ERM

The Revolutionary Army of Martazuela (Ejercito Revolucionario de Martazuela) ERM was a communist revolutionary guerilla group based in Martazuela that was heavily involved in the Martazuelan Civil War.

ERM was also responsible for overthrowing the Martazuelan government in 1940 and instilling a communist government that lasted until 1972. Following the establishment of the Socialist Republic of Martazuela ERM became the nation's official army and participated regularly in military operations,demonstrations and patrol missions around the country. However,after the fall of the communist regime ERM went dormant for some years then re-emerged as a violent guerilla group that opposed the new Martazuela.

Civil War
After the Communist Party was removed from power almost all of its members were fired by the newly formed Republican Party and exiled from the political stage. With no job most of the former members turned to a life of crime that was fueled by the hatred of the new Martazuela. Some got involved in the drug trade and became members of the numerous drug cartels while others became fighters with the revolutionary army,ERM which at this point was now considered to be a guerilla organization. Once a prominent part of the Marcos government ERM now left the capital and headed east to the dense jungle and mountain regions of Montañas,Santa Maria and Norte.

ERM now became focused on once again retaking the country like they had done at the start of the Communist Era only now they were much more violent and corrupt. The army's corruption grew even more when it joined with the Paraquéz Drug Cartel (the largest in the country). In 1990, ERM launched a number of attacks across the country against the Martazuelan government. The attacks were often in the form of car bombings or shootouts in the streets however larger attacks often occurred as well.The dramatic increase of violence in the country sparked an increase in other criminal activity, most prominent was the drug trade. By the end of 1990 ERM and the Paraquéz Drug Cartel took control of the entire city of Paraquéz and turned it into their base of operations. Due to the number of bombings around the country and takeover of Paraquéz the national government intervened and declared war against the guerilla organization. This led to the beginning of the 5 year Civil War.

The start of the war was marked by the entrance of government soldiers and tanks entering the city of Paraquéz. Upon their approach to the city the soldiers were met with heavy fire and after a 2 day standoff the soldiers retreated. Now realizing how powerful ERM and the cartels had become, President Guerrero ordered the army to drive of the guerillas at any means necessary. Once again the soldiers returned to Paraquéz and this time armed with heavy artillery and fighter jets retook Paraquéz after a week of fighting and pushed the guerillas and cartels out into the jungles.

Although Paraquéz was retaken from ERM the government still faced major challenges. In retaliation, a number of guerillas went to Valperegas and launched a series of bombings throughout the city in 1992 which included one that almost completely destroyed the city's airport. The bombings resulted in the deaths of over 500 civilians.

Following the Valperegas bombings ERM once again retreated into the jungle where they overtook a number of small towns. Following almost 5 years of fighting the final standoff between the guerillas and the government took place in the town of Cateilla which is located in the middle of the jungle in Norte. For the past years ERM had made Cateilla their new base and caused heavy damage to the historic city. On February 10 1995, the Martazuelan Forces descended upon the town on all sides and trapped the guerillas to the confines of the town. By the end of the day the Forces managed to capture over 300 high ranking members of ERM including leader, Pablo Juárez. This led to the surrender of ERM and the end of the Civil War.