Burning of the Spanish Embassy

The Burning of the Spanish Embassy (sometimes called the Spanish Embassy Massacre or the Spanish Embassy Fire) refers to the peaceful occupation of the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala City, Guatemala, on January 31st, 1980, by indigenous peasants and their allies and the subsequent police raid that resulted in a fire which destroyed the embassy and left 36 people dead. The incident has been called "the defining event" of the Guatemalan Civil War.