"Folksy" Ronald Reagan and Pat Boone. The deceiving masks that hide their violent conservatism.
I just read the fictional "American Dirt", which led me to order Jonathan Blitzer's nonfiction "Everyone Who is Gone is Here", which referenced "Guatemala" by Jean-Marie Simon, written in 1987.
The murderous Guatemalan army hated Carter because he withheld aid due to human rights violations. They LOVED Reagan.
President Jorge Serrano Elias cited Reagan as his hero. On May 25, 1993, Serrano sparked the 1993 Guatemalan constitutional crisis when he illegally suspended the constitution, dissolved Congress and the Supreme Court, imposed censorship, and tried to restrict civil freedoms. (I think Trump has read this playbook!)
Reagan was well aware of the torture, murder, rape, and disappearances of civilians by the Guatemalan military/leadership/police and continued to send aid and weapons. Because Reagan sent millions of dollars of "back door" aid, human rights abuses did not receive the media attention they would have.
In early 1985, based on numbers from the Juvenile Division of the Guatemalan Supreme Court, officials estimated between 150K to 200K highland orphans. They concluded between 45K to 60K parents had been killed since 1978. Monsignor Juan Pablo Urizar, former Church administrator, stated that 20K Indians had been killed in the Quiche' alone. Another Bishop said his diocese had lost 500 catechists. Church leaders, nuns, students, teachers, and union leaders were kidnapped, murdered, and disappeared.
Additionally, Reagan gave commendations to the El Salvadorian military leaders who tortured Juan Romagoza. Dr. Romagoza testified over and over again even though his life and those of his family still in El Salvador were threatened.
In the Guatemala book, there is even a reference to Pat Boone:
A small booklet titled "Why I Am Against Communism" was distributed in Guatemala City. It included quotes from Pat Boone such as "I have four darling daughters and I would rather see them blown to bits by atom bombs than blown to hell from communist teachings".
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