Peasant supporters of the FMLN Salvadoran resistance. the United States threatened to escalate the strug gle one stage further by blockading Cuba, in retaliation for allegedly supplying arms to the Last week the post. Ruiz, recently appointed minister of the interior to then president of Guatemala, Eugenio Laugerend Garcia, decid ed to set up a press and public relations office to improve the bad image of his ministry.
At that time I was secretary-general of the media workers been active as a student leader at the Universitv of san Carlos and later in the Guatemalan JourFor these the ministers advisers thought that would be the right person to head the new ornice and une ministe personally asked me to accept the I talked it over with the leaders of the Guerilla Army of the Poor, of which I was and am *a-member. They suggested that I should definitely takeladvantage the government.
So I gave up my job as union secretary, changed my lifestyle, and did everything I could to get a reputation as a reactionary traitor, and social climber. Thi wasn't ditticult since it is com mon practice in Guatemala for the government to buy off mass leaders by offering them well-paid jobs in the public service In this way I managed in the space ot a year to become a con CENTRAL America is in turmoil. The small states in the isthmus have traditionally been dominated economically by the United States and ruled by right-wing military dictatorships - backed politically and militarily by the US.
But today the workers and peasants are fighting back. In Nicaragua the Somoza dictatorship has been overthrown and replaced by a workers and peasants government. In mained one until several weeks ago when 1-took advantage of special cave lo see guatemad! accordance with orders from the EGP leadership who were afraid that I might be unmasked at any time.
However the four spent the THESEN enough for me to find out the tacues the government uses mi He work of repression Pressive rations In Guatemala there are two very active far right paramilitary organisations: the Army (Ejercito Squadron of (Escuadron de la Muerte).
they have responsible for the in the last taken the lives of over 2,000 peo ple, mcluaHig peasants, worke fessionals, religious organ and July last were Huracic kidnapped.
The member years. 1 the Squadron o WeTt SDaIC WOl the elderly. A r the killing of Re of the pro- and Roberto C the young sons c the. University who had themse Anticom.- escape an ESA Anothe ESA) shooting of pec Death the funera secretary of been workers union slaughter Melgar. In this Not the dead u other people w mass leaders, homicidal madn Guatemala the regime Guerilla Army of the Po And in EL Salvador going on between the rebels.
Above publis Guatemalan woman suf Army of the Poor who
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THIS article, translated L Espresso, details the experience of ELIAS BARAHONA Y
Inside th from the Italian magazine