The Presidential Guard is described by one publication as a brigade belonging to the army (Military Technology 1990, 54). Its members, according to the attached picture from Guatemala: A Country Study, appear to wear a unique uniform when guarding the presidential palace (Nyrop 1983, 187). The same source describes the Presidential Guard as a battalion, indicating that battalions in Guatemala are smaller in size and firepower than their United States counterparts (Ibid., 194).

One source reports the creation of the "Civilian Protection System" or SIPROCI in 1988, designed to "combat delinquency on a national level" and combining under the command of the president all of the nation's armed forces, including the "Presidential Security" (Americas Watch 1988, 16-17). It is not clear, however, whether the Presidential Security mentioned in this report is the Presidential Guard mentioned above.

Another source includes an interview with a former member of the Guatemalan military, who states that he "was in the Guardia de Honor (Honour Guard) barracks in zone ten, in Guatemala City" (Simon 1987, 88). It is not clear from the interview or other publications whether the Honour Guard is the same or is related to the Presidential Guard. The same source, however, contains a specific reference to the Presidential Guard: an army captain of the G-2 military intelligence unit who was held responsible for at least one murder was reportedly "appointed to Cerezo's presidential guard" (Ibid., 237). The captain and the murder case in which he was implicated are mentioned in the article attached to Response to Information Request GTM10774 of 4 June 1992.

One report states that a head of the Treasury Police implicated in death squad activities, Colonel Oscar Diaz, was removed from the position and "returned to his previous post as personal security guard to President Cerezo" (Amnesty International 1989, 47). It is not clear from the report whether the police colonel served as Cerezo's guard as a member of the army's Presidential Guard.

Additional and/or corroborating information could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB.

References

Americas Watch. 1988. Closing the Space: Human Rights in Guatemala May 1987-October 1988. New York: Human Rights Watch.

Amnesty International. Guatemala: Human Rights Violations Under the Civilian Government. New York: Amnesty International U.S.A.

Military Technology. World Defence Almanac 1989-90. Bonn: Mönch Publishing Group. Nyrop, Richard F., ed. 1983. Area Handbook Series: Guatemala: A Country Study. Washington: American University, Foreign Area Studies.

Simon, Jean-Marie. 1987. Guatemala: Eternal Spring - Eternal Tyranny. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

Attachments

Americas Watch. 1988. Closing the Space: Human Rights in Guatemala May 1987-October 1988. New York: Human Rights Watch, pp. 16-17.

Amnesty International. Guatemala: Human Rights Violations Under the Civilian Government. New York: Amnesty International U.S.A., pp. 46-47.

Nyrop, Richard F., ed. 1983. Area Handbook Series: Guatemala: A Country Study. Washington: American University, Foreign Area Studies, p. 187.

Simon, Jean-Marie. 1987. Guatemala: Eternal Spring - Eternal Tyranny. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, pp. 88, 237.