Christian
Guatemalan evangelical political right (Ríos Montt legacy)
Export 1 entries:
Guatemalan evangelical political right. Historical 1982–83 Ríos Montt presidency associated with Ixil genocide; evangelical political involvement continues.
CLCI radar
Loading radar…
Moderate Control
BITE breakdown
Behavior Control4/10
Information Control4/10
Thought Control4/10
Emotional Control4/10
Modifiers (+0)
0 — Guatemalan evangelical political right; historical Ríos Montt genocide context.
Profile facts
Founded
1980s+
Members
Substantial Guatemalan evangelical population
Active in
LatAm
In context
Guatemalan evangelical political movement has substantial history with Ríos Montt's 1982–83 presidency (convicted 2013 of genocide against Ixil Mayan population; conviction overturned on procedural grounds). Current Guatemalan evangelical political involvement includes multiple presidential candidates and parties.
Recovery resources
- Tears of Eden — Christian spiritual-abuse-survivor support and clinician referral.
- Recovering Grace — Originally IBLP-focused; archive includes broader fundamentalist Christian high-control material.
- Reclamation Collective — Religious-trauma-aware therapist network; relevant for post-exit identity-rebuilding.
- ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — General referral and cult-aware therapist directory.
- Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan's organisation; BITE-model resources and family-side exit guidance.
See the full curated list at /resources.
Legal cases & controversies
- Ríos Montt 2013 conviction and overturning
Evidence by BITE axis
Information Control
- Historical context of Ríos Montt genocide
- Substantial political mobilisation
- historical Ríos Montt genocide context
Timeline
- 1982–83Ríos Montt presidency and Ixil genocide
- 2013Ríos Montt convicted of genocide (overturned)
Evidence matrix
Structured sources cross-linked to the claims they document. Tiered per the source hierarchy. For free-text citations see the Sources section below.
Sources
- Various Guatemalan press coverage search ↗
- Justice in Guatemala — NACLA Report on the Americas (2012) — https://doi.org/10.1080%2F10714839.2012.11722112 open ↗
- Voting for a Killer: Efraín Ríos Montt's Return to Politics in Democratic Guatemala — Comparative Politics (2022) — https://doi.org/10.5129%2F001041522X16123600891620 open ↗
- Guatemala: Why They Like Ríos Montt — NACLA Report on the Americas (1990) — https://doi.org/10.1080%2F10714839.1990.11723184 open ↗
- Coups and Communism in Guatemala — Coups d'État in Cold War Latin America, 1964–1982 (2025) — https://doi.org/10.1017%2F9781009344821.010 open ↗
- Efrain Rios Montt, former Guatemalan military dictator charged with genocide, dies at 91 — https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/efrain-rios-montt-former-guatemalan-military-dictator-charged-with-genocide-dies-at-91/2018/04/01/545c9770-35d2-11e8-acd5-35eac230e514_story.html open ↗
- The Final Battle: Ríos Montt's Counterinsurgency Campaign — http://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB425/ open ↗
- Pinochet escaped justice – we must ensure Ríos Montt does not — https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/dec/14/comment.chile open ↗
- U.S. clears military vehicles for export to Guatemala — https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/19/world/around-the-world-us-clears-military-vehicles-for-export-to-guatemala.html open ↗
- Guatemalan Vows to Aid Democracy — https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/06/world/no-headline-080267.html open ↗
- Clinton: Support for Guatemala Was Wrong — https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/daily/march99/clinton11.htm open ↗
- Facing Charges, Not Discomforts — https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57581-2005Jan7_2.html open ↗
- War Study Censures Military in Guatemala — https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/daily/feb99/guatemala26.htm open ↗
- Guatemalan Army Waged 'Genocide,' New Report Finds — https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/26/world/guatemalan-army-waged-genocide-new-report-finds.html open ↗
- Guatemala's Rios Montt guilty of genocide — https://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/10/world/americas/guatemala-genocide-trial/index.html open ↗
- The Guatemala Genocide Case – The Audiencia Nacional, Spain — http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/guatemala/genocide/round1.htm open ↗
- How the Guatemalan civil war became a genocide: Revisiting the 2013 trial of General Efraín Ríos Montt — https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366703082 open ↗
- How the Guatemalan civil war became a genocide: Revisiting the 2013 trial of General Efraín Ríos Montt — The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology (2022) — https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fjlca.12647 open ↗
- Guatemala ex-leader Rios Montt to face genocide charge — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-16750880 open ↗
- Judge denies former Guatemalan dictator amnesty — https://www.cnn.com/2012/03/01/world/americas/guatemala-dictator-trial open ↗
- Genocide Retrial Is Set for Guatemalan Former Dictator — https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/26/world/americas/genocide-retrial-is-set-for-guatemalan-former-dictator.html open ↗
- Genocide trial of Guatemala ex-leader opens — http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/03/201332053446693534.html open ↗
- Guatemala y los dragones del pasado — https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias/2013/05/130517_guatemala_rios_montt_futuro_jcps open ↗
- Guatemala's Ríos Montt found guilty of genocide — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22490408 open ↗
- Former Guatemalan dictator convicted of genocide and jailed for 80 years — https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/11/guatemalan-dictator-rios-montt-jailed-genocide open ↗
- Genocidal general — https://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2013/05/historic-verdict-guatemala open ↗
- The Left's Cold War Revenge in Guatemala — https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324767004578489000861712698 open ↗
- Former Guatemala dictator faces genocide retrial — http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/1/5/former-guatemaladictatorfacesgenocideretrial.html open ↗
- Guatemala court: former dictator can be tried for genocide – but not sentenced — https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/25/guatemala-rios-montt-genocide-trial-not-sentenced open ↗
- Genocide in Guatemala? — Academic Questions (2018) — https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs12129-018-9702-8 open ↗
- Efraín Ríos Montt, Guatemalan Dictator Convicted of Genocide, Dies at 91 — https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/01/obituaries/efrain-rios-montt-guatemala-dead.html open ↗
- Ex-Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt dies aged 91 — https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/01/ex-guatemalan-dictator-efrain-rios-montt-dies-aged-91 open ↗
- Former Guatemala Dictator Efrain Rios Montt Dies at 91 — http://time.com/5224017/efrain-rios-montt-dies/ open ↗
- From Silence to Memory: Revelations of the AHPN — http://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/12928/ahpn_final_20130620.pdf open ↗
- Indicted for Genocide: Guatemala's Efraín Ríos Montt: U.S. and Guatemalan Documents Trace Dictator's Rise to Power — http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB419/ open ↗
- Ríos Montt va a juicio por genocidio 30 años después — https://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2012/01/120127_rios_montt_juicio_guatemala_an.shtml open ↗
- Ex-Guatemalan dictator faces genocide trial — http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/27/world/americas/guatemala-ex-dictator/index.html open ↗
- From Genocide to Feminicide: Impunity and Human Rights in Twenty-First Century Guatemala — Journal of Human Rights (2008) — https://dx.doi.org/10.1080%2F14754830802070192 open ↗
- Ríos Montt, el dictador al que alcanzó la historia — http://www.abc.es/internacional/20130128/rc-rios-montt-dictador-alcanzo-201301282219.html open ↗
- Retrasado ‘sine die’ el juicio por genocidio al exdictador de Guatemala Ríos Montt — http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/03/10/actualidad/1362885840_177595.html open ↗
- El Constitucional de Guatemala anula la condena al exdictador Ríos Montt — http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/05/21/actualidad/1369101633_290958.html open ↗
- El “apartheid” más atroz — http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/05/11/actualidad/1368283196_614466.html open ↗
- Golpe de Estado militar en Guatemala — http://elpais.com/diario/1982/03/24/internacional/385772401_850215.html open ↗
- Díez días de justicia — http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/05/24/actualidad/1369416662_386455.html open ↗
- La Historia vista desde el tribunal — http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/12/21/actualidad/1387665062_845129.html open ↗
- Câble de l'ambassade des États-Unis à Guatemala — http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB316/19821210.pdf open ↗
- d'autres documents — http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB316/index.htm open ↗
- Ex-Guatemala leader appears in court — http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/01/20121270955376725.html open ↗
- Au Guatemala, les plaies à vif de la guerre civile — https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2012/07/12/au-guatemala-les-plaies-a-vif-de-la-guerre-civile_1732841_3210.html open ↗
- Guatemala : l'ancien dictateur Rios Montt coupable de génocide — https://www.lemonde.fr/ameriques/article/2013/05/11/guatemala-l-ancien-dictateur-rios-montt-coupable-de-genocide_3175504_3222.html open ↗
- lire en ligne — https://www.lemonde.fr/ameriques/article/2013/05/21/guatemala-la-condamnation-de-l-ex-dictateur-rios-montt-annulee_3409879_3222.html open ↗
- lire en ligne — https://www.lemonde.fr/ameriques/article/2014/01/12/guatemala-le-proces-de-l-ex-dictateur-rios-montt-est-bien-annule_4346604_3222.html open ↗
- Muere Ríos Montt, general juzgado por genocidio en Guatemala — http://www.elmundo.es/internacional/2018/04/01/5ac115cbe5fdeafe768b4605.html open ↗
- Umfangreicher Artikel von CNN über den Prozess — http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/11/world/americas/guatemala-rios-montt-trial open ↗
- Analysis of Rios Montt Government after eleven months — http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB419/docs/Analysis%20of%20RM%20Government%20Feb%2018%201983%20%281%29.pdf open ↗
- Guatemalas Exdiktator zu 80 Jahren Haft verurteilt. — http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2013-05/rios-montt-guatemeala-urteil open ↗
- Guatemala: Gericht kassiert Urteil gegen Ex-Diktator Montt. — http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/guatemalas-verfassungsgericht-hebt-urteil-gegen-ex-diktator-montt-auf-a-900877.html open ↗
- Un hijo de Ríos Montt muere al estrellarse su helicóptero en Guatemala. — https://elpais.com/diario/1984/07/17/internacional/458863223_850215.html open ↗
- Guatemala ex-dictator's daughter Zury Ríos barred from presidency. — https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-48266200 open ↗
- Guatemalan Church Fights Evangelical's Rise - The New York Times — https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/17/world/guatemalan-church-fights-evangelical-s-rise.html open ↗
- Profile: Guatemala's Efrain Rios Montt. — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22486387 open ↗
- Ehemaliger Diktator unter Hausarrest. — http://www.taz.de/Justiz-in-Guatemala/!86531/ open ↗
- Guatemala: Bill Clinton's Latest Damn-Near Apology — http://www.motherjones.com/politics/1999/03/guatemala-bill-clintons-latest-damn-near-apology open ↗
- The American Presidency Project. — http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=42069 open ↗
- “원주민 집단학살 혐의 전 과테말라 군부 독재자 91세로 사망” — https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20180402003400087 open ↗
- “Guatemala Turns a Page” — https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/17/opinion/guatemala-turns-a-page.html?ref=efrainriosmontt open ↗
- “Guatemalan Executions Shock Pope” — https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1983/03/04/guatemalan-executions-shock-pope/98d81d1e-c23e-49f7-9549-79e36a8b1cf8/ open ↗
- “Why They Like Rios Montt” — https://sites.middlebury.edu/dstoll/guatemalan-history-do-facts-matter/ open ↗
- El Ejército de Ríos Montt mató a más de 200.000 civiles en Guatemala entre 1978 y 1983 — http://www.elmundo.es/america/2009/12/01/noticias/1259699603.html open ↗
- Brothers at odds / Ex-dictator, Guatemalan bishop demonstrate how deeply 36 years of civil war divided nation — http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Brothers-at-odds-Ex-dictator-Guatemalan-bishop-2883581.php open ↗
- U.S. HAILS REMARK BY NEW GUATEMALA CHIEF — https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/10/world/us-hails-remark-by-new-guatemala-chief.html open ↗
- Desencanto en Guatemala. Al cumplir un año de Gobierno, la población desaprueba la gestión del 'riosmonttismo — http://www.udel.edu/leipzig/270500/ela170101.htm open ↗
- Guatemala City hit by riot — http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3094857.stm open ↗
- Guatemala politicians were racist — http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4411207.stm open ↗
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗ runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.
Change history
Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.
- 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J corrective: Moderate-band (CLCI 16) entry upgraded from Mainstream-comparator lighter palette to Christian high-control palette — Batch J's clci<21 fallthrough was too lean for the documented control vector of this category.
- 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J: per-group recovery resources applied via programmatic palette (closest-fit by category + subCategory + score). Palette: Mainstream-comparator lighter.
- 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.
Relevant hubs
Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.
You may also want to explore
Frequently asked questions
Q.Is Guatemalan evangelical political right a cult?
CLCI Hub deliberately avoids the binary label "cult." Instead it places groups on a transparent 0–40 spectrum of documented control using Steven Hassan's BITE model (Behaviour, Information, Thought, Emotional). Guatemalan evangelical political right scores 16 out of 40 — "Moderate Control", at medium confidence. The score describes documented control patterns, not a judgement of members' sincerity or beliefs; many members do not personally experience the patterns listed.
Q.What is Guatemalan evangelical political right's CLCI score?
Guatemalan evangelical political right scores 16 out of 40 on the Cult-Like Control Index, which falls in the "Moderate" band. That total is the sum of four BITE axes — Behaviour 4, Information 4, Thought 4, Emotional 4 — plus a signed modifier of +0 for aggravating or mitigating factors.
Q.Why does Guatemalan evangelical political right score 16 on the CLCI?
The score reflects publicly documented patterns including: Historical context of Ríos Montt genocide; Substantial political mobilisation. These map onto the BITE axes of behaviour, information, thought, and emotional control, and a signed modifier of +0 is applied for factors such as financial demands, leadership accountability, and exit costs. Every claim is backed by the citations in the Sources section on this page.
Q.How reliable is the Guatemalan evangelical political right rating?
This profile is rated Medium confidence. Medium confidence means the score rests on reputable journalism plus consistent ex-member testimony. CLCI scores are not fixed — they are revised whenever new public evidence appears, and groups that reform can score lower over time.
Q.Where can I get help regarding Guatemalan evangelical political right?
If you or someone you care about is affected by Guatemalan evangelical political right, start with the Recovery resources listed on this page. General cult-aware support is available from the International Cultic Studies Association (icsahome.com) and the Freedom of Mind Resource Center (freedomofmind.com). CLCI Hub is an educational resource, not a crisis service — if anyone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services.
Found something wrong on this profile?
We accept correction requests from anyone — current and former members, researchers, journalists, family members, and the listed organisation. Submissions are reviewed by an editor; we do not auto-publish.
Disclaimer. This profile is an educational summary based on publicly available reports. Many members of this group do not experience the patterns described. Individual congregations and chapters vary widely. If you or someone you know needs support, contact a licensed therapist or the International Cultic Studies Association.