Montt continued to excercise power, if not control of the Guatamalan Gov't until very recently. He has been charged with a variety of war crimes, but was able to avoid prosecution, in part because he could maintain immunity as long as he was an elected official.

In any event, if you read the article posted above, you will see that these issues are not a part of the remote past at all, and that they are part of a political and human rights struggle that is still playing out today.