The Football War

These existing tensions between the two countries coincided with rioting during the second North American qualifying round of the 1970 FIFA World Cup. The war began on 14 July 1969, when the Salvadoran military launched an attack against Honduras.

The Organization of American States negotiated a cease-fire on the night of 18 July (hence "100-hour War"), which took full effect on 20 July. Salvadoran troops were withdrawn in early August. Eleven years later the two nations signed a peace treaty on 30 October 1980 and agreed to resolve the border dispute over the Gulf of Fonseca and five sections of land boundary through the International Court of Justice.

In 1992, the Court awarded most of the disputed territory to Honduras, and in 1998, Honduras and El Salvador signed a border demarcation treaty to implement the terms of the ICJ decree. The total land area given to Honduras from El Salvador after the court's ruling was around 374.5 km2 (145 sq mi). As of the beginning of 2006 demarcation had not yet been completed, but Honduras and El Salvador maintain normal diplomatic and trade relations.