[3] His presidency, which occurred during the Civil War, was characterized by being more tolerant of the opposition, by his efficient response to the 1976 earthquake and an increase in oil exploitation in the Northern Transversal Strip.

He would hold important positions such as the management of the Polytechnic School, as a delegate to the Inter-American Defense Board between 1968 and 1970, and as the head of the Army General Staff.

Just before the end of his term, Laugerud was also faced with the consequences of a massacre of Kekchi Mayan demonstrators by the military in Panzós, in which the Army killed 53 unarmed civilians and another 47 were wounded.

In 1977, after the Carter administration published a report critical of the human rights situation in Guatemala, Laugerud announced that the country would no longer accept U.S. military aid.

Guatemala did, receive funds that had already been appropriated for that year and later turned to other nations, such as Israel, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Taiwan, and Yugoslavia, for military aid and arms supplies.