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78-646: The FPL grew out of the Partido Comunista Salvadoreño (PCS), which at the end of the 1960s proposed armed aggression as the best method to oppose the military dictatorship in El Salvador. The FPL was formed on 1 April 1970; amongst the founders, Salvador Cayetano Carpio was considered the top leader of the organization, while Mélida Anaya Montes , the leader of the educational union, and university professors Clara Elizabeth Ramírez and Felipe Peña Mendoza were high-profile figures. During

156-664: A state-of-siege and suspending civil liberties. In the countryside, the agrarian elite organized and funded paramilitary death squads, such as the infamous Regalado's Armed Forces (FAR) led by Hector Regalado. While the death squads were initially autonomous from the Salvadoran military and composed of civilians (the FAR, for example, had developed out of a Boy Scout troop), they were soon taken over by El Salvador's military intelligence service, National Security Agency of El Salvador (ANSESAL), led by Major Roberto D'Aubuisson , and became

234-425: A 100-hectare maximum, nationalised the banking, coffee and sugar industries, scheduled elections for February 1982, and disbanded the paramilitary private death squad Organización Democrática Nacionalista (ORDEN) on 6 November 1979. The land reform program was received with hostility from El Salvador's military and economic elites, however, which sought to sabotage the process as soon as it began. Upon learning of

312-509: A 1993 amnesty law. In 2016, however, the Supreme Court of Justice of El Salvador ruled in case Incostitucionalidad 44-2013/145-2013 that the law was unconstitutional and that the Salvadoran government could prosecute suspected war criminals. El Salvador has historically been characterised by extreme socioeconomic inequality. In the late 19th century, coffee became a major cash crop for El Salvador, bringing in about 95 percent of

390-405: A Salvadoran woman who worked in the press corps, for an American television network. Monterrosa's girlfriend let her co-worker know that something had gone wrong at El Mozote, though she did not go into detail. But people knew that he had lost radio contact with his men and that it was unfortunate and something that later brought regrettable consequences. Although he says he lost contact with his men,

468-400: A backdrop of rising food prices and decreased agricultural output exacerbated by the 1973 oil crisis . This worsened the existing socioeconomic inequality in the country, leading to increased unrest. In response, President Molina enacted a series of land reform measures, calling for large landholdings to be redistributed among the peasant population. The reforms failed, thanks to opposition from

546-522: A challenge to a state where "marriages intertwined, making the wealthiest coffee processors and exporters (more so than the growers) also those with the highest ties in the military. With tensions mounting and the country on the verge of an insurrection, the civil-military Revolutionary Government Junta (JRG) deposed Romero in a coup on 15 October 1979 . The United States feared that El Salvador, like Nicaragua and Cuba before it, could fall to communist revolution. Thus, Jimmy Carter's administration supported

624-762: A coalition of left-wing guerilla groups backed by the Cuban regime of Fidel Castro as well as the Soviet Union . A coup on 15 October 1979 followed by government killings of anti-coup protesters is widely seen as the start of civil war. The war did not formally end until after the collapse of the Soviet Union , when, on 16 January 1992 the Chapultepec Peace Accords were signed in Mexico City. The United Nations (UN) reports that

702-414: A crucial part of the state's repressive apparatus, murdering thousands of union leaders, activists, students and teachers suspected of sympathizing with the left. The Socorro Jurídico Cristiano (Christian Legal Assistance) – a legal aid office within the archbishop's office and El Salvador's leading human rights group at the time – documented the killings of 687 civilians by government forces in 1978. In 1979

780-462: A doctrine by Mao Zedong that emphasized that "The guerrilla must move amongst the people as a fish swims in the sea." Aryeh Neier , the executive director of Americas Watch , wrote in a 1984 review about the scorched earth approach: "This may be an effective strategy for winning the war. It is, however, a strategy that involves the use of terror tactics—bombings, strafings , shellings and, occasionally, massacres of civilians." Beginning in 1984,

858-470: A guerrilla war against the Salvadoran government, which had been a military dictatorship since the 1930s. The Communist Party of El Salvador and the four other parties continued to exist as separate organizations under the umbrella of the FMLN throughout El Salvador's civil war from 1980 to 1992. When the civil war ended in 1992, the FMLN became a legal political party and began to compete in elections. After

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936-566: A major factor in the group's recruitment efforts, as the organization relied on "networks centered on catholic priests like Benito Tovar in Chalatenango" to attract supporters and recruits. Partido Comunista Salvadore%C3%B1o The Communist Party of El Salvador ( Spanish : Partido Comunista de El Salvador ) is a communist party in El Salvador . The Communist Party was founded by Miguel Mármol on 10 March 1930, merged into

1014-515: A new PCES, in the tradition of the old party that dissolved into the FMLN. El Salvador Civil War Chapultepec Peace Accords Civil War Massacres Aftermath The Salvadoran Civil War ( Spanish : guerra civil de El Salvador ) was a twelve-year civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN),

1092-687: A policy of 'reform with repression.'" A prominent Catholic spokesman insisted that "any military aid you send to El Salvador ends up in the hands of the military and paramilitary rightist groups who are themselves at the root of the problems of the country." "In one case that has received little attention", Human Rights Watch noted, "US Embassy officials apparently collaborated with the death squad abduction of two law students in January 1980. National Guard troops arrested two youths, Francisco Ventura and José Humberto Mejía, following an anti-government demonstration. The National Guard received permission to bring

1170-553: A reputation for brutality. Ochoa was close associate of Major Roberto D'Aubuisson and was alleged to have been involved in the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. D'Aubuisson and Ochoa were both members of La Tandona , the class of 1966 at the Captain General Gerardo Barrios Military School . From the start, the invasion of Cabanas was described as a "cleansing" operation by official sources. Hundreds of civilians were massacred by

1248-478: Is in the hands of the armed forces. They know only how to repress the people and defend the interests of the Salvadoran oligarchy." Romero warned that US support would only "sharpen the injustice and repression against the organizations of the people which repeatedly have been struggling to gain respect for their fundamental human rights". On 24 March 1980, the Archbishop was assassinated while celebrating Mass,

1326-700: The Columbia Journalism Review and Anthony Lewis , made other American journalists tone down their reporting on the crimes of the Salvadoran regime and the US role in supporting the regime. As details became more widely known, the event became recognized as one of the worst atrocities of the conflict. In its report covering 1981, Amnesty International identified "regular security and military units as responsible for widespread torture, mutilation and killings of noncombatant civilians from all sectors of Salvadoran society." The report also stated that

1404-496: The 1994 elections , the Communist Party and the four other parties that comprised the FMLN dissolved themselves as separate organizations, merging into a singular FMLN with no competing internal organizations. At that point the Communist Party of El Salvador ceased to exist as an independent entity, though many of its leaders and members are still visible in the FMLN. For example, former Communist Party leader Schafik Hándal

1482-592: The Carter and Reagan administrations, the US provided 1 to 2 million dollars per day in economic aid to the Salvadoran government. The US also provided significant training and equipment to the military. By May 1983, it was reported that US military officers were working within the Salvadoran High Command and making important strategic and tactical decisions. The United States government believed its extensive assistance to El Salvador's government

1560-538: The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front in 1995, then reestablished on 27 March 2005. In the mid-1960s the U.S. State Department estimated the party membership to be approximately 200. In 1980, it joined with four other leftist parties in the country - the FPL , RN , PRTC and ERP - to form a revolutionary political-military front called the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front ( Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional - FMLN). The FMLN waged

1638-688: The Salvadoran Air Force was able to locate guerrilla strongholds reportedly using intelligence from U.S. Air Force planes flying over the country. On 15 March 1981, the Salvadoran Army began a "sweep" operation in Cabañas Department in northern El Salvador near the Honduran border. The sweep was accompanied by the use of scorched earth tactics by the Salvadoran Army and indiscriminate killings of anyone captured by

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1716-481: The Vietnam War . An integral part of the Salvadoran Army's counterinsurgency strategy entailed "draining the sea" or "drying up the ocean", that is, eliminating the insurgency by eradicating its support base in the countryside. The primary target was the civilian population – displacing or killing them in order to remove any possible base of support for the rebels. The concept of "draining the sea" had its basis in

1794-686: The "sweep" through Cabañas, the Battalion occupied the village of El Mozote and massacred at least 733 and possibly up to 1,000 unarmed civilians, including women and 146 children, in what became known as the El Mozote massacre . The Atlácatl soldiers accused the adults of collaborating with the guerrillas. The field commander said they were under orders to kill everyone, including the children, who he asserted would just grow up to become guerrillas if they let them live. "We were going to make an example of these people," he said. The US steadfastly denied

1872-622: The 1970s, the FPL began to increase its social base, carrying out political and social work with the farmers of the North and Central Zone of El Salvador and with university students. In 1975, the Bloque Popular Revolucionario (BPR) formed to unite trade unions and farmers. In 1979, the organization initiated conversations with other armed groups on the left for the unification of the revolutionary forces. These negotiations led to

1950-422: The FMLN launched a large offensive that caught Salvadoran military off guard and succeeded in taking control of large sections of the country and entering the capital, San Salvador . In San Salvador, the FMLN quickly took control of many of the poor neighborhoods as the military bombed their positions—including residential neighborhoods to drive out the FMLN. This large FMLN offensive was unsuccessful in overthrowing

2028-519: The FMLN's first major attack. The attack established FMLN control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments for the war's duration. Attacks were also launched on military targets throughout the country, leaving hundreds of people dead. FMLN insurgents ranged from children to the elderly, both male and female, and most were trained in FMLN camps in the mountains and jungles of El Salvador to learn military techniques. Much later, in November 1989,

2106-446: The FMLN. The FPL was a communist movement. It initially adhered to rigidly communist principles and believed that only rural insurgency could be successful, but grew more pragmatic over time and became willing to work together with the FMLN. The organization also followed liberation theology, to the point that the Salvadoran security forces believes that the FPL was formed by progressive Jesuits. Its adherence to liberation theology became

2184-524: The Salvadoran Civil War, however, many peasants cited reasons other than material benefits in their decision to join the fight. Piety was a popular reason for joining the insurrection because they saw their participation as a way of not only advancing a personal cause but a communal sentiment of divine justice. Even prior to the civil war, numerous insurgents took part in other campaigns that tackled social changes much more directly, not only

2262-569: The State Department that the extreme right was arming itself and preparing for a confrontation in which it clearly expected to ally itself with the military. "The immediate goal of the Salvadoran army and security forces—and of the United States in 1980, was to prevent a takeover by the leftist-led guerrillas and their allied political organizations. At this point in the Salvadoran conflict the latter were much more important than

2340-587: The U.S. Army School of the Americas in Panama in 1980. Atlácatl soldiers were trained and equipped by the U.S. military, and were described as "the pride of the United States military team in San Salvador. Trained in antiguerrilla operations, the battalion was intended to turn a losing war around." The November 1981 operation was commanded by Lt. Col. Sigifredo Ochoa , a former Treasury Police chief with

2418-633: The United States also intervened in El Salvador. The military government in Chile provided substantial training and tactical advice to the Salvadoran Armed Forces, such that the Salvadoran high command bestowed upon General Augusto Pinochet the prestigious Order of José Matías Delgado in May 1981 for his government's avid support. The Argentine military dictatorship also supported the Salvadoran armed forces as part of Operation Charly . During

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2496-402: The arable land belonged to .01 percent of the population. Nearly 35 percent of the civilians in El Salvador were disfranchised from land ownership either through historical injustices, war or economic downturns in the commodities market. During this time frame, the country also experienced a growing population amidst major disruption in agrarian commerce and trade." A threat to land change meant

2574-510: The army as Col. Ochoa's troops moved through the villages. Col. Ochoa claimed that hundreds of guerrillas had been killed but was able to show journalists only fifteen captured weapons, half of them virtual antiques, suggesting that most of those killed in the sweep were unarmed. This operation was followed by additional "sweeps" through Morazán Department , spearheaded by the Atlácatl Battalion. On 11 December 1981, one month after

2652-610: The army. Those displaced by the "sweep" who were not killed outright fled the advance of the Salvadoran Army; hiding in caves and under trees to evade capture and probable summary execution . On 18 March, three days after the sweep in Cabañas began, 4–8,000 survivors of the sweep (mostly women and children) attempted to cross the Rio Lempa into Honduras to flee violence. There, they were caught between Salvadoran and Honduran troops. The Salvadoran Air Force, subsequently bombed and strafed

2730-723: The assassination. A week after the arrest of D'Aubuisson, the National Guard and the newly reorganized paramilitary ORDEN, with the cooperation of the Military of Honduras , carried out a large massacre at the Sumpul River on 14 May 1980, in which an estimated 600 civilians were killed, mostly women and children. Escaping villagers were prevented from crossing the river by the Honduran armed forces, "and then killed by Salvadoran troops who fired on them in cold blood". Over

2808-627: The authorities. The Socorro Jurídico documented a jump in documented government killings from 234 in February 1980 to 487 the following month. Under pressure from the military, all three civilian members of the junta resigned on 3 January 1980, along with 10 of the 11 cabinet ministers. On 22 January 1980, the Salvadoran National Guard attacked a massive peaceful demonstration, killing up to 50 people and wounding hundreds more. On 6 February, US ambassador Frank Devine informed

2886-469: The behavior and group norms of their combatants. In this regard, the FMLN had a more effective approach than El Salvador's army in politically educating their members about their mission. Individuals who aligned themselves with the FMLN were driven by a profound sense of passion and purpose. They demonstrated a willingness to risk their lives for the greater good of their nation. The FMLN strategy focused on community organization, establishing connections within

2964-422: The church and labor unions. In contrast, El Salvador's army had inadequate training, and many of its combatants reported joining out of job insecurity or under intimidation from the government.These disparities were notably reflected in their respective combat methods. Further, the Salvadoran military caused more civilian casualties than the FMLN. In addition, the insurgents in the civil war viewed their support of

3042-526: The country's income. This income was restricted to only 2 percent of the population, however, exacerbating a divide between a small but powerful land-owning elite and an impoverished majority. This divide grew through the 1920s and was compounded by a drop in coffee prices following the stock-market crash of 1929. In 1932, the Central American Socialist Party was formed and led an uprising of peasants and indigenous people against

3120-405: The course of 1980, the Salvadoran Army and three main security forces (National Guard, National Police and Treasury Police) were estimated to have killed 11,895 people, mostly peasants, trade unionists, teachers, students, journalists, human rights advocates, priests, and other prominent demographics among the popular movement. Human rights organizations judged the Salvadoran government to have among

3198-582: The day after he called upon Salvadoran soldiers and security force members to not follow their orders to kill Salvadoran civilians. President Carter stated this was a "shocking and unconscionable act". At his funeral a week later, government-sponsored snipers in the National Palace and on the periphery of the Gerardo Barrios Plaza were responsible for the shooting of 42 mourners. On 7 May 1980, former army major, Roberto D'Aubuisson ,

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3276-416: The displacement of large portions of the rural populace, and many peasants fled. Of those who fled or were displaced, some 20,000 resided in makeshift refugee centers on the Honduran border in conditions of poverty, starvation and disease. The army and death squads forced many of them to flee to the United States, but most were denied asylum. A US congressional delegation that, on 17–18 January 1981, visited

3354-550: The existence of the El Mozote massacre, dismissing reports of it as leftist "propaganda", until secret US cables were declassified in the 1990s. The US government and its allies in US media smeared reporters of American newspapers who reported on the atrocity and, more generally, undertook a campaign of whitewashing the human rights record of the Salvadoran military and the US role in arming, training and guiding it. The smears, according to journalists like Michael Massing writing in

3432-564: The fleeing civilians with machine gun fire, killing hundreds. Among the dead were at least 189 persons who were unaccounted for and registered as "disappeared" during the operation. A second offensive was launched, also in Cabañas Department, on 11 November 1981 in which 1,200 troops were mobilized, including members of the Atlácatl Battalion . Atlácatl was a rapid response counter-insurgency battalion organized at

3510-562: The former. The military resources of the rebels were extremely limited and their greatest strength, by far, lay not in force of arms but in their 'mass organizations' made up of labor unions, student and peasant organizations that could be mobilized by the thousands in El Salvador's major cities and could shut down the country through strikes." Critics of US military aid charged that "it would legitimate what has become dictatorial violence and that political power in El Salvador lay with old-line military leaders in government positions who practice

3588-648: The foundation of the FMLN on 10 October 1980. During the Civil War of El Salvador , the FPL maintained its bases in the rural departments of Chalatenango , Cabañas , Usulután and the San Vicente Department . In April 1983 the organization faced a serious internal crisis with the assassination of Mélida Anaya Montes (Commander Ana Maria) in Managua , Nicaragua . The Secretary General and leader of

3666-415: The government but did convince the government that the FMLN could not be defeated using force of arms and that a negotiated settlement would be necessary. In February 1980, Archbishop Óscar Romero published an open letter to US President Jimmy Carter in which he pleaded with him to suspend the United States' ongoing program of military aid to the Salvadoran regime. He advised Carter that "Political power

3744-519: The government but the elites as well, a struggle that soon evolved into a political machine that came to be associated with the FMLN. In the early months of 1980, Salvadoran guerilla groups, workers, communists, and socialists, unified to form the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). The FMLN immediately announced plans for an insurrection against the government, which began on 10 January 1981, with

3822-408: The government's intent to distribute land to the peasants and organize cooperatives, wealthy Salvadoran landowners began killing their own livestock and moving valuable farming equipment across the border into Guatemala, where many Salvadoran elites owned additional land. In addition, most co-op leaders in the countryside were assassinated or "disappeared" soon after being elected and becoming visible to

3900-532: The government. The FMLN was named after Farabundo Martí , one of the leaders of the uprising. The rebellion was brutally suppressed in La Matanza , during which approximately 30,000 civilians were murdered by the armed forces. La Matanza – 'the slaughter' in Spanish, as it came to be known – allowed military dictatorships to monopolize political power in El Salvador while protecting the economic dominance of

3978-423: The induction of new cases. Lieutenant Colonel Domingo Monterrosa was chosen to replace Colonial Jaime Flores and became military commander of the whole eastern zone of El Salvador. He was a rare thing: "pure, one-hundred-percent soldier, a natural leader, a born military man." Monterrosa did not want wholesale bloodshed, but he wanted to win the war at any costs. He tried to be more relatable and less arrogant to

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4056-513: The insurrection as a demonstration of their opposition to the powerful elite's unfair treatment of peasant communities that they experienced on an everyday basis, so there was a class element associated with these insurgencies. They reveled in their fight against injustice and in their belief that they were writing their own story, an emotion that Elisabeth Wood titled "pleasure of agency". The peasants' organization thus centered on using their struggle to unite against their oppressors, not only towards

4134-438: The killing of civilians by state security forces became increasingly systematic with the implementation of more methodical killing strategies, which allegedly included use of a meat packing plant to dispose of human remains. Between 20 and 25 August 1981, eighty-three decapitations were reported. The murders were later revealed to have been carried out by a death squad using a guillotine. The repression in rural areas resulted in

4212-408: The lack of political representation but also the lack of economic and social opportunities not afforded to their communities. While the FMLN can be characterized as an insurrectionist group, other scholars have classified it as an "armed group institution." Understanding the differentiation is crucial. Armed group institutions use tactics to reinforce their mission or ideology. Ultimately influencing

4290-610: The landed elite, reinforcing the widespread discontent with the government. On 20 February 1977, the PCN defeated the National Opposing Union (UNO) in the presidential elections . As was the case in 1972, the results of the 1977 election were fraudulent and favored a military candidate, General Carlos Humberto Romero . State-sponsored paramilitary forces – such as the infamous Organización Democrática Nacionalista (ORDEN) – reportedly strong-armed peasants into voting for

4368-469: The landed elite. Opposition to this arrangement among middle-class, working-class, and poor Salvadorans grew throughout the 20th century. On 14 July 1969, an armed conflict erupted between El Salvador and Honduras over immigration disputes caused by Honduran land reform laws. The conflict (known as the Football War ) lasted only four days but had major long-term effects for Salvadoran society. Trade

4446-469: The local population in the way he presented his military. When he first executed massacres he didn't think much of it because it was part of his military training and because it was tactically approved by the High Command, but he didn't consider whether it would become a political problem. He was accused of responsibility for what happened at El Mozote, though he denied it. Monterrosa later began to date

4524-443: The military and their rule." U.S. military aid was briefly cut off in response to the murders but was renewed within six weeks. The outgoing Carter administration increased military aid to the Salvadoran armed forces to $ 10 million, which included $ 5 million in rifles, ammunition, grenades and helicopters. In justifying these arms shipments, the administration claimed that the regime had taken "positive steps" to investigate

4602-405: The military candidate by threatening them with machetes. The period between the election and the formal inauguration of President Romero on 1 July 1977 was characterized by massive protests from the popular movement, which were met by state repression. On 28 February 1977, a crowd of political demonstrators gathered in downtown San Salvador to protest the electoral fraud. Security forces arrived on

4680-506: The murder of four American nuns, but this was disputed by US Ambassador, Robert E. White , who said that he could find no evidence the junta was "conducting a serious investigation". White was dismissed from the foreign service by the Reagan administration after he had refused to participate in a coverup of the Salvadoran military's responsibility for the murders at the behest of Secretary of State Alexander Haig . Other countries allied with

4758-422: The new military government with vigor, hoping to promote stability in the country. While Carter provided some support to the government, the subsequent Reagan administration significantly increased U.S. spending in El Salvador. By 1984 Ronald Reagan's government would spend nearly $ 1 billion on economic aid for the Salvadoran government. The JRG enacted a land reform program that restricted landholdings to

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4836-491: The number of documented killings increased to 1,796. The repression prompted many in the Catholic Church to denounce the government, which responded by repressing the clergy. Historian M. A. Serpas posits displacement and dispossession rates with respect to land as a major structural factor leading ultimately to civil war. El Salvador is an agrarian society, with coffee fueling its economy , where "77 percent of

4914-448: The organization, Salvador Cayetano Carpio was accused of ordering the assassination, and committed suicide before the investigations into her death concluded. After the events of April 1983, Commander Leonel González was chosen as the new Secretary General of the organization. After the Chapultepec Peace Accords , the FPL demobilized their military apparatus. By 1995 the organization had dissolved and had been completely integrated into

4992-427: The refugee camps in El Salvador on a fact finding mission, submitted a report to Congress that found: "[T]he Salvadoran method of 'drying up the ocean' is to eliminate entire villages from the map, to isolate the guerrillas, and deny them any rural base off which they can feed." In total, Socorro Jurídico registered 13,353 individual cases of summary execution by government forces over the course of 1981. Nonetheless,

5070-484: The risk of death. Even so, many still chose to participate. But the violence was not limited to activists but also anyone who promoted ideas that "questioned official policy" were tacitly assumed to be subversive against the government. A marginalized group that metamorphosed into a guerilla force that would end up confronting these government forces manifested itself in campesinos or peasants. Many of these insurgents joined collective action campaigns for material gain; in

5148-719: The same month, the JRG strengthened the state of siege, imposed by President Romero in May 1979, by declaring martial law and adopting a new set of curfew regulations. Between 12 January and 19 February 1981, 168 persons were killed by the security forces for violating curfew. In its effort to defeat the insurgency, the Salvadoran Armed Forces carried out a " scorched earth " strategy, and adopted tactics similar to those being employed in neighboring Guatemala by its security forces. These tactics were inspired and adapted from U.S. counterinsurgency strategies used during

5226-432: The scene and opened fire, resulting in a massacre as they indiscriminately killed demonstrators and bystanders alike. Estimates of the number of civilians killed range between 200 and 1,500. President Molina blamed the protests on "foreign Communists" and immediately exiled a number of top UNO party members from the country. Repression continued after the inauguration of President Romero, with his new government declaring

5304-734: The true figure for the number of persons killed by the Army and security services could be substantially higher, due to the fact that extrajudicial killings generally went unreported in the countryside and many of the victims' families remained silent in fear of reprisal. An Americas Watch report described that the Socorro Jurídico figures "tended to be conservative because its standards of confirmation are strict"; killings of persons were registered individually and required proof of being "not combat related". Socorro Jurídico later revised its count of government killings for 1981 up to 16,000 with

5382-454: The war killed more than 75,000 people between 1979 and 1992, along with approximately 8,000 disappeared persons. Human rights violations, particularly the kidnapping, torture, and murder of suspected FMLN sympathizers by state security forces and paramilitary death squads – were pervasive. The Salvadoran government was considered an ally of the U.S. in the context of the Cold War . During

5460-455: The war, the government expanded its purchases of arms from sources such as Israel, Brazil, West Germany and the United States. The 1972 Salvadoran presidential election was marred by massive electoral fraud, which favored the military-backed National Conciliation Party (PCN), whose candidate Arturo Armando Molina was a colonel in the Salvadoran Army. Opposition to the Molina government

5538-548: The war, the murders of church figures increased. For example, the Jesuit University of Central America stated that two bishops, sixteen priests, three nuns, one seminarian, and at least twenty-seven lay workers were murdered. By killing Church figures, "the military leadership showed just how far its position had hardened in daring to eliminate those it viewed as opponents. They saw the Church as an enemy that went against

5616-586: The worst human rights records in the hemisphere. On 2 December 1980, members of the Salvadoran National Guard were suspected to have raped and murdered four American, Catholic church women (three religious women, or nuns, and a laywoman) . Maryknoll missionary sisters Maura Clarke and Ita Ford , Ursuline sister Dorothy Kazel , and laywoman Jean Donovan were on a Catholic relief mission providing food, shelter, transport, medical care, and burial to death squad victims. In 1980 alone, at least 20 religious workers and priests were murdered in El Salvador. Throughout

5694-516: The youths onto Embassy grounds. Shortly thereafter, a private car drove into the Embassy parking lot. Men in civilian dress put the students in the trunk of their car and drove away. Ventura and Mejía were never seen again." As the government began to expand its violence towards its citizens, not only through death squads but also through the military, any group of citizens that attempted to provide any form of support whether physically or verbally ran

5772-434: Was arrested with a group of civilians and soldiers at a farm. The raiders found documents connecting him and the civilians as organizers and financiers of the death squad who killed Archbishop Romero, and of plotting a coup d'état against the JRG. Their arrest provoked right-wing terrorist threats and institutional pressures forcing the JRG to release D'Aubuisson. In 1993, a U.N. investigation confirmed that D'Aubuisson ordered

5850-405: Was disrupted between El Salvador and Honduras, causing tremendous economic damage to both nations. An estimated 300,000 Salvadorans were displaced due to battle, many of whom were exiled from Honduras; in many cases, the Salvadoran government could not meet their needs. The Football War also strengthened the power of the military in El Salvador, leading to heightened corruption. In the years following

5928-521: Was justified on the grounds that the insurgents were backed by the Soviet Union. Counterinsurgency tactics implemented by the Salvadoran government often targeted civilians . Overall, the United Nations estimated that FMLN guerrillas were responsible for 5 percent of atrocities committed during the civil war, while 85 percent were committed by the Salvadoran security forces. Accountability for these civil war-era atrocities has been hindered by

6006-631: Was strong on both the right and the left. Also in 1972, the Marxist–Leninist Fuerzas Populares de Liberación Farabundo Martí (FPL) – established in 1970 as an offshoot of the Communist Party of El Salvador – began conducting small-scale guerrilla operations in El Salvador. Other organizations such as the People's Revolutionary Army (ERP) also began to develop. The growth of left-wing insurgency in El Salvador occurred against

6084-454: Was the FMLN's presidential candidate in the 2004 elections. During the Salvadoran civil war from 1980 to 1992, Schafik Hándal was the leader of the Communist Party. Prior to him, Cayetano Carpio was the Communist Party leader in the 1960s, before leaving the CP to form the FPL and launch the armed struggle against the dictatorship in 1970. On 27 March 2005, a group of Salvadoran communists formed

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