Colonel Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán, addressing the people of Guatemala last night, announced on the radio that he had placed the presidency of the republic in Colonel Carlos Enrique Díaz, head of the armed forces.
In a farewell speech read through the microphones of the TGW in a chain with all the stations in the country, Colonel Árbenz announced this momentous decision at nine at night.
He began by saying that Guatemala is going through a very tough test. For 15 days, he said, a cruel war has been unleashed against Guatemala in which apparently there is no responsible government, but that does not mean that we do not know who has unleashed the aggression: the UFCO and the foreign monopolies and the ruling circles of North America.
He mentioned that North American airmen and mercenaries have unleashed the fire and deaths…. And to prevent the aggression against Guatemala from becoming more ruthless, he made the painful determination to leave power.
Provisional President
Colonel Carlos Enrique Díaz, as provisional president and head of the armed forces, issued a decree early yesterday (June 28) integrating a government board with colonels Élfego H. Monzón and José Ángel Sánchez. Monzón is a delegate of the board to the Ministry of the Interior and Sánchez, a delegate to the Ministry of Defense. Colonel Díaz will continue as head of the armed forces. The decree was issued at 9:30 in the morning and came into force when it was published in the official gazette.
Political prisoners released
According to a note by Mario Sandoval Figueroa, on June 29, 500 people belonging to different anti-communist organizations, who had been detained for almost a month in the first corps of the civil guard, were released. They were released in the presence of the members of the government board made up of Colonels Élfego H. Monzón, José Luis Cruz Salazar and Mauricio Dubois.
A direct agreement with Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas, so that, without detriment to the national dignity and honor of the army, the war activities are put to an end, is an objective of the government junta as expressed in a statement issued on June 29, in which the eradication of communism in Guatemala is announced.
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This note is part of the commemorative series of our diamond wedding, it is a journey through news that marked the history of Guatemala, with original texts and images from each era, as a reliable testimony of our mission of service.
*Original texts of notes of numbers 923, 924 and 927. They were integrated for reasons of clarity and space.