ABSTRACT
In a period spanning almost four decades, Central America saw the emergence and development of numerous armed left-wing groups. While in some cases, such as Honduras, these groups never grew beyond small clandestine outfits with a limited militant base and little capacity for action, in others, such as El Salvador and Guatemala, they formed powerful insurgent movements with significant support among rural populations. In Nicaragua's case, the revolutionary Left even succeeded in leading a victorious uprising and remaining in power for 11 years. This chapter analyzes the New Left wave in the region from the perspective of two dimensions that have thus far been ignored by the literature on the Latin American Left published in recent decades. It shows the transnational dynamics of the wave in the region. More specifically, the chapter highlights the role that preexisting revolutionary organizations and allied governments played in the subsequent development of new insurgent groups.
