The Massacre at El Mozote

Throughout the narrative, we are presented with multiple eyewitness accounts of the massacre, most notably from Rufina Amaya Márquez, who was one of the only survivors and who arguably had the most harrowing and credible experience. Similarly, through Danner’s interviews with the various people involved, we get accounts of the reporters who go into the red zone and bring back the first accounts and images of the massacre: Bonner, Meiselas, and Guillermoprieto. Finally, there is the account of Greentree and McKay in their diplomatic duties. Throughout the book, Danner interrogates the credibility of each of these accounts, noting, for instance, that Greentree and McKay never actually make it to the areas where the killing took place, contrasting this with the reporters who did and with Rufina Amaya, who lived it and repeated her story over and over, never wavering from her original account thereof.

Elsewhere, Danner illustrates the importance of credibility through his willingness to discuss it openly and in a transparent manner in the text itself. For instance, in Chapter 4, he contrasts the accounts of the army versus that of Santiago, the Radio Venceremos director when they differ on the number of dead after a skirmish. He provides the necessary context, draws deductions, and allows the reader to form the conclusions.