Fernando Romeo Lucas García

Who was Fernando Romeo Lucas García?

General Fernando Romeo Lucas García was the 25th President of Guatemala from 1 July 1978 to 23 March 1982. He was democratically elected as Institutional Democratic Party candidate. Elections for his presidency were fraud ridden and most poor peasants in Guatemala opposed his oppressive regime.

Whereas under the previous administration the human rights situation in Guatemala had improved, the regime of Lucas Garcia brought the repression to the much the same level observed during the "State of Siege" period under former President Arana Osorio. The election of Lucas Garcia was followed by an increase in the extrajudicial killing, torture and "disappearances" of trade unionists, academics, lawyers, campesinos, and religious leaders. Some of the more infamous cases included the assassinations of former progressive Mayor Manuel Colom and Social Democrat Party founder Alberto Fuentes. Together with the government in neighboring El Salvador, the Lucas Garcia regime was cited as the worst human rights violator in the western hemisphere.