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| 1980, Jan. 1 |
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| In a dispute over the junta's authority over the military, Ungo and Mayorga resigned. In the turmoil that followed, the military made a secret deal with the Christian Democrats to form a new junta under the nominal leadership of José Napoleón Duarte, and to accept agrarian reform and an end to repression. Just weeks later, however, troops opened fire on a demonstration, killing 20. | 1 |
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| Feb. 23 |
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| Christian Democrat Attorney General Mario Zamora, one of the few remaining civilians in the government, was assassinated. | 2 |
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| March 24 |
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| ARCHBISHOP OSCAR ROMERO, a strong opponent of the government and proponent of popular resistance, was assassinated. At his funeral, attended by over 80,000 protesters, another massacre occurred, resulting in 39 dead and 200 injured. These events marked a radical increase in military violence during 1980, with thousands murdered by troops. | 3 |
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| April 18 |
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| Popular opposition groups coalesced into the Democratic Revolutionary Front (FDR). The FDR called for genuine democracy, social reforms, and economic independence. | 4 |
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| Nov |
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| Duarte was proclaimed president of the military-civilian junta. He was allowed to assume the leadership because his presence ensured ever larger aid packages from the U.S. | 5 |
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| Dec |
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| Four American churchwomen were kidnapped, raped, and murdered by government soldiers, provoking a public outcry in El Salvador and the U.S. | 6 |
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