 | Portal maintenance status:(June 2018)
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Republic of Guatemala República de Guatemala (Spanish) | |
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Motto:
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| Anthem: Himno Nacional de Guatemala (English:"National Anthem of Guatemala") | |
| ISO 3166 code | GT |
Guatemala, officially theRepublic of Guatemala, is a country in northernCentral America. It is bordered to the north and west byMexico, to the northeast (in theadjacency zone) byBelize, to the east byHonduras, and to the southeast byEl Salvador. It is bounded by thePacific Ocean to the south and theGulf of Honduras to the northeast.
The territory of modern Guatemala hosted the core of theMaya civilization, which extended acrossMesoamerica; in the 16th century, most of this wasconquered by the Spanish and claimed as part of theviceroyalty ofNew Spain. Guatemala attained independence from Spain and Mexico in 1821. From 1823 to 1841, it was part of theFederal Republic of Central America. For the latter half of the 19th century, Guatemala suffered instability and civil strife. From the early 20th century, it was ruled by a series of dictators backed by theUnited States. In 1944, authoritarian leaderJorge Ubico was overthrown by a pro-democratic military coup, initiatinga decade-long revolution that led to social and economic reforms. In 1954,a U.S.-backed military coup ended the revolution and installed a dictatorship. From 1960 to 1996, Guatemalaendured a bloody civil war fought between the U.S.-backed government andleftist rebels, includinggenocidal massacres of the Maya population perpetrated by the Guatemalan military. TheUnited Nations negotiated a peace accord, resulting in economic growth and successive democratic elections.
Guatemala's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems includes many endemic species and contributes to Mesoamerica's designation as abiodiversity hotspot. Although rich in export goods, around a quarter of the population (4.6 million) facefood insecurity; other major issues include poverty, crime, corruption, drug trafficking, and civil instability.
With an estimated population of around 17.6 million,0 Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America, the fourth most populous country inNorth America and the 11th most populous country in theAmericas. Its capital and largest city,Guatemala City, is the most populous city in Central America. (Full article...)
Mano Blanca (Spanish for 'White Hand'), was aGuatemalanfar-right, anti-communistdeath squad, set up in 1966 to preventJulio César Méndez Montenegro from being inaugurated as the president of Guatemala. While initially autonomous from the government, it was absorbed into the Guatemalan State's counter-terror apparatus and evolved into a paramilitary unit of the Guatemalan armed forces, and was responsible for the murder and torture of thousands of people in rural Guatemala. The group received support from the Guatemalan army and government, as well as from the United States. The group was officially known as theMovimiento de Acción Nacionalista Organizado (English: Movement of Organized Nationalist Action) which gives the acronym "MANO", (Spanish: hand). The group was variously known by its full name, by MANO, or most popularly byMano Blanca, or "White Hand." (Full article...)
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Carlos Castillo Armas (locally['kaɾloskas'tiʝo'aɾmas]; 4 November 1914 – 26 July 1957) was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who was the 28thpresident of Guatemala, serving from 1954 to 1957 after taking power ina coup d'état. A member of the far-rightNational Liberation Movement (MLN) party, his authoritarian government was closely allied with the United States.
Born to a planter, out of wedlock, Castillo Armas was educated at Guatemala's military academy. A protégé of ColonelFrancisco Javier Arana, he joined Arana's forces during the 1944 uprising against PresidentFederico Ponce Vaides. This began theGuatemalan Revolution and the introduction ofrepresentative democracy to the country. Castillo Armas joined the General Staff and became director of the military academy. Arana and Castillo Armas opposed the newly elected government ofJuan José Arévalo; afterArana's failed 1949 coup, Castillo Armas went into exile in Honduras. Seeking support for another revolt, he came to the attention of the USCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA). In 1950 he launched a failed assault onGuatemala City, before escaping back to Honduras. Influenced by lobbying by theUnited Fruit Company andCold War fears ofcommunism, in 1952 the US government of PresidentHarry Truman authorizedOperation PBFortune, a plot to overthrow Arévalo's successor, PresidentJacobo Árbenz. Castillo Armas was to lead the coup, but the plan was abandoned before being revived in a new form by US PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. (Full article...)
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TheSpanish conquest of Petén was the last stage of theconquest of Guatemala, a prolonged conflict during theSpanish colonisation of the Americas. A wide lowland plain covered with dense rainforest, Petén contains a central drainage basin with a series of lakes and areas of savannah. It is crossed by several ranges of lowkarstic hills and rises to the south as it nears theGuatemalan Highlands. The conquest ofPetén, a region now incorporated into the modern republic ofGuatemala, climaxed in 1697 with the capture ofNojpetén, the island capital of theItza kingdom, byMartín de Ursúa y Arizmendi. With the defeat of the Itza, the last independent and unconquered native kingdom in theAmericas fell to European colonisers.
SizeableMaya populations existed in Petén before the conquest, particularly around the central lakes and along the rivers. Petén was divided into different Maya polities engaged in a complex web of alliances and enmities. The most important groups around the central lakes were the Itza, theYalain and theKowoj. Other groups with territories in Petén included theKejache, theAcala, theLakandon Chʼol, the Xocmo, theChinamita, the Icaiche and theManche Chʼol. (Full article...)
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Ancestral background ofGuatemalan citizens | |
| Guatemalan native groups (Maya and others) | |
| Former and extinct | |
| Guatemalan mestizo | |
| Descendants of Europeans (white orCriollo) | |
| Descendants of Asians | |
| Afro-descendants | |
| Americas | |
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| Guatemala City | ||
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| Antigua Guatemala | ||
| Provincial museums | ||
Guatemala is divided into 22departments (departamentos) and sub-divided into about 332municipalities (municipios).
Thedepartments include:
Here are somethings you can do forWikiProject Guatemala:
 | This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly byJL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it istagged (e.g.{{WikiProject Guatemala}}) orcategorized correctly and wait for the next update. SeeWP:RECOG for configuration options. |
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The current date and time in Guatemala is Saturday, February 14, 2026, 17:13.
News media:
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