Santiago describes cooperation between Honduran, Guatemalan, and Salvadoran military forces.
- Chapter:
- Chapter 3: The Years of "Guindas"
- Interviewee:
- Santiago
Transcription
[Santiago, did you know that other countries helped finance the war in our—in El Salvador?]
Well, given what we saw during the war, Guatemala and Honduras participated. Maybe not with money but they helped with military support. Here, during the Guinda de Mayo, we saw soldiers from Guatemala. Plus, some Hondurans were collaborating here even right at the end, after the Peace Accords. Some of them even lost their limbs when they tried to get into Chupamiel. We had put landmines all around this area as we prepared for the offensive. There was no one left here, just the civilian population. There was maybe a couple of guerrilla fighters who helped keep this territory under control. Those two kept the Honduran army in check, because they wanted to get into this zone. The Hondurans came into Arcatao. That was the support the governments of— Look, if El Salvador hadn’t gotten any help from other countries, it wouldn’t have been able to stop the guerrilla. It received military aid from other countries. The Honduran or Guatemalan army always participated.