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Alfredo Enrique Peralta Azurdia (June 17, 1908 – February 18, 1997) was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who served as the Head of Government from March 1963 to July 1966. He took over the office of the presidency after staging a coup d'état against President Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes, under whom he served as Agriculture (1959–1960) and Defenseminister (1961–1963).
In 1958, Peralta became the Director General of Agricultural Affairs under Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes's government, a position he served until 1959. From 1959 to 1960, Peralta was the Minister of Agriculture, and from 1961 to 1963, was the Minister of Defence.[3]
On March 31, 1963, Peralta came to power via a coup d'état, overthrowing Ydígoras. However, Ydígoras was not the main target of the coup. Fearing the country would be overtaken by "communists", Peralta's coup also targeted the former left-wing president Juan José Arévalo, who had announced his candidacy for the upcoming elections and was coming back to Guatemala from exile.[4][5]
Peralta's government continued its repressive activities against left-wing rebels in the Guatemalan Civil War. His government funded the creation of "death squads", which was in charge of eliminating dissidents.[6] Another notable event occurred on March 3 and 5, 1966, when the G-2 (military intelligence) and the Judicial Police raided three houses in Guatemala City, capturing twenty-eight trade unionists and members of the PGT. The twenty-eight "disappeared" while in the custody of the security force, marking it one of the largest forced disappearances in Latin American history.[7]
Peralta unsuccessfully contested the 1978 elections as a candidate for the MLN.[5] He died on February 18, 1997, in Miami, Florida.[3]
References
^He never officially occupied the post of Constitutional President of the Republic of Guatemala, signed decrees under the title of "Head of Government of the Republic of Guatemala", which can be translated as a de facto Prime Minister.
