Guatemala received a shipment of weapons and military equipment from the United States on Sept. 21, the first of a series of commercial exchanges set to total $5 million. Weapons transfers to the country had been formally frozen since the administration of President Jimmy Carter restricted arms sales in 1977 due to the Guatemalan military's record of human rights abuses during the country's civil war. The ban was lifted in March, after months of deepening security ties between the two countries.

President Bernardo Arévalo was quick to differentiate the country's current military forces from their predecessors. However, this was not the first delivery of military equipment since 1977. War material continued to flow to the country’s armed forces after Ronald Reagan partially lifted the ban in 1983 and provided US training and spare parts to the Guatemalan government, despite having information about the ongoing genocide of Mayan communities.

From NACLA Update, Sept. 25