On September 11, 2013, the 12^th anniversary of the attacks on the twin towers and the 40^th anniversary of the bloody U.S.-backed coup that overthrew President Allende in Chile, activists braved the rain to gather in San Salvador, protesting the planned United States military intervention in Syria. The group rallied at the capital’s iconic El Salvador del Mundo plaza in front of the Israeli embassy with huge, colorful hand-painted banners and signs for the first part of the morning, and then proceeded to visit the French and U.S. embassies in a car caravan before finishing up in front of U.N. headquarters in San Salvador. Demonstrators rallied in front of embassies whose countries have been vocal in supporting U.S. President Barack Obama’s recent push to bomb Syria. Many activists were moved to express their solidarity with Syria due to El Salvador’s own lengthy history of U.S. interventions in the country; most notably, in $4 billion of military aid to El Salvador’s ruthless army during its twelve-year civil war between 1980-1992. “They must exhaust all possible diplomatic options, as well as listen to the Russian proposal to examine Syria’s armaments,” expressed Damián Alegría, a Farbundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) alternate legislator. The September 11 demonstration in support of self-determination for the people of Syria was organized by networks of Salvadoran intellectuals, artists, student activists, and religious and international solidarity organizations, all committed to raising their voices against this most recent case of U.S. intervention in the Middle East. Despite the gloomy weather conditions, activists kept their spirits up by chanting “International solidarity with the people of Syria!” dancing, and playing music. The stop to the U.S. embassy was the only one greeted by a line of police and embassy workers documenting and taking notes on the demonstration. For more background on the U.S.’ push to bomb Syria, click here and here.