Two Truth Commissions , the REMHI report , sponsored by the Roman Catholic Church , and the CEH report , conducted by the United Nations as part of the 1996 Accords of Firm and Durable Peace , documented widespread human rights abuses committed by Ríos Montt 's military regime . These included widespread massacres , rapes , and torture against the indigenous population in what has been called a Guatemalan genocide . Ríos Montt said there was no government-ordered genocide , and that abuses were only the result of a long , violent civil war . During his time as president , he had close ties to the United States , receiving direct and indirect support from several of its agencies , including the CIA
Guatemalan genocide
Guatemalan genocide
Efraín Ríos Montt