These attacks included beatings, torture, and even murder.8 The legislation that coincided with the campaign also seized the land occupied by the Salvadorian immigrants and redistributed it to native-born Hondurans in 1969.9 With their loss of land, Salvadorians were forced to flee back to El Salvador. Media in both countries only added to the situation, and to make matters worse, the two were about to begin a series of qualifying matches for the 1970 FIFA World Cup.10 .
All of the games were surrounded by conditions that supported a riot and each side openly displayed extreme national pride. These actions inspired many to call the two countries' feud a "Soccer War."11 On June 26, one day prior to the deciding third match was played, El Salvador announced its severance of diplomatic ties with Honduras, justifying its actions by claiming that Honduras' government took no action to punish those who had committed crimes against Salvadorian immigrants.12 Before the conflict initiated, a mediation effort was attempted by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.13 The American Treaty on Pacific Settlement of 1948 states that mediation was one of the procedures that could be used by the U.S. in this situation, but it was never invoked during the crisis.14 The two countries closed their borders to one another and small skirmishes began to initiate. The U.S. placed an arms embargo against both countries, so both began to hoard WWII era fighter planes and other weapons in preparation for military conflict.15.
On the morning of July 14, the air force of El Salvador began bombing and firing on targets in Honduras marking the beginning of the brief war.16 The Salvadorian army moved in on the ground and pushed through the smaller Honduran army to capture the departmental capital of Nueva Octepeque, but the Honduran air force quickly wiped away the Salvadorian air force.
