Abd al-Karim Qasim vs Efrain Rios Montt

Qasim, leading the Free Officers movement, orchestrated a military coup that overthrew King Faisal II and the Hashemite monarchy. The royal family was executed, and Iraq was declared a republic with Qasim as Prime Minister.

Qasim withdrew Iraq from the Baghdad Pact, shifting the country's foreign policy away from Western alignment. He pursued a neutralist stance and improved relations with the Soviet Union, altering the regional balance of power.

Qasim claimed sovereignty over Kuwait shortly after its independence from Britain, leading to a military standoff. British forces intervened to protect Kuwait, and Qasim's claim was widely condemned, isolating Iraq diplomatically.

Qasim was overthrown in a Ba'athist coup led by Abdul Salam Arif and Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr. After a brief trial, he was executed by firing squad. His death ended the first republican government of Iraq and ushered in Ba'athist rule.

Under Ríos Montt's 'Beans and Bullets' policy, the Guatemalan army conducted a scorched earth campaign in the highlands, destroying hundreds of Maya villages, killing thousands, and displacing tens of thousands. The campaign aimed to eliminate support for leftist guerrillas.

Ríos Montt led a military coup that overthrew President Fernando Romeo Lucas García. He assumed power as head of a military junta, suspending the constitution and dissolving Congress. His rule marked the bloodiest period of Guatemala's 36-year civil war.

Ríos Montt was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity for the massacre of over 1,700 Maya Ixil people during his 1982-83 rule. He was sentenced to 80 years in prison, but the conviction was later overturned on procedural grounds by the Constitutional Court.