Use of images from the collections of the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center is strictly prohibited by law without prior written consent from the copyright holders. The responsibility for the use of these materials rests exclusively with the user. The Bradley Center may assist in obtaining copyright/licensing permission to use images from the Richard Cross collection. http://www.csun.edu/bradley-center/contact
Description
A young woman holds her young daughter's hand as they both flee in search of refuge to avoid the fighting in the countryside near Usulután. Walking alongside her are several soldiers, all members of the Salvadoran Army's Atlacatl Battalion, beginning a counter-insurgency operation. Some are seen carrying an M16A1 assault rifle chambered to fire 5.56x45mm NATO ammunition. One soldier carries an M67 recoilless anti-tank rifle that fires 90mm projectiles. Both weapons were designed, manufactured, and supplied to the Salvadoran government by the United States. The Atlacatl Battalion was the first rapid-reaction infantry unit in El Salvador to be trained and equipped by the United States. The Battalion massacred more than one thousand people in six hamlets located in the municipality of Meanguera, in northern Morazán Department, El Salvador between December 11 and 13, 1981. Forty to 50 percent of the victims were murdered in El Mozote on 11 December. In spite of early reports of the massacre by journalists Raymond Bonner of the New York Times, and Alma Guillermoprieto of the Washington Post, the U.S. government denied it happened and the massacre remained underreported until the 1990s. Richard Cross took this image in 1982 while covering the presidential election and War of Liberation in El Salvador. Una muchacha sostiene la mano de su pequeña hija mientras huyen en busca de refugio para evadir el conflicto en el campo cerca de Usulután. Caminando junto a ella se observan varios soldados, todos miembros del Batallón Atlacatl del ejército salvadoreño, comenzando una operación de contra-insurgencia. Un soldado carga un cañón sin retroceso antitanque M67 que dispara proyectiles de 90mm. Los otros cargan un fusil de asalto M16A1 de calibre 5.56x45mm OTAN. Ambas armas fueron diseñadas, fabricadas y suministradas al gobierno salvadoreño por los Estados Unidos. El Batallón Atlacatl fue la primera unidad de infanteria de reacción rápida en ser entrenada y suministrada por los Estados Unidos. El Batallón masacró a más de mil personas en seis aldeas ubicadas en el municipio de Meanguera, en la parte septentrional del departamento de Morazán en el Salvador entre el 11 y 13 de diciembre de 1981. Entre cuarenta y cincuenta por ciento de las víctimas fueron asesinadas durante el 11 de diciembre. A pesar de los reportes de la masacre por los periodistas Raymond Bonner del diario New York Times y de Alma Guillermoprieto del diario Washington Post, el gobierno estadounidense negó los hechos y la masacre recibio poca cobertura periodística hasta la década de los noventa. Richard Cross tomó esta fotografía en 1982 durante su estadía en El Salvador cubriendo las elecciones y la guerra de liberación.
Refugees El Salvador. Ejército--Infantry Soldiers M-16 rifle Military maneuvers--El Salvador--Usulután (Department) El Salvador--History--1979-1992 Civil war
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