Tlatelolco Massacre — Hundreds Killed Days Before Mexico City Olympics

Ten days before the October 12, 1968 Olympics opening, President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz ordered security forces to fire on a student demonstration of 10,000 at Plaza de las Tres Culturas, Tlatelolco. Olympic Battalion snipers fired from surrounding buildings; army troops fired from ground level. The government reported 25–30 deaths; independent and foreign accounts estimate 200–400 killed. Hundreds were arrested; testimony describes mass graves. The massacre failed to prevent a global student solidarity movement but crushed Mexico City's student organization. The Olympics proceeded without incident.