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Padres ejecutados, hijos raptados: la desaparición forzada de más de 50 niños salvadoreños en la “Guinda de Mayo”
El estruendo de las hélices rasgaba el cielo plomizo de Chalatenango entre el 27 de mayo y el 9 de junio de 1982. No eran misiones de rescate; eran los helicópteros del ejército salvadoreño que descendían en las inmediaciones de los ríos Sumpul y Gualsinga para ejecutar el operativo militar “Limpieza”, conocido entre las familias sobrevivientes como la “Guinda de Mayo”.
Mientras las comunidades campesinas huían despavoridas entre la maleza para salvaguardar la vida, un engranaje estatal y militar se activaba con un propósito tan silencioso como estremecedor: separar a los hijos de sus padres mediante el terror, la muerte y el desarraigo.
En total, 55 niños y niñas se desvanecieron en el torbellino de aquella ofensiva bélica. 44 años después, Margarita Zamora, especialista en investigación de la Asociación Pro-Búsqueda, revela en entrevista exclusiva con Infobae los detalles de una de las prácticas más macabras del conflicto armado salvadoreño: un modus operandi sistemático diseñado para el tráfico humano de menores, camuflado bajo el ropaje del auxilio humanitario.
“La práctica del ejército era asesinar a los padres y llevarse a los niños. De esa manera, no había nadie que los reclamara”, explica Zamora con una serenidad dolorosa. El desparpajo de las familias en la huida facilitaba la captura. Madres exhaustas que arrastraban a dos o tres infantes, cargando bebés en brazos mientras esquivaban las ráfagas de fusilería, se ponían en total vulnerabilidad.
Al ejecutar a los progenitores en el terreno, las guarniciones militares transportaban a los sobrevivientes en helicópteros hacia sectores como La Sierpe o Victoria, en Cabañas.
El horror militar daba paso inmediato a la burocracia civil. Los niños eran entregados a la Cruz Roja, a damas voluntarias y a orfanatos locales bajo actas falsas que declaraban un “abandono moral y material total”.
Se borraba su identidad y se catalogaban como huérfanos extraviados. “En ningún momento fueron extraviados”, enfatiza la investigadora. “Ellos no andaban paseando; andaban guindeando, corriendo para salvar sus vidas”.
Detrás del discurso institucional de “salvación” operaba una red clandestina integrada por abogados locales y altos mandos castrenses mencionando reportes históricos de entrevistas a miembros del Estado Mayor de la época que convirtieron el drama en un negocio millonario.
Los trámites de adopción internacional se cotizaban entre los 5,000 y 15,000 dólares por niño. Abogados con rutas comerciales ya establecidas los distribuyeron por el mundo:
- Francia
- Italia
- Estados Unidos
- Suiza
- Holanda
- España
- Inglaterra
- Suecia.
Parejas extranjeras pagaban la cifra creyendo que auxiliaban a huérfanos desamparados, desconociendo que la sangre de los padres biológicos aún manchaba los expedientes de origen.
El desglose de las víctimas de la Guinda de Mayo, sistematizado recientemente por Pro-Búsqueda, reconstruye las identidades rotas del operativo.
La cifra exacta de infantes desaparecidos la componen 27 niños y 27 niñas. El último caso es el más perturbador: un bebé cuyo sexo se desconoce porque el ejército capturó a su madre embarazada en plena fuga, perdiéndose el rastro de ambos hasta el día de hoy.
Las edades de todos ellos oscilaban entre los cero y los diez años, al momento de ser arrebatados. De los 55 casos documentados en este operativo, Pro-Búsqueda ha logrado resolver 31 casos; 17 ya experimentaron el “abrazo postergado” al reencontrarse vivos con sus raíces familiares.
Sin embargo, 13 han sido localizados fallecidos; la investigación confirmó que fueron ejecutados de forma masiva en un solo lugar aniquilado por las tropas, aunque la falta de voluntad judicial solo ha permitido la exhumación de seis de ellos.
El caso número 31 constituye una paradoja del trauma: un joven localizado en Francia, cuya identidad biológica fue confirmada mediante pruebas de ADN, pero de momento ha decido no reencontrarse con su familia biológica.
Rosa Rivera, sobreviviente, relata los desgarradores eventos de la «Guinda de Mayo» de 1982. Un operativo militar en Chalatenango que se convirtió en una masacre, dejando cientos de desaparecidos, incluyendo a muchos niños, cuyas familias aún buscan justicia.
Aún quedan 24 nombres flotando en la incertidumbre absoluta de Chalatenango. Entre ellos se encuentran los expedientes de las hermanas Erlinda y Ernestina Serrano Cruz, un caso paradigmático con sentencia internacional que obliga al Estado salvadoreño a investigar el paradero y castigar a los responsables individuales de la masacre. Sin embargo, la impunidad se mantiene incólume.
“El principal obstáculo sigue siendo la negación del Estado a abrir los archivos militares. Los oficiales que participaron en estas masacres tienen la información; estos hechos no se borran de la memoria. Falta voluntad política para darnos la verdad”, denuncia Zamora.
Los padres de las víctimas envejecen y mueren con las manos vacías. Ante esto, Pro-Búsqueda resguarda un banco de perfiles genéticos diseñado gracias al impulso pionero del padre Jon de Cortina (Q.E.P.D.) y el doctor Cristian Orrego.
Aunque los padres biológicos mueran, sus códigos genéticos permanecen listos para cotejar el ADN de cualquier adulto en el mundo que hoy, superando los 40 años, dude de su procedencia y sospeche haber sido un bebé extraído de la guerra salvadoreña.
La búsqueda no cesa. Es el intento tardío pero firme de escribir las líneas de una página en blanco para decenas de identidades robadas que aún ignoran que, en un rincón de El Salvador, hay una raíz destruida que jamás dejó de esperarlos.
acuarela,madre,niño,río Sumpul,río Gualsin,conflicto,pérdida,desaparición,helicóptero,El Salvador
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Former Biden aide sounds alarm on Democratic party backing Platner as scandal deepens: ‘Dangerous game’
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Former Press Secretary for First Lady Jill Biden Michael LaRosa said he has been «shocked» by the amount of Democratic support for Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner and that the Platner campaign reveals a line in the sand within the Democratic Party.
«I am shocked at some of the people, some of the Democrats who I consider friends, being so all-or-nothing about this guy, and I don’t really understand why,» LaRosa told Fox News Digital. «He is not really representative of the values I would expect in a Democratic candidate, even by today’s standards. I’m a little surprised at the number of people who are circling the wagons just to beat Susan Collins.»
Despite criticism across the political spectrum over Platner’s resurfaced sexually explicit and vulgar online posts, including one mocking a Purple Heart veteran shot multiple times by the Taliban, and a tattoo of a Nazi symbol on his chest have drawn criticism across the political spectrum, Platner continues to lead in the polls.
LaRosa accused Democrats of brushing off serious concerns over Platner’s controversial past.
DEMOCRATIC MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER CONFRONTED BY MS NOW HOST ABOUT TATTOO CONTROVERSY
Former Press Secretary for First Lady Jill Biden Michael LaRosa warns the Democratic party is playing a «dangerous game» backing Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner. (Fox News Digital ; Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
«Democrats are playing a really dangerous game,» he said. «It’s really funny to me how selective and how short memories are in politics.»
LaRosa added that he personally draws the line at backing «a Democrat who has Nazi tattoos,» adding that Platner was «just not for me.»
«I get it,» he said. «I want the Senate seat, I want Democrats to win, I want Chuck Schumer to be the majority leader, but I’m not willing to take anybody off the street to run just because they arouse some vibes in a few portions of the Democratic Party.»
LaRosa said five-term incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins is «much more my style than somebody who I consider kind of a performative economic populist like Graham Platner,» adding that Platner attended elite private schools that LaRosa’s «family certainly couldn’t afford.»
«It’s kind of odd to hear him talk about the elite when he was educated by the most elite of New England prep schools,» LaRosa said.
LaRosa told Fox News Digital that he believes winning the election is «just not worth it» if it means supporting Platner.
KNIVES OUT FOR FETTERMAN: MAVERICK SENATOR JOINS LONG LINE OF DEMS PUNISHED FOR BREAKING FROM LEFT
Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks at a news conference Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Lewiston, Maine. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP PHoto)
«It’s his own behavior that disqualifies him. It’s his own history of rhetoric, of advocating for political violence, of mocking wounded U.S. soldiers shot by the Taliban. All of that stuff, it’s just not worth it for me as a Democrat.»
He said just because Platner is a Democrat does not mean he is qualified to serve in the U.S. Senate.
«That does not make him a good candidate,» he said. «It won’t make him a good senator. It just makes him a D. What’s the point in having a party if you don’t have standards anymore?»
Despite Platner’s high polling numbers, LaRosa pointed to his experience campaigning in 2020 with former Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, who repeatedly surged ahead of Collins in the polls before Collins won re-election in one of the most expensive races in state history, calling it a «cautionary tale.»
«Sara Gideon did not trail Susan Collins in a single poll,» he said. «Six years ago, our Democrat outpolled, outraised and outspent Susan Collins, and the state of Maine on Election Day chose both Joe Biden and Susan Collins by 9 points.»
Platner became the Democrats’ presumptive nominee in the June 9 primary to decide who will face Collins in November after two-term Gov. Janet Mills ended her campaign last month.
More moderate stances that have drawn criticism from some Democrats, including Sen. John Fetterman’s support for Israel after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and criticism of Democrats’ handling of border security, «were extremely normal or mainstream in the Democratic Party» years ago but are now being used to purge strong candidates, LaRosa explained.
«We’re going to do to John Fetterman exactly what Trump is doing to candidates who opposed him or aren’t with him 100% of the time, and I don’t like it,» he said. «I don’t like that my party is going to target John Fetterman for simply having, holding and defending views that were extremely normal or mainstream in the Democratic Party.»
He said Democrats could be in for a «major disappointment» and that he personally would not «publicly support, give money to, contribute to or work for» Platner.
MAINE GOV JANET MILLS DROPS OUT OF DEMOCRATIC RACE FOR SENATE, SIGNALING SHE STRUGGLED TO RAISE ENOUGH MONEY
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, addresses the press at Washington Crossing Inn in Washington Crossing, Pa., on Nov. 6, 2022. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)
«My party seems to think that this guy represents what the rest of America wants or what Maine voters want or what people outside of the Beltway actually want,» he said. «Democrats believe that Graham Platner seems to represent what people are yearning for and wanting outside of Manhattan and D.C.»
LaRosa said the decision is now up to the voters and «Maine now has the choice» to decide if Platner will represent «their values and their views and their anger and their frustrations.»
«They now have the opportunity to vote for him or Susan Collins, and we, the Democratic Party, have given and provided Maine that choice for them, and so now they’re going to decide,» he said.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Platner campaign for comment.
democrats elections, republicans elections, john fetterman, senate elections, democrats senate
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Trump threatened to ‘blow up’ Oman — why the tiny Gulf kingdom is caught between DC and Iran
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President Donald Trump’s threat to «blow up» Oman if the Gulf kingdom didn’t «behave» has exposed a rare rupture with one of Washington’s most valuable Middle East partners — a country that has spent decades quietly serving as America’s backchannel to Iran.
«The strait’s gotta be open to everybody,» the president said during a Cabinet meeting Wednesday. «It’s international waters. Nobody’s going to control it. We’re going to watch over it. We’ll watch over it, but nobody’s going to control it. That’s part of the negotiation that we have. They would like to control it; nobody’s going to control it. It’s international waters. And Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we’ll have to blow ‘em up. They understand that. They’ll be fine.»
The remark came amid a dispute over the future of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes. The Trump administration has strongly opposed reported discussions involving Iran and Oman over a potential tolling system or joint management arrangement for the strait, arguing such a move would threaten freedom of navigation and give Tehran greater influence over one of the world’s most important shipping routes.
The comments reflected a broader dispute over how far Oman should go in its efforts to engage Iran as the two countries discuss proposals related to the future management of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important shipping routes.
STRAIT OF HORMUZ TOLL WOULD SET ‘DANGEROUS PRECEDENT,’ UN SHIPPING AGENCY WARNS
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi meets Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq Al Said at Al Baraka Palace in Muscat, Oman, April 26, 2026. (Oman News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
A drone view shows vessels anchored at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, May 25, 2026. (Stringer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY via Reuters)
The Omani embassy and the White House could not be reached for comment on the underlying tensions or negotiations on the Strait of Hormuz.
Situated on the southeastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, Oman occupies the southern side of the Strait of Hormuz and has long pursued a foreign policy distinct from many of its Gulf neighbors.
While maintaining close security ties with the U.S., Muscat also has preserved relations with Iran, allowing it to serve as one of the region’s key intermediaries. Oman helped facilitate secret U.S.–Iran talks that paved the way for nuclear negotiations, has repeatedly served as a diplomatic channel between Washington and Tehran and has played a role in negotiations involving Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
«Oman’s role as the Switzerland of the Middle East has advanced U.S. interests,» April Alley, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute, told Fox News Digital.
«They have facilitated numerous rounds of talks between U.S. and Iranians,» she said. «They were also able to broker a truce between the US and the Houthis in the Red Sea. Their neutrality allows them to be quiet facilitators when adversaries are ready to talk.»
Oman’s value to Washington historically has stemmed from its ability to maintain communication channels with actors that many U.S. partners cannot or will not engage directly.
The Gulf kingdom has served as a go-between in negotiations involving the United States and Iran, supported diplomatic efforts related to Yemen and frequently positioned itself as a neutral intermediary during regional crises.
Yacoubian described that role as «indispensable» to previous diplomatic efforts.
«Oman has long played an important role as a quiet mediator, acting as a go-between for the United States and Iran in various negotiations including for the Obama-era JCPOA and more recently with the Trump administration and its efforts to negotiate with Iran prior to the 12-day war in June 2025,» she said.
President Donald Trump attends a cabinet meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 27, 2026. (Evan Vucci/Reuters)
A real dispute beneath the rhetoric
While Trump’s remarks drew attention, experts said they reflected a substantive disagreement over the future of the Strait of Hormuz rather than a purely rhetorical outburst.
«I think it was both,» Alley said when asked whether the remarks were simply an unusual threat directed at a longtime U.S. partner or reflected deeper concerns.
«Oman is an important defense partner, and the Trump administration has a record of working with them on mediation initiatives. The President has an unconventional style, but still this comment was shocking.»
«Beyond the shock value, I think it reflects clear frustration on the part of the administration with the Omani approach to the Strait,» she said. «The President is signaling that Oman has gone too far in discussions with Iran on options for opening the Strait that could give Iran administrative control and interfere with freedom of navigation.»
The administration’s concerns center on reports that Iran and Oman have discussed arrangements involving tolls, fees or joint administration of the strategic waterway.
«The administration is right to be concerned about tolls, fees, or joint management of the Strait,» Alley said. «All of these things are a recipe for Iran interfering with freedom of navigation in the long term and they could set a dangerous precedent for other international waterways.»
She warned that if Iran were able to exert administrative control over Hormuz, other Iran-backed groups could seek similar arrangements elsewhere.
«I could see the Houthis trying for the same in the Bab al-Mandeb,» she said.
Mona Yacoubian, senior adviser and director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, similarly argued that any arrangement that financially benefits Iran through management of the strait would be cause for concern.
«If in fact under discussion, a joint management scheme that accrues monetary benefit to Iran, Oman, and possibly other GCC countries would be a justifiable cause for U.S. concern as this would undermine broader principles of freedom of navigation and set a worrying precedent globally,» she told Fox News Digital.
Yacoubian said Oman likely is attempting to serve as a bridge between Iran and Gulf Arab states amid concerns over future shipping disruptions in the strait.
«Oman is likely seeking to serve as a bridge between Iran and the Gulf Cooperation Council states,» she said.
But, Yacoubian added, «It is important to underscore that these types of threats are not well-received globally and contribute to an overall erosion of trust in the United States as a credible negotiator and leading global power.»
WHY GULF STATES AREN’T JOINING THE WAR AGAINST IRAN — DESPITE ATTACKS ON THEIR SOIL
Oman’s role has not been without controversy. Unlike many of its Gulf neighbors, Muscat has often sought to maintain relationships with rival regional powers even during periods of heightened tension.
Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the Middle East Forum, argued that concerns about Muscat extend beyond the current dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.
«Oman often acts as Qatar-lite,» Rubin told Fox News Digital. «They like to mediate but, in the past at least, they appear to have turned blind eyes to terror finance and weapons smuggling.»
Rubin pointed to what he described as three longstanding concerns: alleged Iranian weapons smuggling through Oman to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Oman’s hosting of Houthi leaders and what he characterized as financial incentives tied to disruptions in Red Sea shipping.
«It’s no secret that Oman has kind of chosen its own path, and sometimes split the difference between Iran and the rest of the Gulf in ways that have concerned U.S. policymakers,» Daniel Beinam, fellow of the Middle East Institute and former senior State Department official for Middle Eastern affairs, told Fox News Digital.
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Even so, Beinam emphasized the depth of the relationship between the two countries.
«For a century and a half, Oman has been a close partner to the United States,» he said.
middle east, national security, donald trump, foreign policy, iran
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