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Title
Soldier sitting with weapon on his legs, San Antonio de los Ranchos, Chalatenango, El Salvador, 1981
Creator
Cross, Richard, 1950-1983
Date Created and/or Issued
1981-03
Publication Information
California State University, Northridge
Contributing Institution
California State University, Northridge
Collection
Richard Cross Photographs (Bradley Center)
Rights Information
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
Full portrait of a soldier sitting on a rock in San Antonio de los Ranchos in the department of Chalatenango. He is holding his helmet and a rifle, a Heckler & Koch G3 battle rifle of German design, on his legs. The soldiers had overtaken the village after a battle with the guerrilleros. The village had no civilians and the soldiers inspected the building for damages and the mountains for signs of guerrilleros. In January, few months before this photo was taken, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) launched attacks throughout the country, with the government declaring martial law and a dusk-to-dawn curfew. The guerrillas named it the “final offensive” as it was supposed to overturn the Salvadoran government before the U.S. President Ronald Reagan was inaugurated on January 20, 1981. The FMLN called the population for an insurrection but the offensive didn’t receive enough popular support and it failed. After this failure the guerrillas began to attack the country’s infrastructure and only eight months later were they able to take another small town, Perquín, holding it for nine days. Right after the guerrillas’ final offensive, in January 1981, the Carter administration, using the unverified claim that Nicaraguan boats had landed on the Salvadoran coast to support the guerrillas, announced the delivery of $5 million in military aid, including M-16 rifles, M-79 grenades launchers, ammunition, and helicopters. President Carter was also sending military advisers to help in conducting the counterinsurgency war. Furthermore, following the inauguration of the Reagan administration on January 20, 1981 and the release on February 1981 of a document alleging that the situation in El Salvador was a “textbook case of indirect armed aggression by Communist powers through Cuba,” the Reagan administration sent on March 2, 20 more military advisers and announced an additional $25 million in military aid. It’s in this context that, at the time that this photo was taken, were created the Rapid Deployment Infantry Battalions of the Salvadoran Armed Forces, elite units specially trained for counterinsurgency combat that had completed their training under the guidance and supervision of United States military personnel. The first unit was created in March 1981 with the name “Atlacatl,” operating under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Domingo Monterrosa Barrios.
Retrato completo de un soldado sentado sobre una roca en San Antonio de los Ranchos en el departamento de Chalatenango. Él sostiene su casco y un rifle, un rifle de batalla Heckler & Koch G3 de diseño alemán, en sus piernas. Los soldados habían tomado el pueblo después de una batalla con los guerrilleros. El pueblo no tenía civiles y los soldados inspeccionaron el edificio en busca de daños y las montañas en busca de signos de guerrilleros. En enero, pocos meses antes de que se tomara esta foto, el Frente Farabundo Martí de Liberación Nacional (FMLN) lanzó ataques en todo el país, y el gobierno declaró la ley marcial y un toque de queda desde el atardecer hasta el amanecer. La guerrilla la denominó "ofensiva final," ya que se suponía que iba a derrocar al gobierno salvadoreño antes de que el presidente de Estados Unidos, Ronald Reagan, asumiera el cargo el 20 de enero de 1981. El FMLN llamó a la población a una insurrección, pero la ofensiva no recibió suficiente apoyo popular y falló. Luego de este fracaso, la guerrilla comenzó a atacar la infraestructura del país y solo ocho meses después lograron tomar otro pequeño poblado, Perquín, reteniéndolo durante nueve días. Inmediatamente después de la ofensiva final de la guerrilla, en enero de 1981, la administración Carter, utilizando la afirmación no verificada de que barcos nicaragüenses habían desembarcado en la costa salvadoreña para apoyar a la guerrilla, anunció la entrega de $5 millones de dólares en ayuda militar, incluyendo rifles M-16. Lanzagranadas M-79, municiones y helicópteros. El presidente Carter también estaba enviando asesores militares para ayudar en la conducción de la guerra de contrainsurgencia. Además, tras la toma de posesión de la administración Reagan el 20 de enero de 1981 y la publicación en febrero de 1981 de un documento en el que se alegaba que la situación en El Salvador era un "caso de texto de agresión armada indirecta por parte de las potencias comunistas a través de Cuba," la administración Reagan envió el 2 de marzo a 20 asesores militares más y anunció $ 25 millones de dólares adicionales en ayuda militar. Es en este contexto que, al momento en que se tomó esta foto, se crearon los Batallones de Infantería de Despliegue Rápido de las Fuerzas Armadas de El Salvador, unidades de élite especialmente capacitadas para el combate contrainsurgente que habían completado su entrenamiento bajo la guía y supervisión de personal militar de Estados Unidos. El primer batallón fue creado en marzo de 1981 con el nombre de “Atlacatl”, operando bajo el mando del Teniente Coronel Domingo Monterrosa Barrios.
Type
image
Format
Photographs
image/jpeg
color slides
Extent
35 mm
Identifier
99.01.RCr.sl.B21.10.40.12
http://digital-collections.csun.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p17169coll1/id/12563
Subject
Soldiers
El Salvador. Ejército
Combat patrols
El Salvador--History--1979-1992
Civil war
Place
Chalatenango (El Salvador : Department)
Relation
99.01.RCr.sl.B21.10.40.12.tif
Richard Cross Photographs
California State University Northridge. University Library. Special Collections & Archives. Tom & Ethel Bradley Center

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