Remembering El Mozote and the Fight for Justice

Editor’s Note: When I was running Latino Rebels, California-based journalist Francisco Lozano was one of our most consistent contributors. I was a big fan of Francisco’s work, particularly his photography. This past week, Francisco, who is originally from El Salvador, reminded me that today, December 11, 2024, is the 43rd anniversary of the El Mozote Massacre. Both he and I decided that this would be an ideal time to make his debut for The Latino Newsletter. Working with a video he produced last year, we are proud to present his story. — Julio

With the Vietnam War over, the Cold War shifted to Latin America, dominating events from the mid-1970s to the 1990s. When President Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, he vowed to stop the spread of communism. The war in El Salvador intensified.

On December 11, 1981, over 1,000 civilians —including children and newborns— were massacred by the U.S.-trained Atlacatl Battalion in El Mozote, a rural community in Morazán, and nearby villages. Warnings of a military operation had circulated, but many residents stayed, trusting they had nothing to fear as they were not involved in the conflict. Officially, the operation aimed to locate the guerrilla radio station, Venceremos. Instead, it became a horrific “search and destroy” mission.

Hundreds of soldiers arrived and ordered residents to stay in their homes under threat of death: Your nose comes out of the house and you will be killed. Rufina Amaya, the massacre’s sole survivor, would go on to tell the story repeatedly, both in El Salvador and abroad. Her testimony reached the U.S. Congress and even the notorious School of the Americas, where many of the battalion’s soldiers had been trained.

“I’m not afraid. Perhaps next December I won’t be here, but I ask of you not to forget the children and the victims of El Mozote,” Rufina Amaya once said, sharing her story with unwavering courage. She continued to testify, both in El Salvador and abroad, for decades. Rufina passed away on March 6, 2007, at the age of 64, leaving behind a legacy of truth-telling and a plea for justice that remains unanswered.

In April 2023, I met 95-year-old Benita Claros, who turned out to be a cousin of Rufina Amaya. With tears in her eyes, Benita told me, “I’m not afraid, hermano. I want to tell everything. I want people to know the truth before I die.”

She recounted how Rufina described the horrors of that night.

“She would tell me how the women were lined up, how the soldiers took the children from their arms and then shot the women dead. She hid in the bushes as they lined them up.” Benita told me. “Rufina used to tell me how people didn’t believe her, that they called her a liar.”

The massacre unfolded with calculated brutality. The men were killed first. Young women were rounded up, raped, and murdered. Adult women were forced into lines, their children torn from their arms before they were executed. Finally, children were gathered and killed.

The New York Times was among the first outlets to report on the massacre, corroborating that one of modern history’s worst atrocities had taken place. Photographs captured the burned bodies inside homes and buildings, offering undeniable evidence of the horrors.

Forty-three years later, neither El Salvador or the U.S. government has delivered justice. An amnesty law, passed with the support of Salvadoran lawmakers, continues to shield those responsible for war crimes.

In 2012, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of the El Mozote victims and neighboring communities, ordering the Salvadoran government to offer reparations. President Salvador Sánchez Cerén of the FMLN began implementing these measures, but progress under current President Nayib Bukele has been limited. “Other measures were agreed upon with the State in 2013 and 2014, and while not verified by the court, they were functional for the victims’ families,” explained attorney Krisia Moya, who represents the Association for the Promotion of Human Rights of El Mozote (APDHEM). “Sadly, under the new government, it has been difficult to implement these measures, and there has been little progress. It has been like swimming against the current to get them to comply.”

This December 14, 2024, the community will gather to commemorate the victims of the massacre. “This year, we will be asking the government for justice,” said José Orlando Márquez García, who lost his parents and siblings in the massacre. At the time, Márquez García had moved closer to San Salvador to study at the university, fleeing forced recruitment by both the government and the guerrillas when he was 23 years old.

Some of Márquez García’s family’s remains will finally be returned to him, and a burial will take place as part of the remembrance ceremony honoring that dark day.

About the Author

Francisco Lozano is a freelance photojournalist and writer based in Los Angeles. He was born in El Salvador and immigrated to the U.S. during the war in 1984.

What We’re Reading

More Cien Años Reviews: Besides the review he wrote for The Latino Newsletter, Julio also filed one today for MSNBC.

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