Barrios' War of Reunification | |||||||
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![]() Death of Justo Rufino Barrios | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
20,000[citation needed] | 14,500[1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
50–200 dead 150 injured | 1,500+ dead |
Barrios' War of Reunification, also known as Barrios' great attempt (Spanish: intentona de Barrios),[2] was a war initiated by Guatemalan President Justo Rufino Barrios in 1885 with the goal of reunifying Central America. Of the five Central American countries, only Honduras supported Barrios' reunification effort; Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua opposed it, as did Mexico.
Barrios commanded 14,500 soldiers in an invasion of El Salvador on 31 March 1885, however, he was killed during the Battle of Chalchuapa on 2 April, and Guatemalan forces subsequently withdrew from El Salvador shortly afterwards. Honduras and Guatemala signed peace treaties on 11 and 14 April, respectively, ending the short-lived war.