Elfego Hernán Monzón Aguirre

Elfego Hernán Monzón Aguirre (5 May 1912 – 6 June 1981) was a Guatemalan army officer who was President of Guatemala and leader of a military junta from 29 June 1954 to 8 July 1954, during the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état.

Early career Monzón was an officer in the Guatemalan military, eventually attaining the rank of Colonel. while a U.S. government memorandum described him as a "minister without portfolio" on 14 January 1954. Monzón stated that the army itself was anti-communist, but that conditions needed to worsen before the army would do anything. However, he anticipated that in a few months, the army would be willing to force Árbenz to resign, and he expressed hopes that other countries would place severe economic pressure on Guatemala.

Assumption of presidency On 27 June 1954 Árbenz resigned as a result of a U.S. sponsored coup. Carlos Enrique Díaz replaced him as president, at the head of a military junta, On 29 June Díaz was forced to resign, and a new three-person junta, headed by Monzón, took power. U.S. diplomat John Peurifoy, who had also played a role in the coup, had summoned all three members of the military junta there, and Díaz had announced that he was resigning after a meeting with Peurifoy and Sánchez. Monzón then entered and announced that he was forming the new junta.

El Salvador negotiations Monzón was a staunch anti-communist, and had spoken repeatedly of his loyalty to the U.S. Nonetheless, he was not initially willing to hand over power to Carlos Castillo Armas, the leader of the US-backed rebels in the coup against Árbenz. The US State Department persuaded Óscar Osorio, the dictator of El Salvador, to invite Monzón, Castillo Armas, and other significant individuals to participate in peace talks in San Salvador. Osorio agreed to do so, and after Díaz had been deposed, Monzón and Castillo Armas arrived in the Salvadoran capital on 30 June. Colonel Cruz Salazar and Colonel Dubois, who were seen as Monzón's supporters in the junta, had made a secret agreement with Castillo Armas without Monzon's knowledge, and resigned on 7 July. As a result, Monzon was outnumbered in the junta, and also resigned, on 1 September. This permitted Castillo Armas to be unanimously elected president of the junta. For their cooperation, Salazar and Dubois were paid 100,000 US dollars each. On 13 July, the new government was recognized by the US government. An election was organized in early October 1954, but all political parties were prohibited from participating in it. The only candidate was Carlos Castillo Armas, who won 99% of the vote. Monzón remained a part of Castillo Armas' administration.

Death

On 6 June 1981, Elfego Hernan Monzon Aguirre died in Guatemala; he was 69 years old.