ABSTRACT
Bernard Aronson, United States (US) assistant secretary of state for Latin American affairs, unexpectedly encountered several Salvadoran rebel military commanders in a New York restaurant, among them Joaquin Villalobos, Salvador Sanchez Ceren, and Schafik Handal. The chance meeting marked the first time since 1980 that, after the US had spent $4 billion propping up Salvadoran governments fighting guerrilla forces, a Washington official of Bernard Aronson’s rank had met with insurgent leaders. Fidel Recinos, another of the guerrilla leaders present, replied that everyone in El Salvador, government and insurgent forces, had changed too. The Arias peace plan had three elements. First, all countries, including the US, had to end their support for guerrilla forces. Second, all Central American states had to agree to democratize their political processes. Third, each state had to begin national reconciliation by allowing all opposition groups to enter the political system.
