Pro-Government Militias
The White Hand (Guatemala)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 295 |
| Country: | Guatemala |
| Date formed: | June 3, 1966 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | day |
| Details of Formation: | The White Hand announced its existence on 3 June 1966. It was set up by the Guatemalan government in the context of the guerilla threat and with advice from the US (Wikipedia). One of its creators allegedly includes Mario Sandoval Alarcon who had also (co-)founded the MLN party, which was prominent during the military junta. |
| Date dissolved: | Jan. 14, 1986 |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | day |
| Details of Termination: | According to Wikipedia, the group was dissolved by general Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia in 1978. However, news sources continue to report actions and substantial government links after this date. Our termination date refers to the squad's termination as a Pro-Government Armed Group on the 14 January 1986, when President Cerezo was inaugurated as President of a new civilian government in the country. The White Hand continued to exist and be active, but can no longer be coded as 'pro-government’. |
| Termination Type(s): | change in government |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | none |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | no |
| Former Armed Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | informal (type 1) |
| Created by the Government?: | unclear | Main Creating Government Institution: | none |
| Government Link(s): | political party; state (institution); military (institution) |
| If link to party, name of party: | MLN |
| Training and Equipment: | no information |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | yes |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | landowner; military |
| State Sponsor(s): | none |
| Other Connection(s): |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | ethnic; ideology; security forces |
| Primary Membership: | ideological |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | None |
| Force Strength: | [unknown, unknown] |
| Target(s): | civilians; unarmed political opposition, government critics; ethnic group; peasants; students |
| Purpose(s): | protect state, national or religious institutions; intimidation of ethnic/religious groups; intimidation of civilians; intimidate political opposition |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | Mayas (Guatemala) |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | inferred |
| Ethnic Membership: | Guatemalans (Guatemala) |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | inferred |
| Ethnic Purpose: | Mayas (Guatemala) |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | inferred |
Other Information
| Other Information: | The White Hand is also known by its Spanish name “Mano Blanca” or its official name “Movimiento de Acción Nacionalista Organizado (Movement of Organized Nationalist Action). It was a right-wing, anti-communist death squad (Wikipedia). Ethnic targets (also linked to purpose of intimidation) were indicated as indigenous people. The indigenous population in Guatemala mainly consists of Mayas. There are also small minorities of Xinca and Garifunas. It is unclear whether the latter groups were also targeted by The White Hand. |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | When the group was founded, it served the specific purpose of preventing Julio César méndez Montenegro from the competing Partido Revolucionario from taking power, and had the more general purpose of carrying out violent activities (Wikipedia). The group was supposed to act against people with communist sympathies in the context of a communist insurgency in the civil war. Later, it was also used by its landlord sponsors to seize land from peasants. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | unknown |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | The White Hand committed torture, killings and disappearances against civilians, supported and coordinated by the Guatemalan Armed Forces (Wikipedia). They were also used by landlords to forcefully seize lands from peasants. |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | kidnapping/abductions; killing; torture |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no information |
| PGM Members Paid? | no information |
| Reasons for Membership: | Many members came from middle class or lower middle class white families. It can be inferred that they might have had a material interest against an uprising of indigenous communist movements threatening their predominance. |
| PGM Members Killed? | no information |
PGM Size
| Size: |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: | The White Hand received support from the military, the domestic government and the United States (Wikipedia). It is not clear, however, if this support included weapons and whether it extended up to the 1980s when the group is coded in the PGMD, because the Wikipedia source codes the group terminated in the late 1978. |
Organisation
| Organisation: | After formation, the group was autonomous from the government but soon became a paramilitary unit of the Guatemalan armed forces. It was linked to the Movement of Organized Nationalist Action, a front of the MLN party. They were linked to various government, military and police agencies. In the 1960s, its leader was Raúl Lorenzana who was close to the Guatemalan military (Wikipedia). In 1981 a news source mentions that the group had been institutionalized within the army high command known as Ministry of Death. The military intelligence supplied information. |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.