NationMaster - Encyclopedia: 19 June 1985 Zona Rosa attacks

On June 19, 1985, at approximately 21:30, four United States Marines, two United States businessmen, a Guatemalan, a Chilean, and four Salvadorans were killed in a machine gun attack in the Zona Rosa area of San Salvador, El Salvador. The groups responsible for carrying out the attack were the Central American Revolutionary Workers' Party (PRTC) and its terrorist arm, the Mardoqueo Cruz Urban Commando (CMC). Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... June 19 is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 195 days remaining. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ... The Zona Rosa is an area of Mexico City in the JuÃ¡rez borough and close to the Centro HistÃ³rico and Chapultepec. ... San Salvador is the capital city of the nation of El Salvador. ...

The four Marines, Staff Sergeant Bobby J. Dickson, Sergeant Gregory Weber, Staff Sergeant Thomas T. Handwork, Sergeant Patrick R. Kwiatkowski, who were with two other Marines, were responsible for security at the United States Embassy and sat down at an outside table at Chili's restaurant in the area known as the "Zona Rosa" in the San Benito district. They were regular customers known to the owners of restaurants and cafes in the area and to those who worked there. They used to go there in groups whenever they were off duty. After a while, two of them left the group and went to sit down at a table in the Flashback restaurant a few yards away from their companions at Chili's. The Marines were attached to the United States Embassy Security Guard Detachment and, although not in uniform, were easily identifiable as United States Marines by their haircuts, clothing, and security radios. There is no evidence that they were carrying weapons.

One witness said the Marines were approached by a young man who briefly spoke with them and then bicycled away. Ten minutes later, at about 2100, ten men—wearing camouflage shirts and caps and riding in a light-colored pickup truck—arrived in front of a group of four adjacent sidewalk cafes. The patrons of the cafes dismissed the group as a military patrol conducting a search or a document check. The truck parked on the street in front of Chili's where the Marines were seated. The attack element jumped from the truck and turned toward the customers while others from their group deployed to adjacent security positions. The attackers moved directly toward the table where the Marines were seated while firing on full automatic with U.S. M16s, German G3s, and Uzi submachine guns. Fire was initially directed at the Marines but was then turned against other patrons. One Marine was reportedly chased into "Las Pizzas" cafe and killed. Several other armed men provided security by directing gunfire towards the Brazilian Embassy across the street. An infant Cuttlefish blends into the surrounding sand substrate. ... M16 is the U.S. Military designation for a family of rifles derived from the ArmaLite AR-15. ... The Uzi is a compact, boxy, light-weight submachine gun. ...

On June 21, 1985, a juvenile delivered an envelope to the Salvadoran National Police containing a communique he said he found in a telephone booth. The envelope contained a note from a Salvadoran guerrilla group called the Central American Revolutionary Workers' Party (the Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajadores Centroamericanos or "PRTC"), which was one of the guerrilla groups constituting the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). The communique stated that the FMLN claimed responsibility for the "annihilation attack against American military advisors." June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 193 days remaining. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Shafik Handal Revolution or Death, We will win! El Salvador in struggle. ...

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Categories: Cleanup from November 2005 | All pages needing cleanup | Terrorist incidents in the 1980s November 27 is the 331st day (332nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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