Soccer War 1969

By 1969 some 300,000 Salvadorans had drifted over the border and taken up residence in more sparsely populated Honduras. The vast majority of these Salvadorans were squatters, technically illegal immigrants whose sole claim to the land they worked was their physical presence on it. The Honduran government and some private groups blamed the immigrants for causing the economic problems, including unemployment, faced by the country. In January, the Honduran government refused to renew the 1967 Bilateral Treaty on Immigration with El Salvador that had been designed to regulate the flow of individuals across their common border. In April the Honduran government announced that it would begin to expel those who had acquired property under agrarian reform without fulfilling the legal requirement that they be Honduran by birth. By late May, Salvadorans began to stream out of Honduras back to an overpopulated El Salvador.

Tensions continued to mount during June 1969. The soccer teams of the two nations were engaged that month in a three-game elimination match as a preliminary to the World Cup. Disturbances broke out during the first game in Tegucigalpa, but the situation got considerably worse during the second match in San Salvador. Honduran fans were roughed up, the Honduran flag and national anthem were insulted, and the emotions of both nations became considerably agitated. Actions against Salvadoran residents in Honduras, including several vice consuls, became increasingly violent. An unknown number of Salvadorans were killed or brutalized, and tens of thousands began fleeing the country. The press of both nations contributed to a growing climate of near- hysteria, and on June 27, 1969, Honduras broke diplomatic relations with El Salvador.

Early on the morning of July 14, 1969, the Soccer War began. The Salvadoran air force attacked targets inside Honduras and the Salvadoran army launched major offensives along the main road connecting the two nations and against the Honduran islands in the Golfo de Fonseca. At first, the Salvadorans made fairly rapid progress. By the evening of July 15th, the Salvadoran army, which was considerably larger and better equipped than its Honduran opponent, pushed the Honduran army back over eight kilometers. Thereafter, the attack bogged down, and the Salvadorans began to experience fuel and ammunition shortages. Meanwhile, the Honduran air force largely destroyed the smaller Salvadoran air force. A cease-fire was arranged through the Organization of American States (OAS) on the night of July 18, 1969.

The war produced only losses for both sides. Between 60,000 and 130,000 Salvadorans had been forcibly expelled or had fled from Honduras, producing serious economic disruption in some areas. The war also led to a new sense of Honduran nationalism and national pride. El Salvador lost the socio-economic outlet formerly provided by illegal emigration to Honduras; land-based pressures again began to build. Although the vast majority of Salvadorans, including all the legal political parties, had united in support of the war, this unity did not last. Despite the establishment of a demilitarized buffer zone along the border, sporadic fighting occurred for several years.

Notes

[1] Clodfelter reports the official Salvadoran claim of 107 killed and 700 casualties in total.

[2] Clodfelter reports as many as 2,000 Honduran battle deaths, many of them civilians. Honduras claimed 99 killed and 66 wounded. Kohnn and Country Study support 2,000 killed, mostly Honduran civilians.

References

Clodfelter, 1168; COW175; El Salvador - A Country Study; Honduras - A Country Study; Kohn, 457.

Category

Inter-State War

Region

Central America

Belligerents

El Salvador, Honduras

Dispute

Interests

Initiation Date

July 14, 1969

Termination Date

July 18, 1969

Duration

5 days

Outcome

Negotiated Settlement
(OAS intervention)

Fatalities

Total: 1,900
El Salvador: 700^[1]
Honduras: 1,200^[2]

Magnitude

3.3