On Monday, the U.S. delivered military equipment to Guatemala, for the first time in nearly 50 years, ending the arms embargo they had imposed on the Central American country due to a series of serious human rights violations.
Social Democratic President Bernardo Arévalo clarified that the Guatemalan armed forces were set to receive weapons and other equipment worth approximately 5 million U.S. dollars.
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The government assured that the equipment would be used in the fight against drug cartels and to protect the population.
The first shipment includes rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, and operational night-vision equipment, according to the country’s media.
U.S. arms deliveries to Guatemala were suspended in 1977, amid the civil war between government forces, far-left factions, and far-right paramilitary organizations.
At least 200,000 people lost their lives in the conflict, from 1960 to 1996, the majority of whom were indigenous civilians.
Members of the armed forces were responsible for numerous massacres of civilians and a multitude of cases of sexual violence during the civil conflict.
Source: KYPE
