Efraín Ríos Montt was a Guatemalan politician and military officer, infamous for his brutal dictatorship during his short reign of one and a half years. He began his political career as a military officer and led a coup against the dictator, President Romeo Lucas García. After overthrowing García, Ríos Montt assumed power as the de facto President, continuing the military regime that many Guatemalans had hoped would end. He flagrantly disregarded human rights and took severe action against guerrillas who opposed his rule. His army targeted the Mayan ethnic group, committing widespread atrocities, including torture and mass murder, in what is now recognized as genocide.

Ironically, the U.S. government under President Ronald Reagan publicly supported Ríos Montt, claiming that human rights conditions in Guatemala had improved under his rule. Despite this, he was ousted a year later by his defense minister, Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores. Ríos Montt made several unsuccessful attempts to return to the presidency but was barred from elections due to his previous violent rule. However, he served as President of the Guatemalan Congress, a unicameral legislature, later in his career. In recent years, Ríos Montt was arrested and tried multiple times for genocide against the Mayan people, with notable accusations brought by Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú.