El Salvador: The Innocent Victims | Under the Shadow, Ep. 4

In the 1980s, the Reagan administration poured billions of dollars into El Salvador's military to crush the left-wing FMLN, littering the country in mass graves in the process.

January 16, 2024

A memorial in San Salvador lists the names of victims of El Salvador's armed conflict. (Michael Fox)

 

Read the transcript.

In the 1980s, El Salvador was ground zero for the U.S. intervention in Central America. The United States  funneled over $6 billion to El Salvador in mostly military aid and police and security training throughout the country’s 12-year civil war, which  lasted from 1980 until 1992.

The violence and the U.S. support for the country's bloody authoritarian regimes had a deadly cost, claiming the lives of and tens of thousands of innocent victims.

In this episode, journalist Michael Fox heads to San Salvador, where he visits a memorial for the innocent victims and looks at the legacy of El Salvador's armed conflict today.

Under the Shadow is a new investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, to tell the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present.

In each episode, host Michael Fox takes us to a location where something historic happened—a landmark of revolutionary struggle or foreign intervention. Today, it might look like a random street corner, a church, a mall, a monument or a museum. But every place he takes us was once the site of history-making events that shook countries, impacted lives and left deep marks on the world.

Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.

This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.

Edited by Heather Gies.
Sound design by Gustavo Türck.
Theme music by Monte Perdido. Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.
Support journalist Michael Fox or Under the Shadow.

Memorial for victims of the armed conflict in San Salvador, El Salvador. (Michael Fox)

Memorial for victims of the armed conflict in San Salvador, El Salvador. (Michael Fox)

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