Guillen was born on 19 June 1957, in Tampico, Tamaulipas, to Alfonso Guillen and Maria del Socorro Vincente. He was the fourth of eight children. A former elementary school teacher, Alfonso owned a chain of furniture stores, and the family is usually described - including by Guillen himself - as middle class.

Once Subcomandante Marcos was identified as Rafael Sebastian Guillen Vicente, on 9 February 1995, President Ernesto Zedillo decided to launch a military offensive to capture or annihilate Marcos and the Zapatistas. Arrest warrants were issued for Marcos, Javier Elorriaga Berdegue, Silvia Fernandez Hernandez, Jorge Santiago, Fernando Yanez, German Vicente, Jorge Santiago and other Zapatistas. The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) was besieged by the Mexican Army in the Lacandon Jungle.  Marcos' resolve was put to the test in his camp in the Lacandon Jungle when the Zapatistas were under military siege by the Mexican Army. Marcos' response was immediate, sending Secretary of the Interior Lic. Esteban Moctezuma the following message: "See you in hell." There were conflicting signals in favor of a fast military solution. The facts seemed to confirm Manuel Camacho Solis' 16 June 1994 assertion that the reason for his resignation as the Chiapas Peace Commissioner was due to sabotage done by the presidential candidate Ernesto Zedillo.  Under the political pressure of a highly radicalized situation, Moctezuma believed a peaceful solution was possible. He championed a negotiated solution to the 1995 Zapatista Crisis, betting on a creative strategy to re-establish Mexican-EZLN dialog. Taking a strong position against the 9 February actions, Moctezuma submitted his resignation to President Zedillo. Zedillo refused the resignation and asked Moctezuma to try to restore conditions that would allow dialog and an attempt at negotiation. For these reasons the Mexican army moderated their actions, providing an opportunity that Marcos capitalized upon to escape the military site in the Lacandon Jungle.  Faced with this situation, Max Appedole, a childhood friend of Guillen and colleague at the Jesuits College Instituto Cultural Tampico, asked for help from Eden Pastora, the legendary Nicaraguan "Commander Zero"; they prepared a report for Under-Secretary of the Interior Luis Maldonado, Moctezuma, and President Zedillo about Marcos' natural pacifist vocation and the consequences of a military outcome. The document concluded that the complaints of marginalized groups and the radical left in Mexico have been vented through the Zapatistas movement, while Marcos maintained an open negotiating track. If Marcos was to be eliminated, his work at social containment would cease and more-radical groups could take control of the movement. These groups would respond to violence with violence, threatening terrorist bombings, kidnappings and belligerent activities. The country would be in a very dangerous spiral, with discontent in areas other than Chiapas

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