment of intelligence services in several U.S. allied countries, including Germany's BND and Greece's EYP (then known as KYP). The closest links of

3050-599: The Soviet atomic bomb project . In particular, the agency failed to predict the Chinese entry into the Korean War with 300,000 troops. The famous double agent Kim Philby was the British liaison to American Central Intelligence. Through him, the CIA coordinated hundreds of airdrops inside the iron curtain, all compromised by Philby. Arlington Hall , the nerve center of CIA cryptanalysis, was compromised by Bill Weisband ,

3172-560: The Spanish Embassy Fire in January 1980, in which the Guatemalan military firebombed the embassy to evict a protest group of indigenous peasant farmers and student activist inside the embassy, which also backfired at the military, leading to even more momentum for the guerrilla mobilization effort. By early 1981, the guerrilla forces were so strong that they mounted a major offensive on government forces, leaving rural areas in

3294-431: The U.S. military , including the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command , by providing it with information it gathers, receiving information from military intelligence organizations, and cooperating with field activities. The associate deputy director of the CIA is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the agency. Each branch of the agency has its own director. The Office of Military Affairs (OMA), subordinate to

3416-856: The United States Department of Defense (DOD) and the CIA. In spite of this, the Department of Defense announced in 2012 its intention to organize its own global clandestine intelligence service, the Defense Clandestine Service (DCS), under the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Contrary to some public and media misunderstanding, DCS is not a "new" intelligence agency but rather a consolidation, expansion and realignment of existing Defense HUMINT activities, which have been carried out by DIA for decades under various names, most recently as

3538-458: The elections in 1970, to counter the reforms initiated under Méndez Montenegro, which the army perceived as infringing on their autonomy. The incoming government of Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio initiated another counterinsurgency to stifle the FAR and began to entrench the military in the Guatemalan economy, chiefly by establishing the Army Bank, which handed out loans to the officer corps. As

3660-694: The elections in 1999 , joining forces with 2 minor left-wing parties, the Authentic Integral Development and Unidad de la Izquierda Democrática to contest the elections as the New Nation Alliance. The alliance, which was finalized on 12 February 1999, nominated the moderate Álvaro Colom , who in 2011 eventually was successful in seeking the presidential office inside the National Unity of Hope , as their presidential candidate. He came in third with about 12.4% of

3782-652: The fiscal year 2010, the CIA had the largest budget of all intelligence community agencies, exceeding prior estimates. The CIA's role has expanded since its creation, now including covert paramilitary operations. One of its largest divisions, the Information Operations Center (IOC), has shifted from counterterrorism to offensive cyber operations . The agency has been the subject of several controversies , including its use of torture , domestic wiretapping , propaganda , and alleged human rights violations and drug trafficking . In 2022,

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3904-577: The Agency's mission activities. It is the Agency's newest directorate. The Langley, Virginia -based office's mission is to streamline and integrate digital and cybersecurity capabilities into the CIA's espionage, counterintelligence, all-source analysis, open-source intelligence collection, and covert action operations. It provides operations personnel with tools and techniques to use in cyber operations. It works with information technology infrastructure and practices cyber tradecraft . This means retrofitting

4026-823: The Air Force. A DS&T organization analyzed imagery intelligence collected by the U-2 and reconnaissance satellites called the National Photointerpretation Center (NPIC), which had analysts from both the CIA and the military services. Subsequently, NPIC was transferred to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). The Directorate of Support has organizational and administrative functions to significant units including: The Directorate of Digital Innovation (DDI) focuses on accelerating innovation across

4148-724: The Berger administration for its approach towards its translation into law, which it viewed as weak and inadequate and inhibited by delay tactics. In December 2006, a new agreement between the UN and the government led to the creation of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), which finally began to operate in September 2007, after being greenlit by the Constitutional Court and Congress in May and August 2007, respectively. In May 2009,

4270-432: The CIA for cyberwarfare . DDI officers help accelerate the integration of innovative methods and tools to enhance the CIA's cyber and digital capabilities on a global scale and ultimately help safeguard the United States. They also apply technical expertise to exploit clandestine and publicly available information (also known as open-source data ) using specialized methodologies and digital tools to plan, initiate and support

4392-453: The CIA would corroborate Hart's findings. The CIA's station in Seoul had 200 officers, but not a single speaker of Korean . Hart reported to Washington that Seoul station was hopeless, and could not be salvaged. Loftus Becker, deputy director of intelligence, was sent personally to tell Hart that the CIA had to keep the station open to save face. Becker returned to Washington, D.C., pronouncing

4514-575: The CIA's computer network operations budget for fiscal year 2013 was $ 685.4 million. The NSA's budget was roughly $ 1 billion at the time. Rep. Adam Schiff , the California Democrat who served as the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee , endorsed the reorganization. "The director has challenged his workforce, the rest of the intelligence community, and the nation to consider how we conduct

4636-1113: The CIA. The role and functions of the CIA are roughly equivalent to those of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) in Germany , MI6 in the United Kingdom , the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) in Australia , the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) in France , the Foreign Intelligence Service in Russia , the Ministry of State Security (MSS) in China ,

4758-461: The Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is appointed by the president with Senate confirmation and reports directly to the director of national intelligence (DNI); in practice, the CIA director interfaces with the director of national intelligence (DNI), Congress , and the White House , while the deputy director (DD/CIA) is the internal executive of the CIA and the chief operating officer (COO/CIA), known as executive director until 2017, leads

4880-445: The Company , is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with gathering, processing, and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence (HUMINT) and conducting covert action through its Directorate of Operations . The agency is headquartered in the George Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley, Virginia . As

5002-417: The Defense Human Intelligence Service. This Directorate is known to be organized by geographic regions and issues, but its precise organization is classified. The Directorate of Science & Technology was established to research, create, and manage technical collection disciplines and equipment. Many of its innovations were transferred to other intelligence organizations, or, as they became more overt, to

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5124-401: The FAR and a PGT splinter group also rejoined the armed struggle by the late 1970s, creating a volatile atmosphere in Guatemala. The repression of the late 1970s failed to quell the rebellion and likely had the unintentional consequence of growing the ranks of the guerrilla factions between 1980 and 1981, who by that time were in charge of 9 departments in Guatemala. Another pivotal incident was

5246-439: The FAR commander Pablo Monsanto, the guerilla entered the first negotiations with the Cerezo administration to reorganize and rearm itself and only later reached a point, where a political solution to the conflict seemed beneficial and unavoidable. By the time a civilian government returned to office in 1986, the URNG recognized that coming to power through armed struggle was out of the question, and they took initiatives to negotiate

5368-432: The German Bundesnachrichtendienst is keeping contact to the CIA office in Wiesbaden . The success of the British Commandos during World War II prompted U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to authorize the creation of an intelligence service modeled after the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), and Special Operations Executive . This led to the creation of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) by

5490-412: The Guatemalan government throughout the Guatemalan Civil War. Later on, the URNG led the leftist opposition in peace negotiations with the conservative Guatemalan government. These negotiations began in 1986 and brought the end of the civil war when negotiations finished in December 1996, by signing the Firm and Lasting Agreement. The conclusion of the peace talks led the URNG to pursue the registration as

5612-428: The Guatemalan military upon the Reagan administration taking office in January 1981. The militant PGT splinter groups saw their base wiped-out, following the capture and coerced conversion of Carlos Quinteros , an important commander in their ranks. The political wing of the PGT also faced a major crisis, after unsuccessfully trying to reorganize itself in its former northern strongholds of Alta Verapaz , as this plan

5734-418: The OPC, answered not to the CIA Director , but to the secretaries of defense, state, and the NSC. The OPC's actions were a secret even from the head of the CIA. Most CIA stations had two station chiefs, one working for the OSO, and one working for the OPC. With the agency unable to provide sufficient intelligence about the Soviet takeovers of Romania and Czechoslovakia , the Soviet blockade of Berlin , and

5856-414: The OSO was tasked with spying and subversion overseas with a budget of $ 15 million (equivalent to $ 190 million in 2023), the largesse of a small number of patrons in Congress. Vandenberg's goals were much like the ones set out by his predecessor: finding out "everything about the Soviet forces in Eastern and Central Europe – their movements, their capabilities, and their intentions." On June 18, 1948,

5978-424: The Office of Reports and Estimates, which drew its reports from a daily take of State Department telegrams, military dispatches, and other public documents. The CIA still lacked its intelligence-gathering abilities. On August 21, 1950, shortly after, Truman announced Walter Bedell Smith as the new Director of the CIA. The change in leadership took place shortly after the start of the Korean War in South Korea , as

6100-461: The PID was elected to the presidency. Lucas García tried to solidify his hold on power by integrating the Mano Blanca into the regular military, while establishing the Ejercito Secreto Anti-Comunista, a paramilitary group beholden to himself. This group committed various human rights abuses, among them torture, public threats to prominent political adversaries and massacres, like the infamous Panzós massacre . In response to these massacres, sections of

6222-451: The Poor was established in 1972, as a splinter of the FAR, caused by ideological and tactical differences akin to ORPA, in that they saw the greatest revolutionary potential in indigenous people. This group was heavily influenced by liberation theology and build a large indigenous and Ladino following in El Quiché . In the midst of this situation the MLN-PID alliance broke down and the protégé of Arana Osorio, Fernando Romeo Lucas García of

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6344-429: The Shah to exercise his constitutional right to dismiss Mosaddegh. Mosaddegh launched a military coup , and the Shah fled the country. Under CIA Director Allen Dulles , Operation Ajax was put into motion. Its goal was to overthrow Mossadegh with military support from General Fazlollah Zahedi and install a pro-western regime headed by the Shah of Iran. Kermit Roosevelt Jr. oversaw the operation in Iran. On August 16,

6466-406: The Shah. This August 19 incident helped foster public support of the Shah and led gangs of citizens on a spree of violence intent on destroying Mossadegh. An attack on his house would force Mossadegh to flee. He surrendered the next day, and his coup came to an end. Guerrilla Army of the Poor Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include

6588-447: The U.S. intelligence community to other foreign intelligence agencies are to Anglophone countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Special communications signals that intelligence-related messages can be shared with these four countries. An indication of the United States' close operational cooperation is the creation of a new message distribution label within the main U.S. military communications network. Previously,

6710-413: The US. Thus the two areas of responsibility for the CIA were covert action and covert intelligence. One of the main targets for intelligence gathering was the Soviet Union , which had also been a priority of the CIA's predecessors. U.S. Air Force General Hoyt Vandenberg , the CIG's second director, created the Office of Special Operations (OSO) and the Office of Reports and Estimates (ORE). Initially,

6832-414: The West and South firmly in their hands and enabling them to mount occasional assaults in the capital. The military responded with a widespread counter-insurgency campaign, linked with a divide and conquer strategy , by organizing the recruitment of indigenous people into, so-called "self-defense patrols" ( Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil (PAC)), to control their communities. The increasing oppression brought

6954-419: The Zacapa program, severely crippled the guerrilla force based in eastern Guatemala, which in turn tried to avoid detection by hiding in cities. The FAR responded by resorting to various assassinations and abductions during the late 1960s to early 1970s, like those of John Gordon Mein and Karl von Spreti . The tense security situation led both right-wing military factions, namely the MLN and PID to unify for

7076-450: The adverse effects these have on rural communities and the local environment, while profits are usually siphoned off to multinational companies. The party supported the implementation of a UN sponsored Commission for the Investigation of Illegal Groups and Clandestine Security Organizations in Guatemala (CICIACS) reached in an agreement between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Human Rights Ombudsman in March 2003, but heavily criticized

7198-470: The assassination of Castillo Armas by a left-wing member of the presidential guard, Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes prevailed in the ensuing power struggle. The continued repression, coupled with an ever closer alignment of the Guatemalan government with the United States government, as well as rampant corruption and favoritism led to a rebellion by a group of dissident officers, which later named themselves Revolutionary Movement 13th November (MR-13), in reference to

7320-480: The associate deputy director, manages the relationship between the CIA and the Unified Combatant Commands , who produce and deliver regional and operational intelligence and consume national intelligence produced by the CIA. The Directorate of Analysis , through much of its history known as the Directorate of Intelligence (DI), is tasked with helping "the President and other policymakers make informed decisions about our country's national security" by looking "at all

7442-403: The atrocities that occurred during the Guatemalan Civil War, asking forgiveness from all victims, families and other who experienced any kind of excesses. This apology came two days after President Clinton admitted the role of the United States in a "dark and painful period" during the civil war in Guatemala. After Rolando Moran died in September 1998, Pablo Monsanto ( nom de guerre Jorge Soto)

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7564-420: The available information on an issue and organiz[ing] it for policymakers". The directorate has four regional analytic groups, six groups for transnational issues, and three that focus on policy, collection, and staff support. There are regional analytical offices covering the Near East and South Asia , Russia , and Europe; and the Asia–Pacific , Latin America , and Africa . The Directorate of Operations

7686-539: The beginning of Guatemala's first authentic military regime. In 1966, the law professor Julio César Méndez Montenegro was elected to the presidency, but was only allowed to take up the position under the condition, that he would not interfere in matters of internal security or the military. The year also saw the creation of Mano Blanca , a right-wing paramilitary group associated with the MLN , founded to prohibit Méndez Montenegro from taking office and to counter left-wing activism. The subsequent "white terror" coupled with

7808-436: The belligerent groups. This open negotiation led to the signing of the "Agreement on Procedures in Search of Peace by Political Means" in Mexico in 1991. The United Nations presided over these changes meant to create a long-lasting peace. Obligations were imposed on the government, including significant constitutional reforms, which were internationally binding and would be verified by the UN. After 9 years of negotiations in 1995,

7930-405: The book Assessment of Men, Selection of Personnel for the Office of Strategic Services . Additional mission training is conducted at Harvey Point , North Carolina . The primary training facility for the Office of Communications is Warrenton Training Center , located near Warrenton, Virginia . The facility was established in 1951 and has been used by the CIA since at least 1955. Details of

8052-457: The business of intelligence in a world that is profoundly different from 1947 when the CIA was founded," Schiff said. The Office of Congressional Affairs ( OCA ) serves as the liaison between the CIA and the US Congress . The OCA states that it aims to ensures that Congress is fully and currently informed of intelligence activities. The office is the CIA's primary interface with Congressional oversight committees, leadership, and members. It

8174-453: The civil police force. In April 2004, the party received the proposed cuts to the military budget by the Berger administration as a positive signal for the demilitarisation of the public sphere. In late 2006, the URNG opposed the approval of the US-military mission Nuevos Horizontes by Congress, entailing the stationing of US troops in San Marcos from January to August 2007. The party later in January 2010, also voiced their opposition to

8296-492: The civil war era. The union was officially founded on 15 April 1978 to organize peasant farmers and improve their economic conditions. Some of its members later rose to prominent roles inside the URNG, like Secretary General Gregorio Chay and Pablo Ceto, the presidential candidate for the party in 2019. In contrast to many other parties in Guatemala, the party has a widespread and permanent organizational structure in place. A study from FLASCO Guatemala, released in 2006, analysing

8418-418: The coherence of the party ideology between secretaries general, rank-and-file members and party statutes in Guatemala, uncovered that only the URNG showed internal congruence. The URNG maintains an amicable relationship with the Cuban government and has condemned the economic, financial and political blockade of Cuba, exerted by the United States. The party is generally opposed to large mining projects, citing

8540-420: The creation of a "Central Intelligence Service" that would continue peacetime operations similar to those of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which he led during World War II. Upon President Roosevelt's death, the new president Harry Truman inherited a presidency largely uninformed about key wartime projects and global intelligence activities. Truman's initial view of the proposed central intelligence agency

8662-421: The day-to-day work as the third-highest post of the CIA. The deputy director is formally appointed by the director without Senate confirmation, but as the president's opinion plays a great role in the decision, the deputy director is generally considered a political position, making the chief operating officer the most senior non-political position for CIA career officers. The Executive Office also supports

8784-706: The direction of Fleet Admiral Joseph Ernest King , and prepared the first draft and implementing directives for the creation of what would become the Central Intelligence Agency. Despite opposition from the military establishment, the State Department , and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Truman established the National Intelligence Authority in January 1946. Its operational extension

8906-513: The direction of a director of central intelligence by presidential directive on January 22, 1946. The agency's creation was authorized by the National Security Act of 1947 . Unlike the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is a domestic security service, the CIA has no law enforcement function and is mainly focused on intelligence gathering overseas, with only limited domestic intelligence collection . The CIA serves as

9028-432: The divided groups back together, which had in 1978 already established a Tripartite cooperation agreement between EGP, FAR and PGT-ND. Geopolitical circumstances at the end of 1980 led the Cuban and Nicaraguan government, which supported the guerrilla, to ultimately press for a more thorough merger. In the backdrop of these civil war circumstances the URNG formed as a leftist umbrella organization consisting of four groups:

9150-567: The fiscal 2013 figure is $ 52.6 billion. According to the 2013 mass surveillance disclosures , the CIA's fiscal 2013 budget is $ 14.7 billion, 28% of the total and almost 50% more than the budget of the National Security Agency. CIA's HUMINT budget is $ 2.3 billion, the SIGINT budget is $ 1.7 billion, and spending for security and logistics of CIA missions is $ 2.5 billion. "Covert action programs," including

9272-801: The former presidential candidate for the party or alliance in 2007 and 2015, wrote an open letter to party leadership of his own party, the Movement for the Liberation of Peoples , Semilla and Winaq , calling for a fresh political and electoral alliance. He cited the Historic Pact for Colombia and the Brazil of Hope coalitions as successful role models for cross ideological alliances. On 29 January 2023, URNG and Winaq made their renewed alliance public and announced their plans to nominate Amílcar Pop and Mónica Enríquez as their presidential ticket for

9394-542: The incident. The failed coup d'état on 13 November 1960 usually marks the beginning of the Guatemalan Civil War, a bloody affair that lasted 36 years and claimed the lives of an estimated 200,000 people. With United States military assistance, the guerrilla were uprooted from eastern Guatemala and had to flee to neighboring Honduras. Remnants of the MR-13 returned in 1962 and established the first guerrilla group,

9516-469: The information they sent. In September 1952 Haney was replaced by John Limond Hart, a Europe veteran with a vivid memory for bitter experiences of misinformation. Hart was suspicious of the parade of successes reported by Tofte and Haney and launched an investigation which determined that the entirety of the information supplied by the Korean sources was false or misleading. After the war, internal reviews by

9638-523: The lack of a clear warning to the President and NSC about the imminent North Korean invasion was seen as a grave failure of intelligence. The CIA had different demands placed on it by the various bodies overseeing it. Truman wanted a centralized group to organize the information that reached him. The Department of Defense wanted military intelligence and covert action, and the State Department wanted to create global political change favorable to

9760-525: The leadership of the URNG came to a preliminary agreement with the government to sign a peace deal in 1996. On 29 December 1996, a peace agreement was signed by the government and the URNG in the presence of UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali , officially ending the 36-year civil war . The signing ceremony was held in front of the National Palace of Culture on the Plaza de la Constición in

9882-597: The leftist beliefs amongst the Guatemalan people, particularly the Guatemalan poor. Although they were involved in attacks, their primary function was at the negotiation table with the Guatemalan government. From 1986 to 1996, the army and government were drawn into a peace process moderated and verified by the United Nations and including other international actors as key players. During the negotiations both sides made major concessions. The UN mediated Oslo Agreement provided an arrangement for direct negotiation between

10004-438: The legislature with approximately 3.3% in the congressional elections and 3.2% for the presidential candidate and Winaq founder Rigoberta Menchú . At the national party convention in March 2013, a new executive committee was elected, including Ángel Sánchez as the successor of Héctor Nuila as new General Secretary. The coalition was maintained for the 2015 elections and was able to increase their vote share to almost 4.4%, but

10126-435: The marking of NOFORN (i.e., No Foreign Nationals) required the originator to specify which, if any, non-U.S. countries could receive the information. A new handling caveat, USA/AUS/CAN/GBR/NZL Five Eyes , used primarily on intelligence messages, gives an easier way to indicate that the material can be shared with Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, and New Zealand. The task of the division called " Verbindungsstelle 61 " of

10248-540: The military services. The development of the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, for instance, was done in cooperation with the United States Air Force . The U-2's original mission was clandestine imagery intelligence over denied areas such as the Soviet Union . It was subsequently provided with signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence capabilities and is now operated by

10370-465: The military, government officials, as well as foreign diplomats and foreign businesses. The government responded with undercover death-squads, supported by the police and military, who undertook the mission to take down prominent leftists. After the election of Vinicio Cerezo in 1985, the truncated civil society in Guatemala revitalized to some degree, which convinced a significant part of mid-level cadres to abandon armed struggle, subsequently reducing

10492-623: The national manager for HUMINT, coordinating activities across the IC. It also carries out covert action at the behest of the president . The CIA exerts foreign political influence through its paramilitary operations units, including its Special Activities Center . The CIA was instrumental in establishing intelligence services in many countries, such as Germany 's Federal Intelligence Service . It has also provided support to several foreign political groups and governments, including planning, coordinating, training in torture , and technical support. It

10614-483: The next elections, the party was one of 5 left leaning parties that declined to participate in a conference hosted by the Asociación la Familia Importa for a conservative pact concerning the "defense of family and life". The coalition split up ahead of the elections in 2019 , but the party was nonetheless able to reach 2.8% among the national electorate and even increased their number of elected deputies to 3. Before

10736-472: The non-military National Intelligence Program, including $ 4.8 billion for the CIA. After the Marshall Plan was approved, appropriating $ 13.7 billion over five years, 5% of those funds or $ 685 million were secretly made available to the CIA. A portion of the enormous M-fund, established by the U.S. government during the post-war period for reconstruction of Japan, was secretly steered to

10858-420: The organisations leverage during the peace negotiations. Already during his election campaign, Vinicio Cerezo emphasized national unity, which he combined with critique of the armies conduct and expressed willingness to negotiate with the URNG. Still his presidency achieved very little to rein in on political violence and he made only token efforts to prosecute human rights abuses committed by the army. According to

10980-566: The overall United States intelligence budget are classified. Under the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949, the Director of Central Intelligence is the only federal government employee who can spend "un-vouchered" government money . The government showed its 1997 budget was $ 26.6 billion for the fiscal year. The government has disclosed a total figure for all non-military intelligence spending since 2007;

11102-570: The party in 2003, campaigned on a reinvigorated peace process as well as the eradication of poverty and roughly maintained their last result with 2.2% of the vote. The party by and large opposed the government of Alejandro Giammattei after the election and particularly opposed the dismissal of Juan Francisco Sandoval as head prosecutor of the Special Prosecutor's Office against Impunity in July 2021. In January 2022, Miguel Ángel Sandoval,

11224-507: The party list and Viktor Manuel Sales for a seat in the Huehuetenango delegation. In the presidential election held the same day, its candidate Rodrigo Asturias won 2.6% of the popular vote. After the elections party leaders cited, among other factors, their lack of knowledge about the political system and electoral campaigning as reasons for their limited electoral success. After Rodrigo Asturias passed away in June 2005, Héctor Nuila

11346-626: The party only maintained their single legislator in Congress via winning a congressional district. In the presidential elections the Broad Front of the Left unified behind the presidential candidacy of Miguel Ángel Sandoval, who received about 2.1% of the vote. In January 2019, the possibility of a united list with the successor party of the ANN, Convergence was explored. In May 2019, in the run-up to

11468-447: The party supported a bill presented by Nineth Montenegro and the civil society group Pro Justicia, that would regulate the selection process of magistrates. According to proponents of the law, the appointment process should be held in public to prohibit nepotism and ensure transparency. In February 2019, the party voiced its opposition to initiative 5257, a bill concerning the regulation of non-governmental organizations, that would grant

11590-441: The party views as efforts to punish them for its investigations into the government. The party is opposed to the deployment of military police units to support the civil police in combating crime. In early 2000, the alliance heavily criticized a bill passed by Congress, extending the operational area of the military police force, calling it a direct violation of the peace treaty that explicitly reserves matters of internal security to

11712-408: The peace treaty provisions had been implemented. The party strongly objected to restitution payments to Ex-PAC fighters that were recruited to fight them during the civil war and dissolved during the peace negotiations in 1996. In March 2023, the party condemned the intention of the government and judiciary to prosecute independent media outlets, particularly El Periódico and its journalists, which

11834-459: The planning process of these projects. Marcos Ramírez, the mayor of Playa Grande also stated that these projects should be built and maintained by the local and national governments instead of relinquishing control thereof to multinational corporations. Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA / ˌ s iː . aɪ ˈ eɪ / ), known informally as the Agency , metonymously as Langley and historically as

11956-469: The presence of about 50,000 people. Among a cheerful crowd, a flame of peace was lit by the signatories inmidst the place to symbolize the end of armed conflict. The Secretary-General of the URNG, Comandante Rolando Morán and president Álvaro Arzú jointly received the UNESCO Peace Prize for their efforts to end the civil war and attain the peace agreement. The UNRG has since apologized for

12078-588: The president the power to prohibit NGO's from operating in the country. Party members have on multiple occasions complained that key aspects of the Firm and Lasting Accord have not been enacted in the aftermath of its signing. A study by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame found that 10 years after the peace treaty coming into force, still less than 70 % of

12200-539: The ratification of CAFTA in early 2005, because it favoured genetically modified agricultural products, that are cheaper than home-grown cereals, thereby depriving small farmers of their livelihood. In connection to the hydro power development plans linked to the Mesoamerica Project , formerly known as the Plan Puebla Panamá, the URNG demanded that the local population has to be involved in

12322-480: The reopening of military barracks in San Marcos, which would cost the state at least Q100m. Miguel Ángel Sandoval argued that this would just be another step to increase the militarisation of the department, arguing instead for an increased presence of civil police forces and an end to the impunity experienced by criminals. Stating that they are not principally opposed to open markets, the party nonetheless opposed

12444-708: The royal refusal to approve his Minister of War and resigned in protest. The National Front took to the streets in protest. Fearing a loss of control, the military pulled its troops back five days later, and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi gave in to Mosaddegh's demands. Mosaddegh quickly replaced military leaders loyal to the Shah with those loyal to him, giving him personal control over the military. Given six months of emergency powers, Mosaddegh unilaterally passed legislation. When that six months expired, his powers were extended for another year. In 1953, Mossadegh dismissed parliament and assumed dictatorial powers. This power grab triggered

12566-451: The same day, its candidate Miguel Ángel Sandoval won 2.1% of the popular vote. For the elections in 2011 the party entered into a political alliance with Winaq , MNR , the URNG splinter ANN and 60 civil society groups to form the Broad Front of the Left . Broadly seen as a positive development inside the left, the coalition only yielded limited electoral success, returning only two seats, one each for San Marcos and Huehuetenango, to

12688-409: The situation to be "hopeless," and that, after touring the CIA's Far East operations, the CIA's ability to gather intelligence in the far east was "almost negligible". He then resigned. Air Force Colonel James Kallis stated that CIA director Allen Dulles continued to praise the CIA's Korean force, despite knowing that they were under enemy control. When China entered the war in 1950, the CIA attempted

12810-497: The start of the election campaign, the party committee held talks with Thelma Aldana , founder of Semilla , to discuss the possible support of her candidacy, but as she was barred from participating in the election by the Constitutional Court due to questionable accusations of corruption, the party ultimately nominated Pablo Ceto and Blanca Estela Colop . Ceto, who had already been a vice presidential candidate for

12932-432: The support of Rodrigo Asturias ( nom de guerre Gaspar Ilom)), Alba Estela Maldonado Guevara ( nom de guerre Capitán Lola) was elected to replace Soto as Secretary General and subsequently developed a cosier relationship with the ruling FRG , which was founded by its former archenemy Rios Montt. The new party line was met with significant opposition from within the party, leading first to the resignation of Arnoldo Noriega,

13054-476: The technical and human-based operations of the CIA. Before the establishment of the new digital directorate, offensive cyber operations were undertaken by the CIA's Information Operations Center. Little is known about how the office specifically functions or if it deploys offensive cyber capabilities. The directorate had been covertly operating since approximately March 2015 but formally began operations on October 1, 2015. According to classified budget documents,

13176-624: The upcoming elections. Moreover, the parties aimed to cooperate with Semilla to win the mayorship of Guatemala City , which ultimately came to fruition when the coalition nominated Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa, the former director of the Superintendency of the Tax Administration (SAT), for the position. During the civil war the group received support from Guatemala's rural poor as well as from urban intellectuals. The URNG enjoyed high support among indigenous communities, which

13298-530: The use of federal funds. The act also exempted the CIA from having to disclose its "organization, functions, officials, titles, salaries, or numbers of personnel employed," and created the program "PL-110" to handle defectors and other "essential aliens" who fell outside normal immigration procedures. At the outset of the Korean War , the CIA still only had a few thousand employees, around one thousand of whom worked in analysis. Intelligence primarily came from

13420-402: The vote. The alliance also achieved the third place in the legislative election with 11% of the national vote, thereby electing 9 Congress members. The party drew significant support from part of their former strongholds and majority indigenous departments Huehuetenango , Quetzaltenango and El Quiché , where in each the alliance was able to win an electoral district seat. In August 2001, with

13542-410: Was US$ 26.6 billion (inflation-adjusted US$ 50.5 billion in 2024). There have been accidental disclosures; for instance, Mary Margaret Graham , a former CIA official and deputy director of national intelligence for collection in 2005, said that the annual intelligence budget was $ 44 billion, and in 1994 Congress accidentally published a budget of $ 43.4 billion (in 2012 dollars) in 1994 for

13664-450: Was called by Ríos Montt, proved to be highly successful against the guerrilla though, which had to retreat to remote rural zones, while its leadership fled to Mexico City . It also hampered the merging process of the divergent groups considerably, as streamlined and unified logistics could only be arranged by 1986. Additionally devastating for the guerrilla was the renewed support from the USA to

13786-474: Was elected to succeed him as Secretary General of the party. In May 1999, as a provision of the peace agreement, a constitutional referendum was held to amend the constitution. The URNG was part of the Front for Yes, advocating for an affirmative vote during the election campaign. All 4 provisions failed to win a majority, albeit amid a low voter turnout of 18.5%. The party made its national electoral debut during

13908-412: Was frequently repeated in the subsequent years. At the beginning of the Korean War , CIA officer Hans Tofte claimed to have turned a thousand North Korean expatriates into a guerrilla force tasked with infiltration, guerrilla warfare, and pilot rescue. In 1952 the CIA sent 1,500 more expatriate agents north. Seoul station chief Albert Haney would openly celebrate the capabilities of those agents and

14030-562: Was involved in many regime changes and carrying out terrorist attacks and planned assassinations of foreign leaders. Since 2004, the CIA is organized under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Despite having had some of its powers transferred to the DNI, the CIA has grown in size following the September 11 attacks . In 2013, The Washington Post reported that in

14152-595: Was known as the Central Intelligence Group (CIG), which was the direct predecessor of the CIA. The Central Intelligence Agency was created on July 26, 1947, when President Truman signed the National Security Act into law. A major impetus for the creation of the agency was growing tensions with the USSR following the end of World War II . Lawrence Houston, head counsel of the SSU , CIG, and, later CIA,

14274-522: Was principal draftsman of the National Security Act of 1947 , which dissolved the NIA and the CIG, and established both the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1949, Houston helped to draft the Central Intelligence Agency Act ( Pub. L.   81–110 ), which authorized the agency to use confidential fiscal and administrative procedures, and exempted it from most limitations on

14396-511: Was reflected in the fact that 82% of its demobilized armed combatants and 50% of its political activists came from an indigenous background. After the conclusion of peace negotiations, the URNG was only partially able to maintain this constituency, as other sections organized inside the Democratic Front New Guatemala. The party is closely affiliated with the farmers' association Committee for Peasant Unity (CUC) since

14518-420: Was selected to succeed him as Secretary General. In the preparation phase for the next election, Movimiento Amplio de Izquierdas (MAIZ) was founded as a leftist platform, representing various leftist organizations. At the 2007 elections the party captured 2 seats, one in Huehuetenango and one via the national list, with 3.7% of the nationwide vote in the congressional elections. In the presidential election of

14640-481: Was that of a simple information gathering entity that would function more as a global news service rather than a spy network. His vision starkly contrasted with Donovan's, which focused on avoiding the creation of an American version of the Gestapo . On September 20, 1945, shortly after the end of World War II, Truman signed an executive order dissolving the OSS. By October 1945 its functions had been divided between

14762-564: Was thwarted by the military. The social disarticulation and continuous assassinations of its members eventually led to its exhaustion by 1986, which prompted them to mend their relationship with the URNG. These events led the URNG to eventually substitute the PGT-NDN for the PGT in its leadership by 1987. The URNG employed ambushes and raids on government security forces as their main tactic, and also performed bombings and assassinations. They attacked

14884-414: Was toppled the following year. During his rule, Rios Montt tried to eradicate the insurgency by banning the activities of political parties and committing various massacres against the population in the Guatemalan highlands, thereby removing the recruitment pool of the URNG. He and his associates ascribed critique on their measures to an "international communist conspiracy" of which Amnesty International and

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