The El Mozote Massacre took place in and around the village of El Mozote, in Morazán department, El Salvador, on December 11, 1981, when Salvadoran armed forces killed more than 800 civilians in an anti-guerrilla campaign during the Salvadoran Civil War.
The massacre was first reported in the US by New York Times and Washington Post reporters who had independently reached the scene, and came during a congressional debate over whether to continue military aid to the Salvadoran armed forces. Following a "certification" by the administration of US President Ronald Reagan that no massacre had taken place and that Salvadoran forces were working to respect human rights, the Democratic-controlled Congress agreed to continue aid.
In December 2011, the El Salvador government apologized for the massacre.
Read more about El Mozote Massacre: Background, Mark Danner Reconstruction of Events, Initial Reports and Controversy, Later Investigation, Investigation Reopened
Famous quotes containing the word massacre:
“The bourgeoisie of the whole world, which looks complacently upon the wholesale massacre after the battle, is convulsed by horror at the desecration of brick and mortar.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)