Mariano Rivera Paz

State Coat of Los Altos, carved in stone on the grave of heroes in the Cemetery of Quetzaltenango

On April 2 of 1838, in the city of Quetzaltenango, a secessionist group founded the independent State of Los Altos which seeks independence from Guatemala. The most important members of the Liberal Party of Guatemala and liberal enemies of the conservative regime moved to Los Altos, who no longer had to emigrate to El Salvador, having a pro liberal state practically in his country agglutinated [15] The liberals in Los Altos began harshly criticizing the Conservative government of Rivera Paz; even had their own newspaper -El Popular, which contributed to the harsh criticism.[15] Moreover, there was the fact that Los Altos was the region with more production and economic activity of the former State of Guatemala; without Los Altos, conservatives lost many merits that held the hegemony of the State of Guatemala in Central America.[15] Then, the government of Guatemala tried to reach to a peaceful solution, but altenses,[Note 1] protected by the recognition of the Central American Federation Congress, did not accept; Guatemala's government then resorted to force, sending the commanding general of the Army Rafael Carrera subdue Los Altos.

Carrera defeated General Agustin Guzman when the former Mexican officer tried to ambush him and then went on to Quetzaltenango, where he imposed a harsh and hostile conservative regime for liberals. Calling all council members, he told them flatly that he was behaving kindly to them for being that the first time they had challenged him, but sternly warned them that there would be no mercy if there was a second time.[16] Finally, the general Guzmán, and the head of state of Los Altos, Marcelo Molina, were sent to the capital of Guatemala, where they were displayed as trophies of war during a triumphant parade on February 17, 1840; in the case of Guzman, shackled, still with bleeding wounds, and riding a mule.[15]

General Francisco Morazán
tried to invade Guatemala for the second time in 1840 after having invaded in 1829 and expelled members of the Aycinena clan and regular orders. In 1840 he was defeated by Carrera overwhelmingly, marking the end of his career in Central America

On March 18, 1840, liberal caudillo Morazán invaded Guatemala with 1500 soldiers to avenge the insult done in Los Altos and fearing that such action would end with liberal efforts to hold together the Central American Federation. Guatemala had a cordon of guards from the border with El Salvador; without telegraph service, men ran carrying last minute messages.[17] With the information from these messengers, Carrera hatched their plan of defense leaving his brother Sotero by troops who presented a slight resistance in the city.[18] Carrera pretended to flee and led the ragtag army to the heights of Aceituno as only had about four men and the same number of loads rifle, plus two old cannons. The city was at the mercy of the army of Morazán, with bells of their twenty temples ringing for divine assistance.[17] Once Morazán reached the capital, he took it easily and freed Guzman, who immediately left for Quetzaltenango to give the news that Carrera was defeated; [18] Carrera then, taking advantage of what his enemies believed, applied a strategy of concentrating fire on the Central Park of the city and also employed surprise attack tactics with which caused heavy casualties to the army of Morazán to finally force the survivors to fight for their lives.[Note 2][19] Now in such combat scenario, Morazán's soldiers lost the initiative and their numerical superiority. Furthermore, unaware of their surroundings in the city, Morazan's troops had to fight, carry their dead and care for their wounded while still resented being tired by the long march from El Salvador to Guatemala [19] Carrera, by then an experienced military men[Note 3] was able to stand up and defeat Morazán thoroughly. The disaster for the liberal general was complete: aided by Angel Molina [Note 4] who knew the streets of the city, had to flee with his favorite men, disguised shouting "Long live Carrera!" through ravine of El Incienso to El Salvador, to save his life.[17] In his absence, Morazán had been relieved as Head of State of that country, which is why he had to embark for exile in Perú.[19] In Guatemala, survivors from his troops were shot without mercy, while Carrera was out in pursuit of Morazan, who he failed to catch. This lance definitely sealed the status of General Carrera and marked the decline of Morazán.,[17] and forced the conservative Aycinena clan criollos to negotiate with Carrera and his peasant revolutionary supporters.[20]

Agustin Guzmán, who was freed by Morazán when the latter had seemingly defeated Carrera in Guatemala City, had gone back to Quetzaltenango to tell the good news. The city liberal criollo leaders rapidly reinstated the Los Altos State and celebrated Morazán's victory. However, as soon as Carrera and the newly reinstated Rivera Paz heard the news, Carrera went back to Quetzaltenango with his voluntary army to regain control of the rebel liberal state once and for all.[21] On 2 April 1840, after entering the city, Carrera told the citizens that he had already warned them after he defeated them earlier that year. Then, he ordered the majority of the liberal city hall officials from Los Altos to be shot on his orders. Carrera, then forcibly annexed Quetzaltenango and much of Los Altos back into conservative Guatemala. After the violent and bloody reinstatement of the State of Los Altos by Carrera in April 1840, Luis Batres Juarros -conservative member of the Aycinena Clan then secretary general of the Guatemalan government of recently reinstated Rivera Paz- obtained from the vicar Larrazabal authorization to dismantle the regionalist Church. Acting priests of Quetzaltenango -capital of the would-be-state of Los Altos, priest Urban Ugarte and his coadjutor, priest José Maria Aguilar, were removed from their parish and likewise the priests of the parishes of San Martin Jilotepeque and San Lucas Tolimán. Larrazabal ordered the priests Fernando Antonio Dávila, Mariano Navarrete and Jose Ignacio Iturrioz to cover the parishes of Quetzaltenango, San Martin Jilotepeque and San Lucas Toliman, respectively.[22]

The liberal criollos defeat and execution in Quetzaltenango reinforced Carrera ally status within the native population of the area, whom he respected and protected.[20]

In 1840, Belgium began to act as an external source of support for his independence movement, in an effort to exert influence in Central America. The Compagnie belge de colonisation (Belgian Colonization Company), commissioned by Belgian King Leopold I, became the administrator of Santo Tomas de Castilla[23] for a time, replacing the failed British Eastern Coast of Central America Commercial and Agricultural Company.[23]