Resurrection in El Salvador:
The Civil War
With the assassination of arch-bishop Romero and the shootings by government troops of mourners at his funeral, El Salvador tumbled into war. On January 10, 1981, Civil War was declared. The united guerilla front (FMLN) expected a quick win (in a month, like in Nicaragua) but Ronald Reagan spent $1.5 million a day to keep that from happening. With the success of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua in July 1979, Reagan was determined to stop the spread of communism. With Reagan there was absolutely no negotiation.
A policy now known by the American military as the "Salvadoran option," in which the innocent who allow the insurgency to exist will be targeted and terrorized, was waged with a brutal vengeance. It was believed that since the guerillas were maintaining their strength, the innocent civilians in territory they controlled were no longer innocent. Civilian women and children were considered combatants — fair game — in order for the popular revolt to become less popular. (It is effective. In fact, with the resilience of the Iraqi insurgency, the USA is considering the drastic "Salvadoran option" for that war too.) It wasn't until George Bush Sr. became president, El Savador had a new president, the FMLN approached the UN about mediating, and the Cold War ended that led to the settlement in 1992 and signing of the peace accord.
Suddenly, the guerillas shaved, washed, and found themselves members of parliament representing a now peaceful FMLN party.
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