When Mexico's Army Took on Students (and Lost the PR Battle)
In 1968, the Mexican army besieged Ciudad Universitaria, arresting 1,500+ students, teachers, and staff. 10,000 troops targeted the National Strike Council (CNH). The operation, involving the Olimpia Battalion and DFS (political police), led to imprisonment and disappearances.
If there’s one thing I know about universities, it’s that they’re usually places of loud debate, bad food, and the sort of idealism that can only come from people who haven’t yet had to pay a gas bill. But back in 1968, Ciudad Universitaria in Mexico City became something else entirely: a battleground.
On September 18 of that year, the Mexican army stormed onto the campus with all the subtlety of a bulldozer in a china shop. Their mission? To dismantle a student movement that had become an enormous thorn in the side of Gustavo Díaz Ordaz’s government. They didn’t come armed with leaflets or loudspeakers, but with rifles, bayonets, and an attitude that screamed, “This is going to hurt.” And hurt it did. Over 1,500 people were arrested in the operation, including students, professors, and anyone else who happened to look vaguely like they might enjoy a protest chant.
