Francisco Javier Arana Castro (; 3 December 1905 – 18 July 1949) was a Guatemalan military leader and one of the three members of the revolutionary junta that ruled Guatemala from 20 October 1944 to 15 March 1945 during the early part of the Guatemalan Revolution. A major in the Guatemalan army under the dictator Jorge Ubico, he allied with a progressive faction of the army to topple Ubico's successor Federico Ponce Vaides. He led the three-man junta that oversaw the transition to a democratic government, although he was personally reluctant to allow the elected President Juan José Arévalo to take office in 1945. He served as the Chief of the Armed Forces in the new government until 1949. On 18 July 1949 he was killed in a shootout with supporters of the Arévalo government after he threatened to launch a coup. Early and personal life Francisco Javier Arana Castro was born on 3 December 1905 in Villa Canales, Guatemala. His parents, Ángel María Arana and Margarita Castro, were from a lower-middle-class family. He had both Spanish and Indigenous heritage, and the latter trait was visually more prominent. He did not have a formal education, but he was relatively well read, and was described by his contemporaries as canny and intelligent, and as a charismatic and convivial person. He was described as a poor public speaker, but as a very persuasive man in intimate conversations. In 1946, during the Guatemalan Revolution, a staff member at the United States embassy described his politics as nationalist, as well as being slightly pro-American. October revolution In June 1944, a series of popular protests forced the resignation of dictator Jorge Ubico. Ubico appointed Federico Ponce Vaides leader of a three-person junta which would lead the provisional government. A few days later, Ponce Vaides persuaded the Congress to appoint him interim president. Ponce pledged to hold free elections soon, while continuing Ubico's policy of suppressing the protests. This resulted in growing support for an armed revolution among some sections of the populace. By this time, the Guatemalan Army was disillusioned with the junta, and progressives within it had begun to plot a coup. Arana became a member of this plot only in its later stages; the plot was initially led by Jacobo Árbenz and Aldana Sandoval. However, as the commander of the Guardia de Honor, Arana was in a position of substantial authority within the