Military of Guatemala
Encyclopedia
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
consists of National Army of Guatemala (Ejercito Nacional de Guatemala, ENG), the Guatemalan Navy (Marina Nacional, includes Marines) and the Guatemalan Air Force
Guatemalan Air Force
The Guatemalan Air Force is a small air force composed mostly of U.S.-made aircraft throughout its history....
(Fuerza Aerea Guatemalteca, FAG).
History
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
is a signatory to the Rio Pact and was a member of the Central American Defense Council
Central American Defense Council
The Central American Defense Council was an alliance of Central American countries ....
(CONDECA). The President of the Republic
President of Guatemala
The title of President of Guatemala has been the usual title of the leader of Guatemala since 1839, when that title was assumed by Mariano Rivera Paz...
is commander-in-chief. The Minister of Defense
Ministry of Defence of Guatemala
The Ministry of National Defence is the agency of the Guatemalan government responsible for the budget, training and policy of the military of Guatemala. Based in Guatemala City, the Defence Ministry is highly guarded, and the President of Guatemala frequently visits...
is responsible for policy. Day-to-day operations are the responsibility of the military chief of staff and the national defense staff.
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. However, Presidents Álvaro Arzú
Álvaro Arzú
Álvaro Enrique Arzú Yrigoyen was the 32nd President of Guatemala from January 14, 1996 until January 14, 2000...
and his successors Alfonso Portillo
Alfonso Portillo
Alfonso Antonio Portillo Cabrera is a Guatemalan politician. He served as the President of the Republic of Guatemala from 2000 to 2004....
, Oscar Berger
Oscar Berger
Oscar Berger may refer to:*Óscar Berger , President of Guatemala*Oscar Berger , caricaturist and cartoonist born in Czechoslovakia*Oscar Berger-Levrault, French inventor...
and Álvaro Colom
Álvaro Colom
Álvaro Colom Caballeros is the President of Guatemala for the 2008–2012 term and leader of the social-democratic National Unity of Hope .-Early years:...
, 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 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, including subordinate air force (1,000) and navy (1,000) elements. It is equipped with armaments and material from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Taiwan
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan 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.
Equipment
Individual equipment
- 50,000 x IMI GalilIMI GalilThe Galil is a family of Israeli small arms designed by Yisrael Galil and Yaacov Lior in the late 1960s and produced by Israel Military Industries Ltd of Ramat HaSharon...
AR\SAR\SAR339\MAR\Kejell (Israel/Guatemala) - IMI Tavor TAR-21IMI Tavor TAR-21The TAR-21 is an Israeli bullpup assault rifle chambered for 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition with a selective fire system, selecting between semi-automatic mode, burst mode, and full automatic fire mode. It is named after Mount Tavor, while "TAR-21" stands for "Tavor Assault Rifle - 21st Century". It is...
(Israel) - 16,200 x M16 rifleM16 rifleThe M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...
M16A2 (United States) - 200 x M4 CarbineM4 CarbineThe M4 carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 designed by Eugene Stoner and made by ArmaLite. It is a shorter and lighter variant of the M16A2 assault rifle, with 80% parts commonality.It is a gas-operated,...
(United States) - CAR-15CAR-15The Colt Automatic Rifle-15 Military Weapons System or CAR-15 was a family of AR-15 and M16 rifle–based firearms marketed by Colt in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Due to their compact size, the short-barreled Colt Commando and XM177 versions of this family continued to be issued to the U.S...
(United States) - AKS-74U (USSR)
- AKMAKMThe AKM is a 7.62mm assault rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is an upgraded version of the AK-47 rifle and was developed in the 1950s....
(USSR) - Vz. 58 (Czech Republic)
- FN F2000FN F2000The FN F2000 is a 5.56×45mm NATO bullpup assault rifle, designed by FN Herstal in Belgium. The F2000 made its debut in March 2001 at the IDEX defense exhibition held in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.-Design details:...
(Belgium) - 350 x AR-10AR-10The AR-10 is an American 7.62 mm battle rifle developed by Eugene Stoner in the late 1950s at ArmaLite, then a division of the Fairchild Aircraft Corporation...
(United States) - CETMECETMECETME is an acronym for Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Materiales Especiales , a Spanish government design and development establishment. While being involved in many projects CETME was mostly known for its small arms research and development...
C (Spain) - M1 GarandM1 GarandThe M1 Garand , was the first semi-automatic rifle to be generally issued to the infantry of any nation. Called "the greatest battle implement ever devised" by General George S...
(United States) - Valtro PM-5/PM-5-350Valtro PM-5/PM-5-350The Valtro PM-5 is an Italian pump-action shotgun manufactured by ValtroThe Valtro PM-5 is available with either a fixed stock or a folding stock. It is unusual in that it takes a detachable box magazine. Both 7 and 10 round magazines have been manufactured, although the 7 round magazine is much...
(Italy) - Browning Hi-PowerBrowning Hi-PowerThe Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. It is based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at Fabrique Nationale of Herstal, Belgium. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized...
(Belgium) - SIG Sauer P226 (Germany)
- Star Model BMStar Model BMThe Star Model BM is a single-action semi-automatic pistol that fires the 9 mm Para pistol cartridge. It was produced by Star Bonifacio Echeverria, S.A. in Spain. Although its external appearance resembles the classic M1911, its design is different in several respects. For example, the Star does...
(Spain) - Walther P38 (Germany)
- Jericho 941Jericho 941The Jericho 941 is a double action/single action semi-automatic pistol developed by Israel Weapon Industries and introduced to the market in 1990 as the Jericho 941. It was first imported into the US in 1990 by K.B.I., Inc. of Harrisburg, PA. It was later imported by O.F. Mossberg & Sons and named...
(Israel) - Browning Hi-PowerBrowning Hi-PowerThe Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. It is based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at Fabrique Nationale of Herstal, Belgium. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized...
MKIII (Belgium) - FN Five-seven (United States)
- 644 x .38 Special.38 SpecialThe .38 Smith & Wesson Special is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson. It is most commonly used in revolvers, although some semi-automatic pistols and carbines also use this round...
(United States) - 709 x M1911 pistol (United States)
- Glock-19Glock pistolThe Glock pistol, sometimes referred to by the manufacturer as Glock "Safe Action" Pistol, is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Glock Ges.m.b.H., located in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria. The company's founder, engineer Gaston Glock, had no experience with firearm design or...
(Austria) - Beretta 92Beretta 92The Beretta 92 is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and manufactured by Beretta of Italy. The model 92 was designed in 1972 and production of many variants in different calibers continues today...
(Italy) - MAC-11MAC-11The Ingram MAC-11 is a machine pistol developed by American gun designer Gordon Ingram at the Military Armament Corporation during the 1970s...
(United States) - Beretta M12 (Italy)
- Madsen M-53Madsen M-50The Madsen M-50 or M/50 is a submachine gun introduced in 1950. It was produced by the Danish company Dansk Industri Syndikat of Copenhagen, Denmark. The company was otherwise known as Madsen after its founder Vilhelm Herman Oluf Madsen-Overview:...
(Denmark) - FMK-3 submachine gunFMK-3 submachine gunThe FMK-3 is a selective fire, blowback operated submachine gun of Argentine origin and was designed by Fabricaciones Militares in 1974. Around 30,000 were produced for the Argentine military by 1991.-Overview:...
(Argentina) - Uzi (Israel)
- Micro-Uzi (Israel)
- MAC-10MAC-10The MAC-10 is a highly compact, blowback operated machine pistol developed by Gordon B. Ingram in 1964.-Design:The M-10 was built predominantly from steel stampings...
(United States) - 233 x Thompson submachine gunThompson submachine gunThe Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
(United States) - 20 x FN P90 TR(Belgium)
- M3 submachine gunM3 submachine gunThe M3 was an American .45-caliber submachine gun adopted for U.S. Army service on 12 December 1942, as the United States Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M3. The M3 was designed as a more cost-effective alternative to the Thompson, optimized for mass production...
(United States) - M1919 Browning machine gunM1919 Browning machine gunThe M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century. It was used as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and anti-aircraft machine gun by the U.S. and many other countries, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War...
(United States) - M2 Browning (United States)
- FN MAGFN MAGThe FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries, and it has been made under licence in countries such as Argentina, Egypt, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the...
60.20 general purpose machine gun (Belgium) - 400 x M72 LAWM72 LAWThe M72 LAW is a portable one-shot 66 mm unguided anti-tank weapon, designed in the United States by Paul V. Choate, Charles B. Weeks, and Frank A. Spinale et al...
light anti-tank rocket launchers (United States) - M20 Super Bazooka (United States)
- M79 grenade launcherM79 grenade launcherThe M79 grenade launcher is a single-shot, shoulder-fired, break-action grenade launcher that fires a 40x46mm grenade which used what the US Army called the High-Low Propulsion System to keep recoil forces low, and first appeared during the Vietnam War...
(United States) - 1,000 x M203 grenade launcherM203 grenade launcherThe M203 is a single shot 40 mm grenade launcher designed to attach to a rifle. It uses the same rounds as the older M79 break-action grenade launcher, which utilize the High-Low Propulsion System to keep recoil forces low. Though versatile, and compatible with many rifle models, the M203 was...
(United States) - Soltam Systems C-08 60mm light mortar (Israel)
- M2 mortarM2 MortarThe M2 Mortar is a smoothbore, muzzle loading, high-angle-of-fire weapon used by U.S. forces in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War for light infantry support.-Description:...
60mm (United States) - GPS systemsGlobal Positioning SystemThe Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
(United States) - Night vision goggles (United States)
Armored vehicles
- 12 x M41 Walker BulldogM41 Walker BulldogThe M41 Walker Bulldog was a U.S. light tank developed to replace the M24 Chaffee. It was named for General Walton Walker who died in a jeep accident in Korea...
improved M-41DK 76mm light tank (United States - imported by DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
via BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) - 8x AMX-13AMX-13The AMX-13 is a French light tank produced from 1953 to 1985. It served with the French Army and was exported to over twenty-five other nations...
(France,ex Austrian army)-status unknown. - 7-12 x Cadillac Gage Commando 4x4 APCs (United States)
- 25 x RBY MK 1RBY MK 1The RBY Mk 1 is a light armoured reconnaissance vehicle that was produced by the RAMTA Division of Israel Aircraft Industries. It was replaced in Israeli service by the RAMTA RAM 2000 family of vehicles, though it continues to be used and upgraded by foreign users...
armoured reconnaissance vehicle (Israel) - Up to 70 x Armadillo 4x4Dragoon AFVThe Dragoon 300 AFV was produced by Arrowpointe Corporation during the 1980s. It was based on the automotive components of the US Army's M113 APC's and 5 ton trucks...
armoured personnel carrierArmoured personnel carrierAn armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
(Guatemala) - 12 x M8 GreyhoundM8 GreyhoundThe M8 Light Armored Car was a 6x6 armored car produced by the Ford Motor Company during World War II. It was used by the U.S. and British troops in Europe and the Far East until the end of the war. The vehicle was widely exported and as of 2006 still remains in service with some third world...
6x6 37mm ARVs (Modernized) (United States) - 15 x M-113A-1\2M113 armored personnel carrierThe M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier that has formed the backbone of the United States Army's mechanized infantry units from the time of its first fielding in Vietnam in April 1962. The M113 was the most widely used armored vehicle of the U.S...
Gevin APC (United States)
Vehicles
- Ford M-151A-1 MUTT (United States)
- M-37 (United States)
- M-35A-1 trucks (United States)
- Jeep CJ-7 4x4 (United States)
Towed artillery
- 12 M-101M101 howitzerThe 105 mm M2A1 howitzer was the standard light field howitzer for the United States in World War II, seeing action in both European and Pacific theaters. Entering production in 1941, it quickly entered the war against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific, where it gained a reputation...
105mm (United States) - 8 M-102M102 howitzerFirst introduced during the Vietnam War, the M102 was the light-towed 105 mm howitzer used by the United States Army in the Vietnam War, the First Gulf War, and most recently in the Iraq War.- An Air Mobile Howitzer for the Vietnam War :...
105mm (United States) - 56 M-56 105mm (Yugoslavia)
- 12 M-116M116 howitzerThe 75mm Pack Howitzer M1 was designed in the United States in 1920s to meet a need for an artillery piece that could be moved across difficult terrain. The gun and carriage was designed so that it could be broken down into several pieces to be carried by pack animals...
75mm (United States)
Mortars
- 55 [M1 mortar|M-1]] 81mm (United States)
- 12 M30M30 107 mm MortarThe M30 107 mm heavy mortar is an American rifled, muzzle-loading, high-angle-of-fire weapon used for long-range indirect fire support to infantry units.-Design:...
107mm (United States) - 18 ECIA 120mm (Spain)
Recoilless rifles
- 64 M67M67 recoilless rifleThe M67 recoilless rifle was a 90-mm antitank recoilless rifle made in the United States and later in the Republic of Korea. It could also be employed in an antipersonnel role with the use of the M590 antipersonnel round...
90mm recoilless rifles (United States) - 64 M-1974 FMK-1 105mm recoilless rifles (Argentina)
- 56 M40M40 recoilless rifleThe M40 recoilless rifle was a lightweight, portable, crew-served 105 mm weapon intended primarily as an anti-tank weapon made in the United States...
A1 106mm recoilless rifles (United States)
Air defence guns
- 16 M-55 3x20mm (Yugoslavia)
- 16 GAI-DO1 20mm Oerlikon (Switzerland)
- TCM 20 2x20mm (some reported) (Israel/Switzerland)
- 82 Blowpipe MANPADS launchers (United Kingdom)
- 5 M42 DusterM42 DusterThe M42 40 mm Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun, or "Duster," is an armored light air-defense gun built for the U.S. Army from 1952 until December 1959. Production of this vehicle was performed by the tank division of the General Motors Corporation. It used components from the M41 light tank...
2x40mm SP-AAG (United States/Sweden)
Special forces
The Guatemalan army has a special forces unit (specializing in anti-insurgent jungle warfare) known as the KaibilesKaibiles
The Kaibiles are a special operations force of the Military of Guatemala. They specialize in jungle warfare tactics and counter-insurgency operations....
.
Navy
- 3 s (Israel)
- 1 (Sweden)
- Israel Aerospace Industries Gabriel SSMs (Israel)
- Some small patrol craft (United States)
Military manpower
Military age: 18 years of ageMales aged 15 to 49: 3,186,894 (2002 est.)
Males fit for military service aged 15 to 49: 2,080,504 (2002 est.)
Males reaching military age annually: 140,358 (2002 est.)