The Atlácatl Battalion (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ) was a rapid-response,

counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

of the

Salvadoran Army The Salvadoran Army (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Ejército Salvadoreño'') is the land branch and largest of the Armed Forces of El Salvador. History The Football War The Football War (also called The Soccer War or 100-hours War) was a ter ...

created in 1981. It was implicated in some of the most infamous massacres of the

Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War () was a twelve-year civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador, backed by the United States, and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition of left-wing guer ...

History

The

began on 15 October 1979 with the overthrow of President

Carlos Humberto Romero Carlos Humberto Romero Mena (29 February 1924 – 27 February 2017) was a Salvadoran military general and politician who served as president of El Salvador from 1 July 1977 until his overthrow on 15 October 1979. Romero was the final preside ...

. The

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

established the Revolutionary Government Junta to govern the country in the wake of the coup and it established itself to be a "reformist" junta.Beverley 1982, pp. 63–65 The

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

was covertly involved in the coup and actively supported the junta. In January 1981, the

Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (, abbreviated FMLN) is a Salvadoran political party and former guerrilla rebel group. The FMLN was formed as an umbrella group on 10 October 1980, from five leftist guerrilla organizations; ...

(FMLN), a left-wing guerrilla group opposed to the junta, began an

offensive Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

against the junta and marched on military targets, most notably the

Ilopango Airport Ilopango International Airport is an airport located on the eastern part of the city of San Salvador, El Salvador, once serving the city as its international airport until 1980 when it was replaced by the larger and more modern El Salvador Int ...

.Betancur 1993, p. 29Betancur 1993, pp. 30–31 In reaction, the United States increased military and economic assistance to the junta and helped establish the , a network of specialized counter-insurgent army units. The first unit formed was the Atlácatl Battalion in March 1981, followed by the Atonal Battalion in January 1982 and the Belloso Battalion in May 1982. The battalion was named after

Atlácatl Atlácatl (Nahuatl ''Ātlācatl'': ''ātl'' "water", ''tlācatl'' "human being"; died 1528) is reputed to have been the name of the last ruler of an Indigenous state based around the city of Cuzcatlan, in the southeastern periphery of Mesoameri ...

, a legendary indigenous figure from the

Spanish conquest of El Salvador The Spanish conquest of El Salvador was the campaign undertaken by the Spanish ''conquistadores'' against the Late Postclassic Mesoamerican polities in the territory that is now incorporated into the modern Central American country of El Salvado ...

who fought against ''

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

Pedro de Alvarado Pedro de Alvarado (; 1485 – 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, ''conquistador'', ''adelantado,'' governor and Captaincy General of Guatemala, captain general of Guatemala.Lovell, Lutz and Swezey 1984, p. 461. He participated in the c ...

.Goldston and Rone 1990, pp. 224–225 The United States sent fifteen counter-insurgent specialists to El Salvador in March 1981 to train the newly formed battalion. Weapons, ground vehicles, and helicopters were sent to the battalion which numbered around 2,000 soldiers. The battalion was disbanded in 1992 under the terms of the

Chapultepec Peace Accords The Chapultepec Peace Accords were a set of Peace treaty, peace agreements signed on January 16, 1992, the day in which the Salvadoran Civil War ended. The treaty established peace between the El Salvador, Salvadoran government and the Farabund ...

that ended the twelve-year civil war.

Investigation by the Truth Commission for El Salvador

In the early 1990s, the

Truth Commission for El Salvador The Truth Commission for El Salvador () was a restorative justice truth commission approved by the United Nations to investigate the grave wrongdoings that occurred throughout the country's twelve year civil war. It is estimated that 1.4 percent ...

was established by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

to investigate

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

committed during the civil war.Betancur 1993, p. 11 The report concluded that the battalion was responsible for the

El Mozote massacre The El Mozote massacre took place both in and around the village of El Mozote, in the Morazán Department, El Salvador, on December 11 and 12, 1981, when the Salvadoran Army killed more than 811 civilians during the Salvadoran Civil War. T ...

, the El Calabozo massacre, and the 1989 murder of six Jesuit priests.Betancur 1993, p. 30Betancur 1993, pp. 47–50Betancur 1993, pp. 114–120Betancur 1993, pp. 125–126 The Battalion was also implicated in the killing of around 50 civilians on the banks of the Guaslinga river.Betancur 1993, p. 209

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

independently linked the battalion to additional massacres not cited in the UNTC report including dozens of people killed in Tenancingo and Copapayo in 1983, sixty-eight people killed in Los Llanitos, and three separate killings of civilians in 1989.Goldston and Rone 1990, pp. 225–227

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Atlacatl Battalion 1980 establishments in Panama Massacres of the Salvadoran Civil War Military units and formations of El Salvador Military units and formations of the Cold War Military units and formations established in 1980 Military units and formations disestablished in 1992

History

Investigation by the Truth Commission for El Salvador

See also

References

Bibliography