ctrl+z files #1: when coutries fought a war... over FOOTBALL

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 Okay, so get this — back in 1969, El Salvador and Honduras got into a literal war over football.

Yup. A real war. Tanks, bombs, the whole mess.
Lasted just 100 hours, but it was straight-up geopolitical madness.

🌾 So... Why Were They Beefing?

  • Honduras: Big land, not many people

  • El Salvador: Tiny land, tons of people, especially farmers

  • ➡️ So Salvadorans started migrating into Honduras to farm

Then in 1963, Honduras got a new leader through a military coup — and he was... sketchy.
Their economy was flopping, US banana companies were running the show 🍌💼, and people were big mad.
So what did the gov do?

Blame immigrants. Classic.

They started kicking out Salvadorans and blaming them for “stealing jobs and land.”
It got super ugly, super fast.

⚽ Then Came the World Cup Drama

These two countries met in the qualifiers for the 1970 FIFA World Cup, and the vibes were toxic:

  1. Game 1 in Honduras:
    🇭🇳 wins. But the Salvadoran fans were so heartbroken, one girl took her own life.
    The gov glorified her in the media. Tensions went 🚀

  2. Game 2 in El Salvador:
    🇸🇻 wins. The crowd roasted the Honduran team bad, and violence spiked against Salvadorans back in Honduras.

  3. Game 3 in Mexico (neutral):
    El Salvador wins again. Honduras = eliminated.
    And then?
    El Salvador cut all diplomatic ties.
    A few days later, they declared war.

💣 Welcome to the 100-Hour War

  • July 14, 1969: El Salvador invades Honduras

  • They dropped bombs on airbases and rolled in troops

  • Honduras, backed by Nicaragua, fought back with air raids that hit Salvadoran supply lines

☮️ The Ceasefire

  • OAS (Organization of American States) steps in like:

    “Yo, y’all need to chill. Ceasefire time.”

  • El Salvador agrees — July 18

  • Pulls out troops by August 2 after OAS threatens sanctions

📉 The Aftermath Was Rough

  • Thousands dead, mostly civilians

  • Both economies = wrecked

  • The deported Salvadorans? Many helped spark El Salvador’s civil war years later

  • And to this day, there’s still some border beef

Oh — and El Salvador, who “won” the war?
Yeah, they got to the World Cup…
Lost every single match. 💀

TL;DR:

Two countries literally went to war after a football match.
But behind the goals? It was about land, immigration, and political chaos.
Final score: Petty 1, Peace 0.

💬 Drop a comment if you want more wild throwbacks like this.
Next up: either The Great Emu War or that time McDonald's gave away too many burgers by accident. 😭

Stay weird, Pulsebyte Nation.

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