thumb|right|memorial stele dedicated to the massacre victims at tlatelolco. the tlatelolco massacre, also known as the night of tlatelolco (from a book title by the mexican writer elena poniatowska), was a killing of an estimated 30 to 300 students and civilians by military and police on october 2, 1968, in the plaza de las tres culturas in the tlatelolco section of mexico city. the events are considered part of the mexican dirty war, when the government used its forces to suppress political opposition. the massacre occurred 10 days before the opening of the 1968 summer olympics in mexico city. more than 1300 people were arrested by security police. there has been no consensus on how many were killed that day in the plaza area. at the time the government and the mainstream media in mexico claimed that government forces had been provoked by protesters shooting at them.kara michelle borden, mexico '68: an analysis of the tlatelolco massacre and its legacy, university of oregon thesis, p. 3. but government documents made public since 2000 suggest that the snipers had been employed by the government. estimates of the death toll ranged from 30 to 300, with eyewitnesses reporting hundreds dead."human rights groups and foreign journalists have put the number of dead at around 300." according to us national security archives, kate doyle, a senior analyst of us policy in latin america, documented the deaths of 44 people. the head of the federal directorate of security reported the arrests of 1,345 people on october 2.fernando gutiÃ©rrez barrios, "problema estudiantil", 3 october 1968, in adfs, exp. 11-4-68, l-44, h-292. ==background==  {{quote box | quote = &q
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