Several atrocities have been witnessed against humanity in the history of the world. These include mass killings and destruction of property by political tyrants who seem to believe they have a duty to play and in turn to exert their forceful influence on seemingly less powerful people in a manner that is ruthless and unjust. The impunity with which such merciless acts are effected, is what creates a cloud off bitterness shadowing the fateful events that can never be taken back. One example of such injustice is one that takes place at the dawn of the 80’s in El Mozote, El Salvador. This paper discusses in depth the political climate hovering around this period and further ventures into the role played by the Americans in this massacre at El Mozote.
In the year 1981, the El Salvadorian government experienced a threat from Guerrilla insurgents, who were in the Farbundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) This lead to the formation of an aggressive unit In the army called the Atlacatl Battalion, whose aim was to counter the (FMLN) Guerrilla troops. El Mozote being a small village in El Salvador, was mainly inhabited by Protestants. They had been involved with selling guerilla supplies occasionally, but no guerilla recruits were gotten from this village. On December 10th,1981, the Atlacatl went to the village on a mission, one they termed as “Operation Rescue” meant to kill all rebels. They tortured, questioned and killed men women and children sparing none. They then went ahead to set a blaze all the buildings after wiping out the entire population. The Battalion was led by a well-trained, Colonel and fighter, Domingo Monterrosa. The US was widely involved in the massacre in different ways that are outlined below:
They aided in weapon provision
During the civil war, the United States continuously supported the El Salvador government. They helped them acquire weapons and armory that they used in the war. The Atlactl battalion used these very weapons to execute the massacre. Forensic investigations carried out clearly confirmed that the weapons used, were from the United States of America. This was done by comparing the weapon types where it was revealed that the cases fired were from a NATO- caliber firearm and appeared to have been fired from a U.S. m16 rifle belonging to the military. The cartridge headstamps were marked “L C” which showed that they were made at Lake City Ordinance Plant near Missouri. The Military map program provided the weapons, aircrafts, ammunition, and vehicles they were able to do this on a grant basis and this went a long way to aid the war that was happening. The American government to aid the military funds used to acquire the weapons released 996 million dollars to the El Salvador government.
They had prior knowledge of the massacre that took place.
Evidence by Mark Danner in his article presented in the New Yorker paper indicated that the United States foreknew about the killings that were to take place in El Mozote. This is because there Special Forces advisors were present in El Salvador even before the massacre began. Suspicions arose when news about the executions that took place in El Mozote reached the American embassy in El Salvador conveniently swiftly. Further investigations indicated that on the day or night of the massacre, there were advisory forces in El Mozote who tried to convince the colonel not to harm the victims. However, when he refused to listen, the advisors departed leaving Domingo at El Mozote executing the victims.
The fight against communism
The United States has and had for a long time believed strongly against communist forms of governance and took it upon themselves to fight it against all cost. When Ronald Reagan took power from President Jimmy Carter there was a perceived communist threat that was eminent in Central America. This information was attained from a report by the U.S government showing how El Salvadorian insurgence were involved in armed aggression creating a state of tension. El Salvador was a republic characterized by revolts and revolutions and the Reagan administration was particularly concerned about a left wing government regime, Sandinista which had taken power from Anastacio Somoza a dictator who terrorized El Salvador for many years. The United States Government was therefore disturbed by the continued violence going on between the leftist rebel groups versus the current government. All this, fighting was plunging the country deeper and deeper into a murky chaos and they chose to get involved for the “greater good” knowing fully well that citizens and civilians would get hurt. An unfortunate event, the raping of four American missionary women caused President Carter to withdraw the aid they had for a long time offered to El Salvador. However, the matter at stake was of grave importance to the American interest which is why Reagan reinstated the system of aid after receiving power from President Jimmy Carter.
They trained the Atlacatl Battalion
This Battalion was involved in the execution of people in El Mozote. It had well trained soldiers who had specialized in counter-insurgency. The Battalion had received top-notch training at Panama in the United States Army School. They were intensely trained to handle different weapons and on ways to capture, torture and kill rebels. They received these trainings from army officers in the United States Army soldiers. The leader of this battalion, Colonel Domingo was a graduate of the army school and was considered a favorite because he was one of the best army officers in the school. He had help from Captain Walter Oswaldo who encouraged more killings by his soldiers when he ordered them to kill anyone they pleased who was in the north assuming that everyone was guerilla. In addition to offering training to these soldiers, they were also provided with weapons that they used to execute people. To show how much the United States were pleased with the members of the Atlacatl battalion, they went ahead to praise them by saying that they acted in a professional way. Nestor Chase, a defense official in the United States also stated that they had achieved a commendable record with the use of intelligent tactics.
There is an immense amount of evidence implicating the involvement of the United States in El Salvadorian political affairs. Most specifically the Massacre that took place in El Mozote.The proof lies in two key perspectives this are:
Refusal of the CIA to produce documentation even after being implored by various organizations that deal with human rights. The CIA site that they are unable to comment nor confirm or refute the existence of such documents claiming that it is a matter of National security.
Secondly the United States has put immense efforts to distant themselves from the fingers being pointed at them in blame for the involvement in inhuman actions in El Mozote. President Reagan is on record saying that the El Salvadorian government was simply taking care of the issues facing the republic and he insinuated that it was rightful for the proper governance of the country to take effect. This may have been right to an extent; however, the presence of American armory during the massacre was more than they could hide. The United States therefore resulted in laying low in an attempt to maintain their image again withholding their apology since the unfortunate event was for the greater good. As the American interest vested in this country was paramount. Even after the massacre had already occurred and the United States Embassy were well aware that more civilians were being targeted to be killed, President Reagan still went ahead to assure citizens that the army in El Salvador was doing whatever it took to protect civilians. They did this in order to maintain silence and to hide the truth about what was really going on because President Reagan was supporting those who were still fighting guerillas in El Salvador.
It’s said that the civil war that took place in El Salvador might have not lasted so many years were it not for the support of the American government. It's natural for any country involved in civil war to come to a point where their resources are depleted. The Salvadorian Army therefore depended on the help received from the United States Government with both Military and financial support. Several people lost their lives with the Salvadorian military constantly defending their actions by asserting that they were killing dangerous rebels. Both the United States and the government of El Salvador were quick to deny any reports of attacks in villages and around the country. However, many bodies were discovered in several mass graves and it became more difficult to hide what had been taking place. The motivating factor behind the American aid to El Salvador was the increasingly growing support for socialism in Nicaragua that had seen the Carter regime experience slight issues. The new regime headed by President Reagan was therefore determined to make sure the same did not occur in El Salvador.
The United States excited and stopped their involvement with El Salvador after the UN got involved. Both the United States and El Salvador played enormous roles. With the Salvadorian government, refusing to take part in peace talks with FMLN and the FMLN boycotting elections causing the war to persists longer. It would therefore be unfair to wholly blame the United States for the civil war and the massacre that took place in El Mozote.
