The Soccer War (1969)

Also known as the 100-Hour War, the war aroused because of the political situation deteriorated from economic situations which included labor conflicts, the Honduran government and some private groups came increasingly to place blame for the nation's economic problems on the approximately 300,000 undocumented Salvadoran immigrants in Honduras. Attacks were launched in the media on the impact of Salvadoran immigrant labor on unemployment and wages on the Caribbean coast. By late May, Salvadorans began to stream out of Honduras back to an overpopulated El Salvador.

Honduras began to expel Salvadorans in the late 1960s, causing the Salvodaran press to trumpet allegations of mistreatement at the lands of Honduran authorities. Tensions peaked around the June 1969 World Cup playoffs between the two countries, and erupted into war on July 14. Throughout the four-day war, the only organized call for peace was a rally staged by the the Salvadoran Communist Party in San Salvador. Begun under the pretense of "protecting the human rights of Salvadoran settlers," the war ended when the Organization of American States arranged a cease-fire. By August, Salvadoran troops returned home to a "victory celebration" staged in the capital in an official attempt to salvage some national pride.

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