The Cold War led to the spread of Communist ideology to Latin America. Fidel Castro and The Cuban Revolution influenced an uprising from the Guatemalan working class, indigenous Mayans and peasant Ladino workers. With the success of Communist uprisings in Cuba, other Latin American countries began opting for Revolution. These two demographics began forming left-wing factions and Guerrilla groups like the MR-13, Guatemalan Party of Labor, and The EGP. This armed conflict was a result of a coup d'Etat supported by the CIA against the democratically elected government of Jacobo Arbenz in 1954. Mayan Population of Guatemala found themselves caught in the crossfires of the Guatemalan Civil War from 1954-1996. During this time period, food shortages, political oppression, and violence led to the death of over 200,000 Guatemalan Mayans. To combat the Communist Guerilla groups, the Guatemalan military issued a policy of Tierras Arrasadas which was essentially a scorched earth policy. The Guatemalan military raided areas suspected of revolutionary actions. The military burned the peasant villages and all their resourceful crops. This led to famine and harsh economic conditions in the widely Mayan peasant class. The Guatemalan government was run by a series of puppet dictators during the conflict. Funded by the U.S, The regime attempted maintain order by repressing the Mayans in rural areas. The government-funded repression and massacre of Ethnic Mayans in Guatemala during the Civil War along with Leftist-Guerilla group interaction with indigenous peasants led to waves of Mayans emigrating to avoid military persecution. Political instability, Lack of opportunity, and Natural disasters are also factors which influenced reasons of migration.