Adolfo Arnoldo Majano Ramos (born 21 April 1938) is a former Salvadoran military and political figure. He was one of the leaders of the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

on October 15, 1979, and the chairman of the

Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador , national_anthem = '' Himno Nacional de El Salvador'' , image_map = LocationElSalvador.svg , capital = San Salvador , common_languages = Spanish , religion = , demonym = Sal ...

from 1979 to 1980.

Biography

Adolfo Arnoldo Majano Ramos was born on 21 April 1938 in the

Morazán Department Morazán () is a department of El Salvador. Located in the northeast part of the country, its capital is San Francisco Gotera. It covers a total surface area of 1,447 km² and has a population of more than 199,500. History Gotera was ma ...

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. He entered the Salvadoran Escuela Militar Capitán General Gerardo Barrios in 1955 and graduated in 1958 with the rank of junior lieutenant of the infantry. In 1974, he graduated from the General Staff of the Higher Military School in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. He also studied at the School of the Americas in the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

, then served in the

Salvadoran Army The Salvadoran Army (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Ejército Salvadoreño'') is the land branch and largest of the Armed Forces of El Salvador. Conflicts The Football War The Football War (also called The Soccer War or 100-hours War) was a ...

. After serving in the 1st Infantry Brigade, he was promoted to the rank of colonel.

1979 coup and Revolutionary Government Junta

In 1979, Colonel Majano was involved in a military conspiracy to overthrow the regime of

Carlos Humberto Romero General Carlos Humberto Romero Mena (29 February 1924 – 27 February 2017) was a Salvadoran army general politician who served as President of El Salvador from 1 July 1977, until his overthrow in a coup d'état on 15 October 1979. Early li ...

. After the coup on 15 October 1979, Majano became one of two army representatives in the

. Majano was considered the most important person in the junta. On 13 December 1980 at a meeting of the command of the

Christian Democrat Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

Jose Napoleon Duarte became President of the junta with Colonel Jaime Abdul Gutierrez as vice president. Colonel Majano appointed to be the military attaché to Spain, however, he refused this appointment and accused the junta of supporting right-wing extremists. Colonel Majano resigned as Commander-in-Chief and Chairman of the Revolutionary Government Junta in May 1980 and was replaced with

Jaime Abdul Gutiérrez Jaime Abdul Gutiérrez Avendaño (5 April 1936 – 9 August 2012) was Salvadoran military officer and politician. He was one of the leaders of the 1979 Salvadoran coup d'état which overthrew President General Carlos Humberto Romero and establ ...

. He resigned from the junta on 13 December 1980.

Arrest, release and exile

On the evening of 15 December, he convened a press conference at which he accused the junta of terrorism and the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

of conciliation. The junta issued an order for the arrest of Majano, which immediately provoked a protest from the leaders of the Military Youth. The press often reported Majano's intention to join the

Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional, FMLN) is a left-wing political party in El Salvador. The FMLN was formed as an umbrella group on 10 October 1980, from five leftist gu ...

following his arrest warrant being issued. On 20 February 1981, Majano was arrested. He was arrested and imprisoned along with

Roberto D'Aubuisson Roberto D'Aubuisson Arrieta (23 August 1943 – 20 February 1992) was a Neo-fascism, neo-fascist Salvadoran soldier, politician and Death squads in El Salvador, death squad leader. In 1981, he co-founded and became the first leader of the ...

. He was released on 20 March 1981 and went into exile in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

. When Panamanian President

Omar Torrijos Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera (February 13, 1929 – July 31, 1981) was the Commander of the Panamanian National Guard and military leader of Panama from 1968 to his death in 1981. Torrijos was never officially the president of Panama, ...

died in 1981, he moved to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, and later to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1983. He returned to El Salvador in 1988 and survived an assassination attempt.

Personal life

Majano currently lives in Canada, is married, and has four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Majano, Adolfo Arnoldo Salvadoran military personnel 1938 births Leaders who took power by coup Salvadoran expatriates in Canada Salvadoran expatriates in Panama Salvadoran exiles Living people