The government's assault on guerrilla groups in rural areas of Guatemala has involved the destruction of many Indian villages and the deaths of many Indian people.
According to the official written history of Jamaica, the indigenous people of the land, the Arawaks, were exterminated by the Spanish prior to the British takeover of Jamaica in 1655.
The Inter-American Indian Institute was founded in Patzcuaro, Mexico, in 1940 and now functions under the auspices of the Organization of American States.