Domingo Monterrosa

Who is Domingo Monterrosa?

Lieutenant Colonel Domingo Monterrosa Barrios was a military commander of the Armed Forces of El Salvador during the Salvadoran Civil War.

Monterrosa distinguished himself preceding his 1963 graduation from the Escuela Militar Capitán General Gerardo Barrios military academy. Monterrosa went on to take military classes from American soldiers in Panama, and later on went to Taiwan to study anti-communist insurgency tactics. Soon after his return to El Salvador, Monterrosa was assigned to become the leader of the elite and controversial Atlacatl Battalion. The Atlacatl Battalion was held responsible for the El Mozote Massacre. Monterrosa was seen by local guide landing from his helicopter prior to the start of the massacre, as told by reporter Mark Danner; however, Danner also reported that Monterrosa had been contacted by a U.S. military advisor to share the outcome of the battle that had taken place in the Mozote. At that point, Monterrosa was in the Atlacatl's headquarters. According to Danner's story, after the conversation with the U.S. advisor, Monterrosa boarded a helicopter and headed to Morazan. The Washington Post reported in 2007 that Monterrosa had ordered the massacre. The Mozote was a tiny village located North of Morazan. It was a launching pad for guerrilla operations in the area. The villagers were open supporters of the FMLN according to an investigation conducted by a staff from the State Department in early 1982. Francisco Mena Sandoval, a traitor of El Salvador's military and a leader of the terrorist organization, Ejercito Revolucionario del Pueblo, indicated in his book "Del Ejercito Nacional al Ejercito Guerrillero" that in April 1982, he and other leaders of the ERP created a training camp for guerrillas in the Mozote.