Word: salvadors
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...region ripe for left-wing revolutions. And on its most basic level, Ronald Reagan's Caribbean Basin Initiative, announced amid much fanfare to the Organization of American States last week, is the logical outgrowth of an agonizing yearlong struggle to support the beleaguered current government of El Salvador and draw the line against further expansion of Soviet and Cuban influence. There was a grim urgency in the President's plea: "If we do not act promptly and decisively in defense of freedom, new Cubas will arise from the ruins of today's conflicts...
...Mindful that it will be years before the impact is felt, Reagan asked for $350 million in additional direct economic aid to the region this year. Explained Trade Representative William Brock: "We need one hard shot now because a lot of these countries are simply out of cash." El Salvador will get about $100 million more, as will economically ailing Costa Rica. The rest will be split among Jamaica, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. The package will raise economic aid to the region to $824 million, up 96% from last year...
...Reagan's aides wanted him to focus his speech solely on the economic development plan, talking of plowshares rather than swords. Their aim was to tone down his hawkish image, especially concerning Cuba and Nicaragua, and to keep him personally insulated from the trying situation in El Salvador. Secretary of State Alexander Haig, however, argued that the President must include firm warnings about Communist expansion. He insisted that it would be misleading to be silent about the pressing security problems of the troubled area...
Reagan's immediate problem is that the ounces of prevention proposed last week will do little to solve the weighty woes of El Salvador. The military situation is deteriorating. The March 28 elections, which the U.S. had hoped would strengthen the centrist Duarte government, are in danger of being disrupted by the left. The rebels have begun a new offensive. And the harsh militaristic leaders of the far right threaten to gain power in a situation that is becoming more polarized, leaving the U.S. with fewer and fewer options. The Administration's policy now is simply to wait...
...conditions in El Salvador worsen, this outcome seems ever less likely. Admits a top State Department official: "The Caribbean Basin Initiative can't save El Salvador. It can't save Guatemala either. But it can help avoid other El Salvadors." At this turbulent turn, even that would be a major victory. -By Walter Isaacson. Reported by Bernard Diederich/Miami and Johanna McGeary/Washington...