Dictators

Efraín Ríos Montt's time as leader of Guatemala was brief, but bloody. Under his tenure, he oversaw arguably some of the most ruthless fighting of the three-decade-long civil war. He was determined to...

14 Sep 202147min

In 1954, the CIA overthrew the democratically elected Guatemalan president, ushering in a series of brutal military dictators and a decades-long civil war. This was the backdrop to Efraín Ríos Montt’s...

7 Sep 202149min

For thirty years, Trujillo’s corrupt regime came at the expense of the people. He hoarded funds from the treasury, and enacted a campaign of terror — first against his own citizens, then against Haiti...

31 Aug 202149min

When the U.S. occupied the Dominican Republic at the turn of the century, Rafael Trujillo saw an opportunity to advance in life. He joined the military and learned from the U.S. Marines, and when turm...

24 Aug 202149min

After an ascendant rise to the papacy, Pope Leo X began draining the massive treasury left by his predecessor. The nonstop feasting and over-the-top festivities were partly strategic, mostly indulgent...

17 Aug 202151min

Giovanni de' Medici was a shrewd strategist who became pope before the age of 40. As a cardinal, he ended the Medicis’ exile in Florence, returning the dynasty to their seat of power. As pope, he woul...

10 Aug 202150min

Seated atop the papal throne, Pope Julius II was determined to bring order along the Italian Peninsula by any means necessary. For years, the region had seen invasion after invasion by nascent foreign...

3 Aug 202149min

Later nicknamed ‘The Warrior Pope,’ Giuliano della Rovere had always nurtured visions of personal glory. As a young man and newly elected cardinal, he believed he could obtain that glory on the battle...

27 Juli 202146min