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Description
Five army soldiers armed with assault rifles pose smiling in front of ruins in Perquín, El Salvador. The acronym for the guerrilla coalition Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, FMNL, appears on the wall behind them. The guerrillas had occupied the town on October 1982 but in the first couple of weeks of February 1983, Colonel Miguel Antonio Méndez and his Belloso Battalion retook the town. The guerrillas assaulted the Belloso command post in Perquín on February 23 forcing Méndez and his battalion to retreat from Perquín. The Belloso Battalion formed in 1982 with training assistance of the United States. It was one of the most aggressive military units during the Civil War, its men were trained at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, and was nicknamed the Gringo Battalion. Cinco soldados del ejército armados con rifles de asalto posan sonrientes frente a las ruinas en Perquín, El Salvador. El acrónimo de la coalición guerrillera Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional, FMLN, aparece detrás de ellos en la pared. Los guerrilleros habían ocupado la ciudad en octubre de 1982, pero en las primeras semanas de febrero de 1983, el coronel Miguel Antonio Méndez, y su batallón Belloso retomaron la ciudad. Los guerrilleros asaltaron el puesto de mando del Belloso en Perquín el 23 de febrero y forzando a Méndez y a su batallón a retirarse de Perquín. El Batallón Belloso se formó en 1982 con la asistencia de entrenamiento de los Estados Unidos. Durante la guerra civil, fue una de las unidades militares más agresivas y sus hombres fueron entrenados en Ft. Bragg; Carolina del Norte, y fue apodado el Batallón Gringo.
Civil War El Salvador Documentary photographs Soldiers El Salvador. Ejército Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front El Salvador--History--1979-1992 El Salvador--Politics and Government--1979-1992 El Salvador--Social Conditions
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