Arturo Armando Molina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Colonel Arturo Armando Molina (born August 6, 1927 in San Salvador) was President of El Salvador between July 1, 1972 and July 1, 1977. Molina, running for the National Concilation Party, came to power through a fradulent election, "winning" over José Napoleón Duarte. After the rigged results had been announced, a group of young military officers, disillusioned by the blatant fraud, launced a coup on March 25, 1972. The coup, led by Colonel Benjamin Mejia, sought to establish a revolutionary junta, ideally with Duarte as president. However, the coup attempt was quickly crushed by Molina and the military. (Source: Country Studies, US Library of Congress)

Molina began the first Land Reform to exist in pre-1980 Salvadoran history, in 1975. He was openly against Left Wing agitators and Right Wing agitators at the same time. In 1977 he ran for Minister of Defense. His grandson, Carlos Armando Molina graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2006 and is currently serving as an aviator in the United States Navy.