Central American Crisis
Encyclopedia
The Central American crisis refers to events in the late 1970s when major civil wars erupted in various countries in Central America
resulting in the region becoming one of the world's foreign policy
hot spots in the 1980s. In particular, the United States
feared that victory by communist
forces would threaten the Panama Canal
and other US strategic interests.
-led government of El Salvador
and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
(FMLN), a coalition or umbrella organization of five left-wing militias. Significant tensions and violence had already existed, before the civil war's full outbreak, over the course of the 1970s.
The United States
supported the Salvadorian military government. The conflict ended in the early 1990s. Some 75,000 people were killed.
's civil war began in 1960, but appeared to have been contained by the army and death squads. However, Guatemala also saw an increase in violence in the late 1970s, marked by the 1978 Panzós massacre. In 1982, the resurgent guerrilla groups united in the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity
. The presidency of Efraín Ríos Montt
, during which he implemented a strategy he called "beans and bullets," is widely considered to be the war's turning point. A peace agreement with the severely weakened guerrillas was signed in December 1996, ending the war.
, efforts to establish guerrilla movements foundered on the generally conservative attitude of the population. Nevertheless, fears that the civil wars wracking its neighbors might spread to the country led to the killings and disappearances of leftists, spearheaded by the army's Battalion 316. Relatively stable Honduras became a key base for the Reagan administration's response to the crisis. US troops held large military exercises in Honduras during the 1980s, and trained thousands of Salvadorans in the country. The nation also hosted bases for the Nicaraguan Contras
Cool
to work for a resolution to the region's wars. Later, Costa Rica
n President Óscar Arias
succeeded in convincing the other Central American leaders to sign the Esquipulas Peace Agreement
, which eventually provided the framework for ending the civil wars.
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
resulting in the region becoming one of the world's foreign policy
Foreign policy
A country's foreign policy, also called the foreign relations policy, consists of self-interest strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its national interests and to achieve its goals within international relations milieu. The approaches are strategically employed to interact with other countries...
hot spots in the 1980s. In particular, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
feared that victory by communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
forces would threaten the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
and other US strategic interests.
Nicaragua's Sandinista Revolution
El Salvador
It was between the militaryMilitary
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
-led government of El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front is, since 1992, a left-wing political party in El Salvador and formerly a coalition of five revolutionary guerrilla organizations...
(FMLN), a coalition or umbrella organization of five left-wing militias. Significant tensions and violence had already existed, before the civil war's full outbreak, over the course of the 1970s.
The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
supported the Salvadorian military government. The conflict ended in the early 1990s. Some 75,000 people were killed.
Guatemala
GuatemalaGuatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
's civil war began in 1960, but appeared to have been contained by the army and death squads. However, Guatemala also saw an increase in violence in the late 1970s, marked by the 1978 Panzós massacre. In 1982, the resurgent guerrilla groups united in the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity
Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity
The Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity is a Guatemalan political party that started as a guerrilla movement but laid down its arms in 1996 and became a legal political party in 1998 after the peace process after the Guatemalan Civil War.-Formation:Since the CIA-backed...
. The presidency of Efraín Ríos Montt
Efraín Ríos Montt
José Efraín Ríos Montt is a former de facto President of Guatemala, dictator, army general, and former president of Congress. In the 2003 presidential elections, he unsuccessfully ran as the candidate of the ruling Guatemalan Republican Front .Huehuetenango-born Ríos Montt remains one of the most...
, during which he implemented a strategy he called "beans and bullets," is widely considered to be the war's turning point. A peace agreement with the severely weakened guerrillas was signed in December 1996, ending the war.
Honduras
In HondurasHonduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, efforts to establish guerrilla movements foundered on the generally conservative attitude of the population. Nevertheless, fears that the civil wars wracking its neighbors might spread to the country led to the killings and disappearances of leftists, spearheaded by the army's Battalion 316. Relatively stable Honduras became a key base for the Reagan administration's response to the crisis. US troops held large military exercises in Honduras during the 1980s, and trained thousands of Salvadorans in the country. The nation also hosted bases for the Nicaraguan Contras
Cool
United States response
- Caribbean Basin InitiativeCaribbean Basin InitiativeThe Caribbean Basin Initiative was a unilateral and temporary United States program initiated by the 1983 "Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act" . The CBI came into effect on January 1, 1984 and aimed to provide several tariff and trade benefits to many Central American and Caribbean countries....
- Reagan DoctrineReagan DoctrineThe Reagan Doctrine was a strategy orchestrated and implemented by the United States under the Reagan Administration to oppose the global influence of the Soviet Union during the final years of the Cold War...
- Kissinger Commission
Peace efforts
Several Latin American nations formed the Contadora GroupContadora Group
The Contadora Group was an initiative launched in the early 1980s by the foreign ministers of Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela to deal with the military conflicts in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala, which were threatening to destabilize the entire Central American region.The original...
to work for a resolution to the region's wars. Later, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
n President Óscar Arias
Óscar Arias
Óscar Arias Sánchez is a Costa Rican politician who was President of Costa Rica from 2006 to 2010. He previously served as President from 1986 to 1990 and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to end civil wars then raging in several other Central American countries.He is also a...
succeeded in convincing the other Central American leaders to sign the Esquipulas Peace Agreement
Esquipulas Peace Agreement
The Esquipulas Peace Agreement was an initiative in the mid-1980s to settle the military conflicts that had plagued Central America for many years, and in some cases for decades. It built upon groundwork laid by the Contadora Group from 1983 to 1985. The agreement was named for Esquipulas,...
, which eventually provided the framework for ending the civil wars.