Guatemalan Civil War ran from 1960 to 1996 . It was fought between the government of Guatemala and various leftist rebel groups supported chiefly by ethnic Maya indigenous people and Ladino peasants , who together make up the rural poor . The government forces of Guatemala have been condemned for committing genocide against the Maya population of Guatemala during the civil war and for widespread human rights violations against civilians . The context of the struggle was amidst longstanding issues of land distribution with European-descended and foreign companies such as the United Fruit Company conflicting with the rural poor
genocide against the Maya population of Guatemala
Guatemalan genocide
Guatemalan Civil War