Armed Forces of Guatemala
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| Armed Forces of Guatemala | |
|---|---|
| Fuerzas Armadas de Guatemala (Spanish) | |
| Emblems of the Guatemalan Armed Forces' services branches | |
| Service branches | Guatemalan Army Guatemalan Air Force Guatemalan Navy Presidential Honor Guard |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Bernardo Arévalo |
| Minister of National Defence | Henry Saenz Ramos |
| Chief of the General Staff | William Arnulfo López |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18 |
| Active personnel | 106,114 |
| Reserve personnel | 90,000 |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | USD 120ドル million (FY99) |
| Percent of GDP | 0.6% (FY99) |
| Related articles | |
| Ranks | Military ranks of Guatemala |
The Guatemalan Armed Forces (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas de Guatemala) is the unified military organization comprising the Guatemalan Army, Navy, Air Force, and Presidential Honor Guard. The president of Guatemala is the commander-in-chief of the military, and formulates policy, training, and budget through the Minister of Defence. Day-to-day operations are conducted by the Chief of the General Staff.
History
[edit ]Guatemala is a signatory to the Rio Pact and was a member of the Central American Defense Council (CONDECA). The President of the Republic is commander-in-chief.
Prior to 1945 the Defence Ministry was titled the Secretariat of War (Secretaría de la Guerra).
An agreement signed in September 1996, which is one of the substantive peace accords, mandated that the mission of the armed forces change to focus exclusively on external threats.[1] Presidents Álvaro Arzú and his successors Alfonso Portillo, Óscar Berger and Álvaro Colom, have used a constitutional clause to order the army on a temporary basis to support the police in response to a nationwide wave of violent crime, a product of the Mexican criminal organizations going across the north-west region.
The peace accords call for a one-third reduction in the army's authorized strength and budget — achieved in 2004 — and for a constitutional amendment to permit the appointment of a civilian minister of defense. A constitutional amendment to this end was defeated as part of a May 1999 plebiscite, but discussions between the executive and legislative branches continue on how to achieve this objective.
In 2004 the army has gone beyond its accord-mandated target, and has implemented troop reductions from an estimated 28,000 to 15,500 troops,[2] including subordinate air force (1,000) and navy (1,000) elements. It is equipped with armaments and material from the United States, Israel, Taiwan, Argentina, Spain, and France. As part of the army downsizing, the operational structure of 19 military zones and three strategic brigades are being recast as several military zones are eliminated and their area of operations absorbed by others. The air force operates three air bases; the navy has two port bases.[3]
The Guatemalan army has a special forces unit (specializing in anti-insurgent jungle warfare) known as the Kaibiles. In 2011, a Guatemalan court convicted four members of the Kaibiles, of killing more than 200 civilians in the Dos Erres massacre in 1982.[4] Each man was sentenced to 6,050 years in prison. Their convictions for their roles in the massacre nearly 30 years prior, in which soldiers killed more than 200 men, women, and children, would not have happened if not for the courage of victims of violence and Guatemala's attorney general, Claudia Paz y Paz. After the convictions of the Dos Erres four, based on a Guatemalan government's commitment to reorganize its special forces units, the U.S. Department of Defense resumed military aid.
Armed Forces Day
[edit ]The Día del Ejército (Army Day or Armed Forces Day) is celebrated on 30 June, although if it occurs on a Tuesday or Wednesday it is celebrated on the prior Monday, and if it occurs on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday it moves to the following Monday.[5]
Organization
[edit ]The Armed Forces today number at around 39,000 active personnel.
Leadership
[edit ]Service branches
[edit ]Army
[edit ]The Army or Land Forces are the oldest military branch of the armed forces. In the middle of the 19th century, General Rafael Carrera promoted it with the triumph in the Battle of San José La Arada, dated to 2 February 1851, a date that is today commemorated as the day of this branch.
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Navy
[edit ]The Navy was founded on 15 January 1959, by the then President Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes, due to the need to protect the country's marine resources, which at the time were the object of illegal predation by fishing boats from neighboring countries. It is a state entity with functions as a police agency for seas and rivers.
Air Force
[edit ]The Guatemalan Air Force (Spanish: Fuerza Aérea Guatemalteca; FAG) constitutes the aviation portion of the Guatemalan Army. Founded in 1921, it is organized, equipped and trained to plan, conduct and execute the actions imposed by the State Military Defense in relation to the use of air power.
Honor Guard
[edit ]The Presidential Honor Guard of Guatemala is a branch of the Guatemalan Land Forces, responsible for the care and protection of the President of the Republic, as well as the Vice President.
Equipment
[edit ]Small arms
[edit ]
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Anti-tank weapons
[edit ]| Name | Image | Type | Origin | Caliber | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M40A1 [22] | Recoilless rifle | United States | 105mm | 56 in service. | |
| M-1968 [23] | Recoilless rifle | Argentina | 105mm | 64 in service. |
Tanks
[edit ]| Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M41 Walker Bulldog | Light tank | United States | 10[24] [25] |
Reconnaissance
[edit ]| Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RBY Mk 1 | Reconnaissance vehicle | Israel | 10[25] | |||
| M8 Greyhound | Armored car | United States | 12[26] |
Armored personnel carriers
[edit ]| Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M113 | Armored personnel carrier | United States | 10[27] | |||
| Cadillac Gage Commando | Armored personnel carrier | United States | 7[28] | |||
| Armadillo | Armored personnel carrier | Guatemala | 30[29] |
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Utility vehicles
[edit ]| Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIL Abir | Utility vehicle | Israel | 20 | |||
| M151 [30] | Utility vehicle | United States | Unknown | |||
| Trucks | ||||||
| ×ばつ6 cargo truck">M35 [30] | Utility truck | United States | Unknown | |||
| ×ばつ6 truck">M54 [30] | Utility truck | United States | Unknown | |||
| Ural-4320 | Utility truck | Russia | 3 | |||
| Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer | Utility truck | Switzerland | Unknown | |||
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Artillery
[edit ]| Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mortars | ||||||
| M224 | Mortar | United States | 625 | |||
| Field artillery | ||||||
| M-56 [31] | Howitzer | Yugoslavia | 26 | |||
| M101 | Howitzer | United States | 24[22] | |||
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Air defence systems
[edit ]| Name | Image | Type | Origin | Quantity | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bofors L/60 [32] | Autocannon | Sweden | Unknown | |||
| Blowpipe | MANPADS | United Kingdom | 82 launchers. |
Notable military personnel
[edit ]- Captain General Rafael Carrera
- Colonel Jacobo Árbenz Guzman
- Field Marshal José Víctor Zavala
- General Justo Rufino Barrios
- General Miguel Garcia Granados
References
[edit ]- ^ "Agreement on the Strengthening of Civilian Power and on the Role of the Armed Forces in a Democratic Society: Guatemala: Peace Agreements: Library and Links: U.S. Institute of Peace". Archived from the original on 2008年08月13日. Retrieved 2008年08月18日.
- ^ "Cancelarán 12 mil 109 plazas en el Ejército". Prensa Libre. April 2, 2004. Archived from the original on July 10, 2007.
- ^ "Background Note: Guatemala". Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, US Department of State. February 2009.
- ^ Center for International Policy, Security Assistance Monitor
- ^ "Así quedarán los feriados en Guatemala para el 2020 – Prensa Libre" (in Spanish). Prensa Libre. 28 Apr 2020. Retrieved Sep 16, 2020.
- ^ "Latin American Light Weapons National Inventories". Federation of American Scientists. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved November 30, 2012. Citing Gander, Terry J.; Hogg, Ian V., eds. (1995). Jane's Infantry Weapons, 1995–1996 (21st ed.). Jane's Information Group. ISBN 9780710612410. OCLC 32569399.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Jones, Richard (2009). Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009–2010. Jane's Information Group. pp. 896, 897, 899. ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "wiw_sa_guatemala - worldinventory". 2016年11月24日. Archived from the original on 2016年11月24日. Retrieved 2023年03月14日.
- ^ Diez, Octavio (2000). Hand Guns (in Arabic). Barcelona: Lema Publications. ISBN 84-8463-013-7. OCLC 44059526. Archived from the original on 2014年09月16日. Retrieved 2016年03月06日.
- ^ Gander, Jerry (2002). Jane's Infantry Weapons 2002–2003. Jane's Information Group. pp. 214, 899–906. ISBN 0-7106-2434-4.
- ^ World Armies (2011年12月06日). "Guatemalan Special Forces". flicker.com. Archived from the original on 2017年04月07日. Retrieved 2017年04月06日.
- ^ "Czechpoint - History of the Sa vz. 58 - History of the Sa vz. 58 rifle". Czechpoint-usa.com. Archived from the original on 2011年07月06日. Retrieved 2010年09月04日.
- ^ Haapiseva-Hunter, Jane (1999). Israeli foreign policy: South Africa and Central America. South End Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-89608-285-4.
- ^ Johnson, Steve (16 February 2011). "IWI Galil ACE rifle adopted by Guatemala National Civil Police". The Firearm Blog.
- ^ "Guatemala compró 8000 fusiles 'Galil Cordova' a Indumil, por más de 10 millones de dólares". Webinfomil (in Spanish). 2019年09月20日. Retrieved 2020年08月02日.
- ^ "Galile dla Gwatemali". 27 September 2019.
- ^ InfoDefensa, Revista Defensa. "El gobierno de Guatemala entrega nuevo armamento para sus Fuerzas Especiales Kaibil". Infodefensa - Noticias de defensa, industria, seguridad, armamento, ejércitos y tecnología de la defensa (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024年01月01日.
- ^ "Report: Profiling the Small Arms Industry – World Policy Institute – Research Project". World Policy Institute. November 2000. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
- ^ Pikula, page 45
- ^ "[현장르포] 30년만에 무분규 임금타결 S&T대우". Archived from the original on 2013年12月18日. Retrieved 2013年02月14日.
- ^ Gander, Terry J.; Cutshaw, Charles Q., eds. (2001). Jane's Infantry Weapons 2001/2002 (27th ed.). Coulsdon: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 9780710623171.
- ^ a b Military Balance 2016, p. 399.
- ^ "Armamento argentino olvidado por la historia en Centro América". Desarrollo y Defensa (in Spanish). 30 June 2015.
- ^ Foss, Christopher F. (2005). Jane's Armour and Artillery 2005–2006. London: Jane's Information Group. pp. 186–194. ISBN 978-0-7106-2686-8.
- ^ a b "Trade Registers". Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved 2013年06月20日.
- ^ Zaloga, Steve (2002). M8 Greyhound Light Armored Car. Osprey. ISBN 1-84176-468-X.
- ^ The Military Balance. International Institute for Strategic Studies. 2022. ISBN 978-1-032-27900-8.
- ^ "SIPRI arms transfer database". Stockholm International Peace Research Institute . Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
- ^ "HISTORY OF THE ARMADILLO". www.army-guide.com. Retrieved 2017年03月19日.
- ^ a b c "Annex C Appendix II". US Army Technical Manual of Foreign Military Sales: Battlefield Damage Assessment and Repair (PDF). Washington, D.C. 18 December 1987. p. 262. TM 9-2320-356-BD. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Foss, Christopher F. (1998). "105 mm howitzer M56". Jane's Armour and Artillery (19 ed.). Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0710617903.
- ^ "Bofors 40mm (Series) Towed Anti-Aircraft Gun / Air Defense Gun - Sweden". www.militaryfactory.com. Military Factory. Archived from the original on 19 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.[better source needed ]
Work cited
[edit ]- International Institute for Strategic Studies (February 2016). The Military Balance 2016. Vol. 116. Routlegde. ISBN 978-1-85743-835-2.
External links
[edit ]- Official Website of Guatemala's Military Archived 2019年12月27日 at the Wayback Machine
- [1] Archived 2016年03月15日 at the Wayback Machine
- Raul Sohr. ‘’Centroamérica en guerra.’’ Alianza Editorial. México. 1988.
- Christopher F. Foss. ‘’Jane's tank and combat vehicles recognition guide. ‘’Harper Collins Publishers. UK. 2000.