Word: pezzullo
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...that has changed. When Lawrence Pezzullo first arrived as U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua, he abandoned the monumental official residence for smaller quarters. Pezzullo, 54, is one of a new breed of U.S. envoys in Central America who have come to be called the "activists." Their job is to promote human as and moderate reform, and to build bridges with the opposition as well as with the government. At the same time, they must think fast and, when necessary, take independent action without instructions from Washington. "Perhaps more than ambassadors anywhere else in the world," says one State Department official, "they...
...revolutionary Sandinista rulers at a time when nation-to-nation bonds are anything but happy. Relations between Washington and Managua were especially sticky during congressional stalling on the $75 million aid package. By the time it was approved, the Sandinistas were no longer grateful, to say the least. Pezzullo, who had fought hard for the aid's passage, managed to minimize the political damage...
...Pezzullo also played a hand in another touchy episode. He delicately indicated U.S. support for the Sandinista proposal to replace two moderate junta members, who had resigned, with representatives of similar beliefs. Says one of Pezzullo's superiors in Washington: "Larry had to make it clear as day that we considered private-sector representation on the junta a crucial matter, but he had to do it with such a light touch that the Sandinistas could not protest that we were bullying our way into their internal affairs...