Word: guazapa
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...nine days, the rattle of machine guns from helicopter gunships and the thump of heavy artillery and bombs filled the hazy air around the Salvadoran volcano of Guazapa. Some 2,000 members of the U.S.-backed Salvadoran army were attacking guerrillas holed up in deeply entrenched camps along the mountainside, about 15 miles from the capital of San Salvador (pop. 1 million...
...strength of the guerrillas' resistance at Guazapa was dramatic proof of their increasing tactical skill and their growing threat to take over the tiny country, which is roughly the size of Massachusetts. The blunt assessment of one U.S. State Department official: "The military situation today in El Salvador is not as good as it was two months ago." American military analysts believe that the Salvadoran armed forces are only "marginally" able to hold their own against the rebels. Reasons: a lack of tactical training, and declining morale...
...harshest engagements to date, 1,500 government soldiers swarmed around the rugged, inactive volcano of Guazapa last week, about 15 miles from the country's capital of San Salvador. They pounded the area with heavy artillery, while support aircraft rained down phosphorous bombs and 100-lb. and 500-lb. high-explosive charges. Their quarry was a guerrilla contingent that had turned Guazapa into a formidable stronghold. The attack aircraft were hit by heavy ground fire from machine guns, while Salvadoran army helicopters ferrying in troops took such concentrated fire that they tried to remain on the ground no longer...
...already high when Black Troop, a unit of Salvadoran cavalry, moved out of Palo Grande, a tiny hamlet near the Guazapa volcano. The troop, comprising three squads of 25 men each, was commanded by Captain Juan Vicente, 29, a tall, taciturn veteran. The soldiers left their three small French Pan-hard armored cars parked beside the village church and began climbing slowly toward a suspected guerrilla base on a distant hillside...
From the ranch, with its commanding view of the surrounding country and the Guazapa volcano, sharp-eyed soldiers picked out two figures armed with rifles moving down the mountainside. "When they are in range, tell them to halt with hands up," the captain ordered. The call echoed over the valley, but the two figures chose to run. The soldiers bowled them over with their G3s. One fell on his back; a red stain appeared on his shirt. Two other guerrillas were also killed that afternoon from the Giron veranda...