Carlos Arana Osorio

Carlos Arana Osorio served as the president of Guatemala from 1970 to 1974. He won the election in 1970 as the "law-and-order" candidate. His primary focus was the "pacification" of the country, which involved the extermination of "habitual criminals" and leftist guerrillas. This period saw the rise of "death squads," often linked to the military and police, which were believed to be eliminating political opponents across the spectrum. Despite the elimination of dissent, Arana Osorio's administration restored military control and ushered in a period of relative quiet, though his methods were highly repressive.1