Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

220 • GUATEMALAN NATIONAL REVOLUTIONARY UNIONestablished itself in a rugged mountainous region in the extremenortheast of Guatemala, close to Belize. The FAR was more of a nationalisticthan a Marxist group, but forged ties with leftists to fightmore effectively. The FAR conducted six major assassinations, includingthe killing of U.S. Ambassador John Gordon Mein in August1968, the first time a U.S. ambassador had been murdered in the lineof duty. In 1969 the FAR moved some of their forces into GuatemalaCity, splitting the group’s command. In March 1970 they murderedWest German Ambassador Count Karl von Spreti. The same month,they kidnapped the U.S. labor attaché, Sean Holly, who was releasedin a prisoner exchange. Guatemalan counterinsurgency efforts aidedby the U.S. Army Special Forces pushed back the FAR, which remainedinactive from 1970 to 1975.In 1975 FAR activity resumed in Peten Province with very littleactivity in the capital until 1979. On 29 June 1983 the FAR kidnappedthe sister of President Ríos Montt, who was released inexchange for imprisoned comrades. During this period the urbanbranch of the FAR specialized in terrorist operations, concentratingon assassinations and kidnappings, while the branch in the northeasttried to fight the Guatemalan army, meanwhile sabotaging economicinfrastructure projects and harassing oil exploration camps.2. Ejército Guerrillero de los Pobres (EGP). The Guerrilla Armyof the Poor was established in 1975 by a former FAR commander,César Montes, who revived the strategy of conducting simultaneousrural insurgency and urban terrorism. On 15 June 1978 an EGP truckbombing in the capital killed 17 military police, while four otherbombings were directed at the Argentinean, Uruguayan, and U.S.embassies, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce office. On 31March 1982 the EGP also fired RPG7 rocket-propelled grenades atthe U.S. embassy. Rural operations were resumed in the northeast areasbut also expanded to the northwestern regions bordering Mexico,while a new front was opened in a mountainous area just north of thecapital. Much of the rural campaign involved burning of sugarcanefields to bankrupt the large landowners.In a 10-year period the EGP committed 22 assassinations ofprominent people, killing Colonel Elías Ramírez, a former counterinsurgencycommander; the Nicaraguan ambassador in October1978; and also the Army Chief of Staff, General David Barrios, inJune 1979. EGP kidnapping victims included the Salvadoran am-