Maximina describes the operation that led to the Zapote massacre, in which her pregnant sister and Commander Jesús Rojas died.
- Chapter:
- Chapter 5: Guerrilla Experiences
- Interviewee:
- Maximina
Transcription
[You were also telling me that you were here in Chalatenango and that one of your family members was a victim of the El Zapote Massacre.]
Yes, it was my younger sister, Mélida. She was one of the best radio operators in the area, they said. She was Doctor Lito’s radio operator and people appreciated her a lot. It was towards the end of the war that she died. They came to do an interview here in Arcatao and Jesús Rojas was over-confident, probably since he was such a calm person. He trusted the Peace Accords would soon be signed and he thought they wouldn’t have any problems, so he told them the whole truth. They asked him if they were going to move that day and where. He told them where they were moving and one of the journalists there was from COPREFA, in other words, the Armed Forces. He took all that information with him, and there was an operation going on in Las Flores. He relayed that information and they were ambushed by the army around El Zapote. One day earlier, they had brought us our rations. I was a cook and they sent the kitchen people ahead. My husband came too; we were both part of the same group. He was part of Jesús Rojas’ security team, but at that point they told him to give up his job. He had a small backpack full of important things the commander had and he gave it to another comrade. They sent him to join me and all the kitchen workers, and their security. That was a day before. The next day they showed up early in the morning. Everyone there thought breakfast would be ready. The ambush had already been set up and they died. Fifteen died, and among those people was my sister who was seven months pregnant, almost eight. The baby was about to be born, I knew all those people , because we were all part of the same group. To us, those people were like siblings. Included in that group were two people from Santa Marta, or maybe it was three.