Central American War 1876

Political conflict within the Central American governments often crossed national boundaries and ignited international wars. Guatemala, under Justo Rufino Barrios (a Liberal), opposed the presidency of Ponciano Leiva, a Conservative, and he distrusted the former president of El Salvador, Santiago Gonzalez, who had provided support for Leiva becoming president. Barrios plotted the overthrow of Leiva.

The 1876 presidential election in El Salvador resulted in Andres Valle defeating Gonzalez but Gonzalez became vice-president. Barrios believed that as the former president of El Salvador, Gonzalez had been providing asylum to his Guatemalan opponents and he suspected that this would continue under Valle after a meeting in February 1876. Guatemala prepared for war. For the so-called Campaign of 1876, Barrios had organized the largest army (some twenty thousand men) and the one with the highest morale in the isthmus.

Guatemala invaded El Salvador on or about March 20, 1876 with Barrios leading the army. They won two hard-fought actions at Apaneca on April 15th and Pasaquina between April 17th and April 19th. On April 25, 1876, the peace was negotiated in Chalchuapa between Guatemala and El Salvador. Valle agreed to resign from the presidency and be replaced by Rafael Zaldivar – a Liberal supported by Barrios. Gonzalez agreed to lead a Salvadoran army in support of the Guatemala campaign to remove Leiva from the presidency of Honduras that was to follow.

The governments of Guatemala and El Salvador then sent their troops into Honduras in 1876. Marco Aurelio Soto, a Liberal, was installed as president of Honduras on August 27, 1876 and with that Barrios achieved his goal of installing Liberal allies in El Salvador and Honduras. About 2,000 Guatemalan soldiers were killed or died of disease or deprivation during the war and it is likely that an equal number of Hondurans and Salvadorans also died.

References

Clodfelter, 548; COW60; El Salvador - A Country Study; Honduras - A Country Study; Holden, 53-4; HoyHistoriaGT.org.

Robert H Holden. Armies Without Nations: Public Violence and State Formation in Central America, 1821-1960. Oxford University Press. 2006.

Category

Inter-State War

Region

Central America

Belligerents

El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras

Dispute

Governance

Initiation Date

March 20, 1876

Termination Date

April 25, 1876

Duration

27 days

Outcome

Imposed Settlement
(Guatemalan victory)

Fatalities

Total: 6,000
El Salvador: 2,000
Guatemala: 2,000
Honduras: 2,000

Magnitude

3.8