ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the policies that have so complicated the US position in Central America and points to what might have been wiser alternatives. The Reagan administration came to office with a great deal of ideological baggage pointing it away from negotiated solutions. The Reagan administration came to office determined to get rid of the Sandinista government. In El Salvador, the Reagan administration stepped up military assistance in the form of training, advisers, and armaments. At the time the Reagan administration took office, there were high hopes for Honduras. It was not embattled, and democracy seemed to have an excellent chance of taking root. Having initially denigrated Carter's emphasis on human rights and social reforms, the Reagan administration was quickly forced to trim its sails. By involving Honduras in the war against Nicaragua, the Reagan administration has endangered it: Honduras may very well become a target for retaliatory actions from the Sandinistas.
