The original Guatemalan death squads took shape in the mid-1960s
under anti-terrorist training provided by a U.S. public safety
adviser named John Longon, according to the documents. In
January 1966, Longon reported to his superiors about both overt
and covert components of his anti-terrorist strategies. On the
covert side, Longon pressed for “a safe house [to] be
immediately set up” for coordination of security intelligence.
“A room was immediately prepared in the [Presidential] Palace
for this purpose and … Guatemalans were immediately designated
to put this operation into effect,” according to Longon’s
report. Longon’s operation within the presidential compound
became the starting point for the infamous “Archivos”
intelligence unit that evolved into a clearinghouse for
Guatemala’s most notorious Just two months after Longon's
report, a secret CIA cable noted the clandestine execution of
several Guatemalan "communists and terrorists" on the night of
March 6, 1966. By the end of the year, the Guatemalan gove