The Conflict

Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú sued Guatemala's former leaders in Spanish court for human rights abuses, including murder and torture. The charges stem from a time of brutal dictatorship in Guatemala.

Political

• The military repressed the people and rebel groups were formed to fight the military. To combat both government and rebel violence, paramilitary groups were formed. Military death squads emerged.
• Fear of the rise of communism in the western hemisphere and the wish to protect U.S. corporate interests encouraged the United States to support the military rulers.

Economic

• Coffee plantation owners (an oligarchy) and the United States wanted to keep control of the profits and land. Indians were moved off the land to make and expand the plantations.
• Rebels wanted to redistribute land and profits to the Indians.

On December 2, 1999, the...