82. That year, the radio stations broadcast information that the Atlacatl Rapid Deployment Infantry battalion was going to launch an operation.76 On December 9 and 10, 1981, the inhabitants of the region heard on the radio that a powerful Armed Forces operation was heading toward the north of Morazán.77 b) “Operación Rescate” or “Yunque y Martillo” carried out by the “Atlacatl” Rapid Deployment Infantry Battalion 83. Between December 8 and 16, 1981, the Atlacatl Rapid Deployment Infantry Battalion (hereinafter “Atlacatl BIRI”), together with units of the San Miguel Third Infantry Brigade and the San Francisco Gotera Command Training Center, conducted a large-scale military operation in the northern area of the department of Morazán, known as “Operación Rescate” (Operation Rescue) or “Yunque y Martillo” (Anvil and Hammer), apparently intended to eliminate the guerrilla presence – a camp and a training center – in a place called La Guacamaya, in the canton of the same name.78 A precedent to this operation was the fact that a few months earlier, the Atlacatl BIRI had taken part in an unsuccessful counterinsurgency operation in the same area.79 file, tome XVII, affidavits, folio 10286), and Expert opinion provided by affidavit by Father David Blanchard on April 15, 2012 (evidence file, tome XVII, affidavits, folio 10358). 74 Cf. Expert opinion provided by affidavit by Father David Blanchard in April 2012 (evidence file, tome XVII, affidavits, folio 10358). 75 Cf. Affidavit provided by Juan Bautista Márquez Argueta on April 1, 2012 (evidence file, tome XVII, affidavits, folio 10278); Affidavit provided by Sofía Romero Pereira on April 2, 2012 (evidence file, tome XVII, affidavits, folio 10281); Affidavit provided by Antonia Guevara Díaz on April 1, 2012 (evidence file, tome XVII, affidavits, folio 10286); Affidavit provided by Juan Antonio Pereira Vigil on April 2, 2012 (evidence file, tome XVII, affidavits, folio 10289); Victim statement made by Pedro Chicas Romero before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on October 31, 1990 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 1671); Witness statement made by María Amanda Martínez before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on January 23, 1991 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 1704), and Expert opinion on psychosocial impacts and recommendations for reparations in the case of “The Massacres of El Mozote and nearby places” provided by María Sol Yáñez De La Cruz, undated (evidence file, tome XVIII, annex 2 to the final written arguments of the representatives, folios 10521 to 10525). 76 Cf. Witness statement made by María Teófila Pereira Argueta before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on January 23, 1991 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 1701), and Victim statement made by María Teófila Pereira Argueta before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on February 18, 1991 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 1731). 77 Cf. Witness statement made by Hilario Sánchez Gómez before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on November 28, 1990 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 1695); Victim statement made by Hilario Sánchez Gómez before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on February 14, 1991 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 1724); Affidavit provided by Juan Bautista Márquez Argueta on April 1, 2012 (evidence file, tome XVII, affidavits, folio 10278), and Witness statement made by María Teófila Pereira Argueta before the Second First Instance Court of San Francisco Gotera on January 23, 1991 (evidence file, tome III, annex 23 to the submission of the case, folio 1701). 78 Cf. Report of the Truth Commission for El Salvador, From madness to hope: the 12-year war in El Salvador, 1992-1993 (evidence file, tome II, annex 1 to the submission of the case, folio 1195); Special report of the Ombudsman on massacres of civilian population perpetrated by State agents in the context of the internal armed conflict in El Salvador between 1980 and 1992, issued on March 7, 2005 (evidence file, tome II, annex 4 to the submission of the case, folios 1324 to 1325), and Tutela Legal del Arzobispado de San Salvador, El Mozote. Lucha por la verdad y la justicia: Masacre a la Inocencia, San Salvador, El Salvador, 2008, p. 39 (evidence file, tome VIII, annex 2 to the pleadings and motions brief, folio 5452). 79 Cf. Report of the Truth Commission for El Salvador, From madness to hope: the 12-year war in El Salvador, 1992-1993 (evidence file, tome II, annex 1 to the submission of the case, folio 1196); Special report of the Ombudsman on massacres of civilian population perpetrated by State agents in the context of the internal armed conflict in El Salvador between 1980 and 1992, issued on March 7, 2005 (evidence file, tome II, annex 4 to the submission of the case, folio 1325), and Tutela Legal del Arzobispado de San Salvador, El Mozote. Lucha por la verdad y la justicia: Masacre a la Inocencia, San Salvador, El Salvador, 2008, pp. 322 and 323 (evidence file, tome VIII, annex 2 to the pleadings and motions brief, folio 5451). 27