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Commander Salvador Cayetano Carpio | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Commander Marcial |
| Born | August 1919 Santa Tecla, El Salvador |
| Died | 12 April 1983 (aged 63) Managua, Nicaragua |
| Allegiance |  FMLN |
| Years of service | 1970–1983 |
| Rank | Commander |
| Commands |  People's Liberation Forces |
| Battles / wars | Salvadoran Civil War |
Salvador Cayetano Carpio (August 1919 – 12 April 1983),[1] also known by his nom de guerre Commander Marcial, was a Salvadoran left-wing revolutionary and the Secretary-General of the Communist Party of El Salvador in the 1960s, until his resignation from the party where he then founded the Salvadoran revolutionary political-military organization, the Farabundo Martí Popular Liberation Forces (FPL).[2]
Carpio's founding of the FPL was a result of his belief to end the military dictatorship in El Salvador through an armed revolution. However, the Salvadoran Communist Party was against armed struggle, instead engaging mainly in legal electoral and trade union organizing.
During the 1970s, Carpio's new organization, the FPL, became the largest group on the Salvadoran left, and therefore became the predominant force among the five organizations that joined together in 1980 under the umbrella of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). Carpio played a leading role in both the FPL and the FMLN. He was sometimes referred to as the "Ho Chi Minh of Latin America".
The official story of his death was that he committed suicide after being accused by other leaders in the FPL for the murder of FPL second-in-command Ana María on 6 April 1983 in Managua, Nicaragua.
- ^ Meislin, Richard J. (April 22, 1983). "TOP SALVADORAN REBEL CHIEF DIES IN MYSTERY". The New York Times. pp. A1. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ "Salvadoran Rebels Mourn Suicide". Washington Post. 2023-12-26. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-03-19.