Rufina Amaya ( 1943 – March 6 , 2007 ) was the sole survivor of the El Mozote massacre on December 11 and December 12 , 1981 , in the Salvadoran department of Morazán during the Salvadoran Civil War . Her testimony of the attacks , reported shortly afterward by two American reporters but called into question by the U.S. journalism community as well as by the U.S. and Salvadoran governments , was instrumental in the eventual investigation by the United Nations Commission on the Truth for El Salvador after the end of the war . The investigation led to the November 1992 exhumation of bodies buried at the site and the commission 's conclusion that Amaya 's testimony had accurately represented the events
El Mozote massacre
El Mozote massacre
Rufina Amaya