The Chief of the General Staff () is the professional head of the Guatemalan Armed Forces. They are responsible for the administration and operational control of the military. It is the highest achievable commissioned officer rank that may be attained in the Guatemalan Armed Forces.
List of officeholders General Staff (14 November 1890–12 June 1930) ?
Army Staff (12 June 1930–5 September 1968) ?
General Staff of the Army (5 September 1968–23 March 1983) Portrait Name Term of office Took office Left office Time in office 1 Brigadier generalKjell Eugenio Laugerud García July 1970 July 1972 2 Brigadier generalFausto David Rubio Coronado July 1972 January 1973 3 Brigadier generalEfraín Ríos Montt January 1973 April 1973 4 Brigadier generalFernando Romeo Lucas García July 1973 July 1976 5 Otto Guillermo Spliegler Noriega July 1976 February 1977 6 Divisional generalDavid Cancinos Barrios February 1977 11 June 1979 7 Ángel Aníbal Guevara June 1979 January 1980 8 Luís René Mendoza Palomo January 1980 June 1981 9 Manuel Benedicto Lucas García 15 August 1981 24 March 1982 10 Héctor Mario López Fuentes March 1982 October 1983
National Defense Staff (23 March 1983–present) Portrait Name Term of office Defence branch Took office Left office Time in office Divisional generalRodolfo Lobos Zamora October 1983 September 1985 Brigadier generalHéctor Gramajo January 1986 February 1987 Brigadier generalHellmuth René Casados Ramírez 14 January 2012 4 June 2013 Divisional generalManuel Augusto López Ambrocio 4 June 2013 16 July 2013 Divisional generalRudy Ortiz 16 July 2013 20 August 2014 † Divisional generalCarlos Eduardo Estrada Pérez 27 August 2014 31 July 2015 Brigadier generalAlfredo Sosa Díaz 31 July 2015 22 January 2016 Divisional generalJuan Manuel Pérez Ramírez 22 January 2016 1 August 2017 Divisional generalErick Cano Zamora 1 August 2017 6 March 2018 Divisional generalJulio César Paz Bone 6 March 2018 21 June 2019 Divisional generalAlbin Enrique Dubois 20 June 2019 19 December 2019 AdmiralErick Alejandro Sanchez 20 December 2019 14 January 2020 Brigadier generalHugo Roberto Urbina Marroquín 15 January 2020 18 December 2020 Brigadier generalWalfre Omar Carranza España 19 December 2020 31 May 2022 Brigadier generalWilliam Arnulfo López 19 December 2020 14 January 2024 Brigadier generalCarlos Antonio Medina 18 January 2024 8 May 2024 Brigadier generalHermelindo Choz Soc 8 May 2024 27 June 2025 Divisional generalErwin Rolando Gómez Barrera 27 June 2025 30 November 2025 Divisional generalJosé Giovani Martínez Milián 1 December 2025
References