Alirio García Flamenco

Divisional General

Alirio García Flamenco
A photograph of Alirio García Flamenco in military uniform
García Flamenco in 2019
Born
Alirio García Flamenco Sevilla

1964 or 1965 (age 60–61)
Allegiance El Salvador
Branch
 Salvadoran Army
Service years
1984–2019
Rank
Divisional general
UnitMINURSO
Cuscatlán Battalion
Commands4th Infantry Brigade
Armed Forces of El Salvador
Conflicts
Salvadoran Civil War
Western Sahara conflict
Iraq War
EducationCaptain General Gerardo Barrios Military School

Alirio García Flamenco Sevilla (born 1964 or 1965) is a Salvadoran former military officer. García Flamenco served as an artillery commander during the Salvadoran Civil War. In 1997, he was a United Nations Military Observer in Western Sahara, and in 2003, he was deployed with the Cuscatlán Battalion to Iraq. He served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces of El Salvador (FAES) in 2019 before being removed by President Nayib Bukele.

Military career

García Flamenco entered the Captain General Gerardo Barrios Military School on 1 January 1984 and was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant on 18 December 1987.[1] With the Salvadoran Army, he served as section commander in the Artillery Brigade in the cities of Chalatenango and Guazapa during the Salvadoran Civil War (1979–1992). During the 1990s, García Flamenco studied in Venezuela under Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chávez. García Flamenco served as a United Nations Military Observer with MINURSO in Western Sahara, spending six months in the desert and six months in Laayoune, the largest city in Western Sahara. In the early 2000s, García Flamenco studied for a master's degree procurement and contracting in the United States.[2]

During the Iraq War, García Flamenco was attached the Cuscatlán Battalion. With the unit, he oversaw the unit's supplies, equipment maintenance, casualty evacuation, and vehicle recovery. According to García Flamenco, his tenure in the Sahara with temperatures as high as 73 °C (163 °F) prepared him for his deployment to Iraq, remarking that found the Iraqi climate to be easier to adapt to. He also remarked that he served in Iraq because President Antonio Saca, the Legislative Assembly, and the Salvadoran people all wanted military involvement in Iraq.[2]

In January 2014, García Flamenco became the director of communications of the Armed Forces of El Salvador (FAES).[3] In July, García Flamenco was appointed as the commander the 4th Infantry Brigade garrisoned in the Chalatenango Department.[4] On 30 December, he was promoted to brigadier general.[5] On 1 May 2019, the Ministry of National Defense announced that García Flamenco would be promoted to divisional general and that he would assume the role of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of FAES.[6]

García Flamenco (left) with President Salvador Sánchez Cerén in 2019

In January 2019, García Flamenco became a member of the military's Selection Board that oversaw the promotion of military officers. One of his first decisions was to vote against Navy Captain René Merino Monroy's promotion to rear admiral as Merino Monroy exceeded the Military Career Law's age limit for promotion (55 years).[7] On 7 June, García Flamenco was removed from his post as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by newly inaugurated president Nayib Bukele and placed on the military reserve list.[8] On 10 October, vice defense minister Colonel Ennio Elvidio Rivera Aguilar dismissed García Flamenco from the Selection Board on the basis that García Flamenco was "impartial" due to dissatisfactions with the armed forces high command. García Flamenco was replaced by Rear Admiral Juan Antonio Calderón González.[9] In 2020, Merino Monroy (by then Bukele's defense minister) was promoted to rear admiral.[10]

Political career

On 29 July 2026, the National Coalition Party (PCN) nominated García Flamenco as its presidential candidate in the 2027 presidential election. Mauricio Vilanova, a former mayor of San José Guayabal, is his running mate.[11]

Personal life

García Flamenco has a wife and son.[2]

Electoral history

Year Office Type Party Main opponent Party Votes for García Flamenco Result Swing Ref.
Total % P. ±%
2027 President of El Salvador General PCN Nayib Bukele NI To be determined N/A TBD [11]

References

  1. ↑ Palacios, Claudia (31 July 2026). "PCN Busca Postular a la Presidencia a Exjefe del Estado Mayor de las Fuerzas Armadas" [PCN Seeks to Nominate a Former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces to the Presidency]. La Prensa Gráfica. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Dada, Carlos (2003). "El Veterano del Desierto" [The Desert Veteran]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). Najaf, Iraq. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  3. ↑ "Realizan Nuevos Cambios en la Fuerza Armada" [New Changes in the Armed Forces Realized]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). 1 January 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "Nombran Nuevos Altos Mandos al Interior de la FAES" [New High Commanders of the FAES Interior Named]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). 1 July 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Defensa Asciende a Tres Nuevos Generales" [Defense Promotes Three New Generals]. El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). 30 December 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "Ministerio de la Defensa Anuncia Cambios y Ascensos" [Ministry of Defense Announces Changes and Promotions]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 1 May 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "Las Maniobras Ilegales del Ministro de Defensa para Asegurarse el Ascenso" [The Illegal Maneuvers of the Minister of Defense to Secure His Promotion]. Diario Co Latino (in Spanish). 23 December 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  8. ↑ Beltrán Luna, Jorge & Marroquín, David (12 June 2019). "Coroneles, al Poder; Generales, al Retiro en la Fuerza Armada de El Salvador" [Colonels, to Power; Generals, to Retirement in the Armed Forces of El Salvador]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  9. ↑ Beltrán Luna, Jorge (21 November 2019). "Ministro de Defensa es Candidato a General Pese a Estar en Reserva" [Defense Minister is a Candidate for General Despite Being in the Reserve]. El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  10. ↑ Marroquín, David (3 January 2020). "Ministro de Defensa Afirma que Él no se "Recetó" su Ascenso a Contraalmirante" [Defense Minister Claims He Did Not "Prescribe" His Promotion to Rear Admiral]. El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  11. 1 2 "PCN Elige a Exjefe del Estado Mayor y a Exalcalde Vilanova como Fórmula Presidencial en Elecciones 2027" [The PCN Elects Former Chief of the General Staff and Former Mayor Vilanova as Presidential Ticket in the 2027 Elections]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 31 July 2026. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
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