CIVIL WAR IN EL SALVADOR

Gabe Snodgrass

El Salvador

Located in Latin America (next to Honduras and Guatemala)

Key Players Civil war between

military-led government of El Salvador and Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN)

Background Before the war started in

1980, there had been violence and tension between the rich and poor

Frustration from the lower class started when coffee became a major crop for El Salvador

95% of El Salvador’s income came from coffee but all of this money went to about 2% of the people

Background cont.

In 1932, Augustin Farabundo Marti formed the Central American Socialist Party and led peasants against the govt.

The El Salvadoran military and death squads killed about 30,000 of those people

Marti was arrested and executed

Events leading up to Civil War With the guerilla forces

becoming more and more relevant, the govt. brought back the death squads to fight the rebels

In 1979, rebels overthrew the El Salvadoran government. However, they failed to do what they promised

Because of this the FMLN was formed

Start of the Civil War

Officially began in 1980 The military killed anyone suspected of

supporting the revolution Often clergy, teachers, unionists, or

independent farmers

Death Squads Known during the war

as Escuadron de la Muerte or “Squadron of Death”

Became well known after killing Archbishop Oscar Romero in 1980

Later that year, 3 nuns and a lay worker were raped and murdered

Death Squads cont. Wiped out entire

villages Along with the rest

of the El Salvadoran military, death squads were funded by U.S.

All attacks by death squads were denied by El Salvadoran govt. and U.S.

During the War

Soon after the murder of Archbishop Romero, peaceful rallies became violent as the military fired into the crowds of unarmed people

At this point, the civil war was receiving international attention

FMLN Used strategy by destroying

coffee plantations, bridges, cut power lines and anything else that supported the military

To return the favor, the FMLN kidnapped and murdered government officials

Made advancements in weapons as the war went on

Refused to attend presidential elections

Near the End

All the countries resources were exhausted from both sides

Since the U.S. aided the military with weapons and money, they were able to continue fighting

The End Fighting left 75,000

people dead, most of which were peasants and innocent people

Lasted 12 years (1980-1992)

U.S. Involvement Supplied El Salvadoran

military with funds and weapons

Temporarily cut funds after nuns were killed in 1980 but proceeded after Ronald Reagan took office

At the height of their aid, U.S. supplied $1.5 million to the government

Cut funds in 1990 after UN got involved

Debate still goes on today as to whether it was okay for the United States to support the military

Video Clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TixMbRPMcfg&feature=related

Work Cited Christine J. "El Salvador: Contradictions of Neoliberalism and Building Sustainable Peace." Web. "Civil War in El Salvador." Nova Online Home Page. Web. 18 Sept. 2011.

<http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/his135/Events/ElSalvador80/Salvador80.html>. this site will be used for more background information.

"El Salvador: 1945-92." MacroHistory : World History. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ch24salvador.htm>. this site will be used for information on the events leading up to the start of the war.

"El Salvador Civil War." GlobalSecurity.org - Reliable Security Information. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/elsalvador2.htm>. this site will be used for info on some events that happened during the time of the civil war.

"Enemies of War - El Salvador: Civil War." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/itvs/enemiesofwar/elsalvador2.html>. this site will be used for information on why and how the U.S was involved.

Gammage, Sarah. "El Salvador: Despite End to Civil War, Emigration Continues." Migration Information Source. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=636>. this site will be used for info on the immigration of El Salvadorians to the United States.

"Peace and Conflict Monitor, US Influence in El Salvador's Civil War." Peace and Conflict Monitor. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.monitor.upeace.org/innerpg.cfm?id_article=591>. This site will be used for information on U.S involvement in the war and their influence.

"Salvadoran Civil War." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvadoran_Civil_War>. This site will be used for basic background info on the civil war.

"War in El Salvador." University of Michigan. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.umich.edu/~ac213/student_projects07/transgang/war.html>. this site will be used for the causes and effects of the civil war.

Work Cited cont. http://owenfranken.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Walls/G0000Zim

m7TsMBI8/I0000cup2GE8lbfg http://www.newint.org/features/2005/12/01/powerpolitics/ http://milpubblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/aar.html http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/press/releases/2007/elsalvador.html http://www.seniorreligion.com/30th_anniversary.htm http://www.cathnewsindia.com/tag/spain/ http://

www.contactpressimages.com/portfolios/rebbot/rebbot_portfolio6.html

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=5333 http://

www.freedomarchives.org/La_Lucha_Continua/Farabundo_Marti.html

http://centralamericanpolitics.blogspot.com/2010/11/fmln-in-el-salvador.html

http://www.cja.org/article.php?list=type&type=199 http://www.returntoelsalvador.com/blog/117