General Efraín Ríos Montt, center, arrives for a ceremony at the National Palace in Guatemala City, Guatemala, October 20, 1982. Ríos Montt assumed control through a military coup d'état on March 23, 1982. His 17-month term as de facto head of state, in which he installed a military regime, dissolved the congress, and suspended the constitution, is considered the most violent period of the conflict. Ríos Montt enjoyed close ties with the Reagan administration and with Christian conservatives in the United States. He has since been indicted and tried for genocide and crimes against humanity against the country's Maya Ixil population with the legal proceedings extending until his death on April 1, 2018.
