The Cold War in the 1980s and Central American Proxy Wars

Geopolitical Evolution of the 1980s Cold War

• The decade of the 1980s marked a significant transition in global politics, specifically regarding the Cold War.
• Following the end of the Vietnam War in the early 1970s, there was a temporary period of relative calmness; however, the Cold War "heats up once again" during the 1980s.
• The central focus of these renewed Cold War tensions shifted from previous theaters like Vietnam and Korea specifically into the Western Hemisphere, primarily focusing on Central America.
• These conflicts are characterized as "proxy wars" where global superpowers exerted influence through local regional conflicts.

The Presidency of Jimmy Carter (Late 1970s - 1980)

• Jimmy Carter served as a one-term president with a political view centered on "consistent decency," human rights, and kindness.
• Carter argued that many previous U.S. political leaders possessed an "inordinate fear of communism," which led to irrational and exaggerated policy positions.
• Human Rights Focus: Carter implemented a policy aimed at eliminating aid to dictators and dictatorships that were committing human rights abuses.
• Argentina: Carter stopped providing aid to the "military junta," a council of military men who ruled the country, despite the U.S. traditionally supporting them as a bulwark against communism.
• Philippines: Aid was cut to the dictator "Fernandez Marcos" (who committed atrocious acts), even though his son eventually became president of the Philippines later.
• The Panama Canal:
  • The canal was originally built in $1903$ largely by the U.S. and held strategic, economic, and symbolic importance.
  • It allowed maritime trade to cut through Central America rather than traveling around the southern tip of South America, which was vital for military and commercial interests.
  • Despite concerns that the Panamanian government might not be able to maintain/operate it, and despite losing significant political support for doing so, Carter returned the Panama Canal to the country of Panama.
• Inconsistencies and Crises:
  • Carter continued to support certain dictators, such as Iran’s "pal Polavi," a dictator with a history of terrible actions.
  • In $1979$, revolutionaries deposed Polavi.
  • This led to a major crisis in which $52$ American hostages were taken, followed by the Iran oil crisis.
  • In $1979$, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.
• 1980 Election: Due to the combination of the hostage crisis, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and a poor domestic economy, Carter lost the $1980$ election significantly to Ronald Reagan.

The Reagan Presidency and the Reagan Doctrine

• Ronald Reagan viewed the USSR as an "evil empire" and held a starkly different view of communism than Carter.
• The Reagan Doctrine: The core philosophy was "peace through strength." The doctrine declared that the U.S. would support anti-communist forces everywhere.
• U.S. Defense Spending: Under Reagan, federal spending on defense rose from $170,000,000,000$ to $230,000,000,000$.
• Proxy Support: The policy involved sending money, weapons, and aid to anti-communist insurgents rather than direct U.S. military invasions.
• The School of the Americas:
  • Located at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia.
  • Founded in Panama in $1946$ and relocated to Fort Benning in $1948$.
  • Purpose: To train Latin American soldiers in combatting leftist or "non democratic" threats.
  • Training included insurgency, espionage, and torture.
  • The school became a symbol of "American imperialism" and associated with military personnel who committed atrocities and kidnapped people in their home countries.
  • It was closed in $2000$ and renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WINSEC).

Conflict in Nicaragua: Somozas vs. Sandinistas

• Historical Context: In the $1930s$, the U.S. chose "Anastasio Somas Somoza" to be the president of Nicaragua because he was anti-communist and spoke English. His family ruled as dictators for decades.
• The Rise of FSLN: In the $1960s$, the "Santa Nistas National Liberation Front" (FSLN or Sandinistas) emerged, supported by communist Cuba, to fight guerrilla warfare against the Somoza family.
• 1978 Turning Point: The Somozas assassinated a conservative newspaper editor who had been critical of them. This unified both the leftist communist groups and the right-wing conservative groups against the Somoza regime.
• 1980 Victory: The Sandinistas defeated the military and the Somoza family. Most Samosas fled to Paraguay, where some were later killed by Argentinian communist guerrillas using an anti-tank rocket against their bulletproof car.
• The Contras: Samosa supporters who fled to Honduras became known as the "Contras," an anti-communist group that continued to fight the Sandinistas.

The Iran-Contra Affair and U.S. Involvement

• Reagan directed the CIA to support the Contras with aid, training at the School of the Americas, and the placement of mines in Nicaragua’s ports to cause economic downturn.
• The Boland Amendment ($1982$): Following reports of Contra brutality (including killing entire villages), the U.S. Congress passed this amendment to bar further aid to the Contras.
• Illegal Funding: Reagan bypassed the Boland Amendment through the Iran-Contra Affair:
  • The U.S. had a weapons embargo on Iran due to their influence over hostages in Lebanon.
  • Reagan secretly and illegally sold weapons to Iran.
  • The proceeds from these sales were used to fund the Contras.
  • This was discovered in $1986$, leading to public Senate hearings in $1987$ that damaged Reagan's image.
• Resolution: In $1990$, after years of war, Nicaragua elected "Electa Chamaro" (the first woman elected president of any Latin American country). She secured the "TeleAccords" to end the war, though political divisions remain deep.

The Salvadoran Civil War

• Historical Roots: Dating back to the $1600s$, Spanish colonists took high-quality land and forced indigenous people onto "ugly volcanic land." The indigenous people found this land excellent for "bomb ass coffee."
• Loss of Land: In the late $1800s$, the government removed indigenous people from those coffee lands, leading to the rise of the Salvadoran Communist Party in the $1920s$.
• 1932 Massacre: After the government canceled elections in $1932$, an indigenous and communist uprising occurred. The army massacred between $10,000$ and $40,000$ people, nearly exterminating the "people of El Salvador."
• The 14 Families: Following the massacre, a small group of $14$ families took total control of the country's politics, land, and elections.
• 1970s Resistance: Leftist movements (students, labor unions) and some elements of the Catholic Church (through "liberal theology") began opposing the $14$ families.
• The Martyrdom of Oscar Romero: Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated in $1980$ for advocating for human rights, which triggered the official civil war.
• FMLN vs. Military Junta: The "Fratabundo Marti National Liberation Front" (FMLN) fought the U.S.-backed military junta. The U.S. provided $4,000,000,000$ in aid in $1980$ alone.

Case Study: The El Mozote Massacre and Radio Vincennamos

• El Mozote ($1981$): Led by "Colonel Domingo Montadosa," government soldiers tortured, raped, and murdered $978$ people, including $553$ children. The youngest victim, "Concepcion Sanchez," was $3$ days old.
• Radio Vincennamos: A clandestine guerrilla radio station starting in $1981$. Broadcasters "Santiago" and "Mariposa" reported military abuses and transmitted news from the front lines.
• Technological Ingenuity: The team modified radios into telephones using kilometers of barbed wire across the countryside to communicate undetected.
• The Death of Montadosa ($1984$): The radio team booby-trapped a transmitter. When Montadosa captured it and took it into his helicopter, the device was detonated, killing him over the village of El Mozote.
• End of Conflict: In the $1990s$, the FMLN signed a peace treaty and converted into a political party.

Migration and Asylum Policy

• Wars in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala displaced millions of people. Approximately $1,000,000$ Salvadorans and Guatemalans entered the U.S.
• The Journey: Many traveled by foot or on the train known as "La Beste" (The Beast) to reach the U.S. border and claim asylum.
• Asylum Requirements: To claim asylum, a person must be at a U.S. border point and prove a "credible fear of prosecution or physical harm" (prosecution/persecution) in their homeland.
• Legal Challenges: Initially, the U.S. rejected many as "economic immigrants."
• American Baptist Churches vs. Thornbrook ($1991$): A court case that required the government to reconsider thousands of denied asylum claims.
• NACADA (NATA): The Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act allowed certain Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Nicaraguans to file for asylum and remain in the U.S.

The Collapse of the Soviet Union

• The Late 1980s: Arms talks broke down in $1983$. Reagan proposed the "Star Wars plan," a system intended to shoot down missiles with lasers (though the technology did not yet exist).
• Causes of USSR Collapse ($1990$ - $1991$):
  • A failing economy due to over-extension and military spending.
  • The failed invasion of Afghanistan.
  • Uprisings in Eastern European countries that had been promised prosperity that never materialized.
• Leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev:
  • Implemented "Glasnott" (reduced censorship and increased openness).
  • Liberalized the political machinery, allowing non-Communist Party members to participate in politics.
• The End: Gorbachev resigned in $1991$, leading to the formal collapse of the USSR and the emergence of China as a rising power.