In which country did the 1928 Banana Massacre occur?

The 1928 Banana Massacre occurred in Colombia. It took place mainly in Ciénaga, near Santa Marta, in the Magdalena banana-growing region, on December 5–6, 1928.

The victims were striking workers connected with the United Fruit Company, now associated with Chiquita Brands. They sought better working conditions, including direct employment, regular wages, accident compensation, improved housing, and hospital services. The Colombian government sent troops to suppress the strike, and soldiers opened fire on a crowd of workers and their families.

The death toll remains disputed. General Carlos Cortés Vargas reported 47 deaths, while other contemporary and later estimates ranged from dozens to as many as 2,000. That uncertainty reflects censorship, conflicting political accounts, and claims that bodies were removed or buried in mass graves.

The massacre became a major symbol of foreign corporate influence and labor repression in Latin America. Gabriel García Márquez later drew on the event for a fictionalized episode in One Hundred Years of Solitude. It is sometimes confused with banana-related violence in Central America, but this massacre occurred in Colombia.