The Captain General Gerardo Barrios Military School (Spanish: ), abbreviated as the EMCGGB, was a military academy in El Salvador. It was established in 1868 and is named after Captain General Gerardo Barrios who served as President of El Salvador from 1859 to 1863. It was located in Antiguo Cuscatlán, Santa Tecla, La Libertad. It was demolished in June 2022 to make way for the construction of the National Stadium of El Salvador.

History

In 1867, a French military mission to El Salvador assisted President Francisco Dueñas in establishing a military academy for the country, which was opened on 21 February 1868 under the name Military College. The school was established in Antiguo Cuscatlán, Santa Tecla, La Libertad. Instructors at the military academy include military officers of Prussian, Chilean, American, and Salvadoran descent.Bosch 1999, p. 12

The name of the school was officially changed to the Captain General Gerardo Barrios Military School, after the President of El Salvador from 1859 to 1863, on 28 January 1927 by a presidential decree ordered by President Pío Romero Bosque. The name was again solidified by another presidential decree on 25 August 1965 by President General Julio Adalberto Rivera Carballo.A commemorative plaque was installed in 1982 that commemorated the class of 1936 which helped President General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez put down an indigenous and communist revolt in 1932. During the military dictatorship of 1931 to 1979, the school was referred to as the "School of the Presidents" since many presidents attended the military academy.

The school accepted more students than how many actually become military officers. Those who endured the exercises and practices of the school graduate and became officers.Bosch 1999, pp. 3–4 The first women began attending the school in 2000. On 30 November 2018, the Star of Captain General Gerardo Barrios was established and was awarded to military officers who graduate from the school. The school had a song called the "Himno de la EMCGGB" or "Hymn of the EMCGGB."

The Captain General Gerardo Barrios Military School was demolished in June 2022 to make way for the construction of the National Stadium of El Salvador.

Notable alumni

Presidents of El Salvador

Salvador Castaneda Castro (1888–1965) – President of El Salvador (1945–1948) and Director of the Gerardo Barrios Military School (1930–1931) Arturo Armando Molina (1927–2021) – President of El Salvador (1972–1977) Óscar Osorio (1910–1969) – President of El Salvador (1950–1956) and member of the Revolutionary Council of Government (1948–1950) Julio Adalberto Rivera Carballo (1921–1973) – President of El Salvador (1962–1967) Carlos Humberto Romero (1924–2017) – President of El Salvador (1977–1979) and Minister of National Defense (1972–1977)

Ministers of National Defense

Rafael Humberto Larios López (born 1937), Minister of National Defense (1989–1990)Bosch 1999, p. 119 Juan Antonio Martínez Varela (born 1952), Minister of National Defense (1999–2004) René Merino Monroy (born 1963) – Minister of National Defense (2019–present) David Munguía Payés (birth unknown), Minister of National Defense (2009–2011, 2013–2019) René Emilio Ponce (1947–2011) – Minister of National Defense (1990–1993)

Other military personnel

Guillermo Alfredo Benavides (birth unknown) – Director of the Gerardo Barrios Military School (1989–1990) and ordered the 1989 murders of Jesuits Mauricio Arriaza Chicas (1964–2024) – Director of the National Civil Police (2019–2024) Roberto D'Aubuisson (1943–1992) – Death squad leader, President of the Legislative Assembly, 1984 presidential candidate for the Nationalist Republican Alliance Jaime Abdul Gutiérrez (1936–2012) – Chairman of (1980), Vice President of (1980–1982), and member of (1979–1982) the Revolutionary Government JuntaBosch 1999, p. 32 Juan Francisco Emilio Mena Sandoval (unknown), Military officer who lead a mutiny during the Final Offensive of 1981Bosch 1999, pp. 84–85 Domingo Monterrosa (1940–1984) – Ordered the El Mozote massacre Luis Parada (born 1960) – member of the National Directorate of Intelligence and 2024 presidential candidate for Nuestro Tiempo

Academy directors

Dr. Pío Romero Bosque, 1927 General Ramón González Suvillaga, 1927–1930 General Salvador Castaneda Castro, 1930–1931 Lieutenant Colonel José Avendaño, 1931–1932 Colonel José Antonio Lorenzana, 1932–1937 Colonel Alfonso Marroquín, 1937–1938 General Eberhardt Bohnstedt, 1938–1939 (Germany) Colonel Zorobabel Galeno, 1939–1940 (Chile) Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Christian, 1941–1943 (United States) Colonel Rufus A. Byers, 1943–1946 (United States) Colonel John F. Schmelzer, 1946–1948 (United States) Colonel Henry C. Learnar, 1948–1949 (United States) Colonel Ramón A. Nadal, 1949–1953 (United States) Colonel Luis Lovo Castelar, 1953 Colonel Antonio Valdéz, 1953–1955 General Manuel de Jesús Córdova, 1956–1958 Colonel Luis Roberto Flores, 1958–1960 Colonel Francisco José Mijango, 1960–1961 Colonel Carlos Guzmán Aguilar, 1961 Colonel Rafael Cruz Garrido, 1961 Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Rank Altamirano, 1961 Colonel Mauricio Rivas Rodríguez, 1962–1963 Colonel Carlos Amaya, 1963–1964 Colonel Carlos Infante Guerra, 1964–1967 Lieutenant Colonel José Fernando Sigui Olivares, 1967–1969 Colonel Juan Antonio Martínez Varela, 1969–1971 Lieutenant Colonel Agustín Martinez Varela, 1971–1972 Colonel Julio González Palomo, 1972–1973 Colonel José Luis Ramón Rosales, 1973–1976 Colonel Anibal Velarde Figueroa, 1976–1977 Colonel José Antonio Corleto, 1978 Colonel Sócrates Roberto Echegoyén, 1979 Colonel Rafael Humberto Larios, 1980–1983 Colonel Luis Adalberto Landaverde, 1983 Colonel Ricardo Antonio Castellanos, 1985–1986 Colonel Jesús Gabriel Contreras, 1986–1987 Colonel Oscar Edgardo Casanova Vejar, 1987–1989 Colonel Guillermo Alfredo Benavides, 1989–1990 Colonel Ricardo A. Casanova Sandoval, 1990–1992 Colonel Julio César Grijalva, 1992 Colonel Nelson Ivan Saldaña Araujo, 1993 Colonel Alvaro Antonio Calderón Hurtado, 1993–1995 Colonel David Munguía Payés, 1996–1997 Colonel Luis Mario Aguilar Alfaro, 1998–1999 Colonel Simón Alberto Molina Montoya, 2000 Colonel Luis Mario Aguilar Alfaro, 2000–2001 Colonel Ricardo Benjamín Abrego Abrego, 2002 Colonel José Luis Alvarado Guevara, 2002 Colonel Willian Igdalí Moreno Segovia, 2003–2004 Colonel Julio Armando García Oliva, 2004–2005 Colonel Roberto Edmundo Rodriguez Abrego, 2006–2007 Colonel Roberto Artiga Chicas, 2007–2008 Colonel Walter Mauricio Arévalo Gavidia, 2009 Colonel Francisco E. Del Cid Díaz, 2010 Colonel Julio Héctor Hidalgo Martínez, 2010–2012 Colonel Félix Edgardo Núñez Escobar, 2012–2013 Colonel Walter Jacobo Lovato Villatoro, 2014 Colonel Carlos Alberto Ramírez Hernández, 2014 Colonel José Roberto Saleh Orellana, 2014–2017 Colonel Mario Ernesto Argueta Vásquez, 2017–2019 Colonel Roberto Ulises Santos Romero, 2019 Colonel Franklin Bladimir Gavarrete Galdámez, 2019–2022

Notable professors

Maximiliano Hernández Martínez (1882–1966) – later President of El Salvador (1931–1934, 1935–1944) José Napoleón Duarte (1925–1990) – professor of mathematics, later President of El Salvador (1984–1989)

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links Archived website