Guatemala: Information on the ranks of the Guatemalan Army, including the rank especialista and on whether a person can be enlisted in the military as an employee and not have a rank
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 May 1996 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | GTM23497.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Guatemala: Information on the ranks of the Guatemalan Army, including the rank especialista and on whether a person can be enlisted in the military as an employee and not have a rank, 1 May 1996, GTM23497.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac0f60.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The following information was provided in a 7 May 1996 telephone interview with a professor at the Royal Military College, Kingston, who is a specialist on Central American armed forces.
The rank of especialista was created in the 1960s in a number of Central American militaries. Promotion in the armed forces has always been based on leadership qualities, but there was a need to get qualified people into high-level technical positions that were also critical to army operations. In the Guatemalan army, especialista refers to a technical specialist who has a rank but no command authority. The source noted that an especialista would always have a rank.
The source indicated that there are two other categories of specialists in the Guatemalan army; especialista civil and especialista policial. An especialista civil would be a civilian employee of the armed forces, while an especialista policial is a member of the police forces brought in for specialized assignments under an arrangement that the Guatemalan army has with the national police forces (Policia Nacional). The source stated that almost 95 per cent of the especialistas in the Guatemalan armed forces would fall under the first category of technical specialists.
Please find attached information on the ranks and structure of the Guatemalan armed forces and media reports that mention civilians employed in various capacities by the army. Please consult Response to Information Request GTM14872.E of 27 September 1993 on civilian specialists employed for military intelligence operations.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
Reference
Royal Military College, Kingston. 7 May 1996. Telephone interview with professor.
Attachments
The Associated Press (AP). 27 September 1990. AM Cycle. "Seven Held in Beheading of American Innkeeper." (NEXIS)
_____. 27 November 1988. AM Cycle. Alfonso Anzueto. "Government Says Troops Find 21 Bodies of People Massacred by Rebels." (NEXIS)
_____. 24 June 1982. AM Cycle. (NEXIS)
_____. 28 February 1980. AM Cycle. "Air Force Plane Crashes." (NEXIS)
Barry, Tom. 1992. Inside Guatemala. Albuquerque, NM: Inter-Hemispheric Education Resource Center, pp. 48-51.
Guatemala: A Country Study. 1984. Edited by Richard F. Nythrop. Washington, DC: Foreign Area Studies, The American University, pp. 190-199.
The San Diego Union-Tribune. 14 July 1991. Arthur Golden. "U.S. Presses Guatemala Over Deaths; Relations Falter, Tensions Rise Over Unsolved Killings." (NEXIS)