Aim: What were the goals of Reagan’s foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere?

4. Foreign Policy in the Western Hemisphere President Reagan’s chief foreign policy goal in the Western Hemisphere was to stop the spread of communism. The United States had long feared that the communist government of Cuba, led by Fidel Castro, would establish communist governments in the Western Hemisphere. The United States targeted Central America, an area with large populations of poor, landless peasants and small groups of wealthy families. America’s aim was to stop any communist threat in Central America.

Central America

Islands in the Caribbean Sea

4.1 Aid to Stop the Spread of Communism To stop the spread of communism, the United States gave military and financial aid to certain Central American groups headed by juntas. A junta is a group of military officers who had taken over the government by revolutionary means. By the late 1970s, many of these juntas were opposed by large numbers of their own people. Although there were Communists among these people, many were members of the middle class or peasants that demanded social change and land reform. To keep power, the juntas kept arresting and executing large numbers of people.

Although the United States disliked these tactics, it did not want to aid the Communists by weakening the juntas. However, it pressured several governments to make land reforms and improve living conditions for peasants. Some governments did listen, however, a large majority of peasants remained poor.

Junta Leaders in Brazil Aurelio de Lira Tavares Admiral Augusto Gruenwald

Junta Leaders in Chile Gen. Augusto Pincohet Salvador Allende

Junta Leaders in Nicaragua Anastasio Somoza Debayle Daniel Ortega

Junta Leaders in El Salvador Jose Napoleon Duarte Carlos Humberto Romero

4.2 Nicaragua From the beginning of his first term, President Reagan faced problems in Nicaragua. In January 1981, the State Department confirmed that the revolutionary Sandinista government and Cuba were giving aid to overthrow the junta in El Salvador. The United States cut off aid to Nicaragua and gave military and economic aid to El Salvador. The United States also began to back anti-Sandinista rebels in Nicaragua called contras.

Flag of the Sandinistas

The Contras

The goal of the contras’ was to slow the arms shipments from Nicaragua to El Salvador. The contras soon began to attack Sandinista bases inside Nicaragua. The government of Nicaragua soon disliked the policies of the United States. They went to the United Nations and stated that the United States was backing an invasion of their nation.

Our policy in Nicaragua had a great deal of opposition. In April 1984, the nation learned that our CIA was involved in the mining of Nicaraguan harbors. The United States Congress condemned Reagan for his actions, but we continued to give money to the Contras in the years that followed.

4.3 El Salvador Conditions in El Salvador worsened. The government had begun land reform but progress was slow. Many citizens of El Salvador began to turn on the government and began to back the guerillas. The government soon began arresting and executing those citizens which opposed the junta. In December 1980, American nuns were murdered by the junta and in March 1981, Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated by the junta.

Archbishop Oscar Moreno

Many Americans insisted that all military and economic aid to El Salvador be stopped until conditions improved. Reagan continued to assist the government stating that withholding aid would turn El Salvador into a communist nation. In July 1981, with American support, the government announced free elections would be held with the hope of establishing a civil government.

The guerillas told the people to boycott the elections but they still took place. The Reagan administration had hoped the moderate party would win and were shocked that the people supported right-wing, Communist parties. The new government moved to undo the land reforms and a civil war started soon after.

Despite the outcome of the elections, the United States kept sending military aid. At the same time, Reagan and the government insisted that the government improve its record on human rights. In 1983, both the Congress and Reagan agreed that this had occurred in El Salvador.

In 1984, things improved greatly with the election of Jose Napoleon Duarte. Duarte agreed to make land reforms and slowly began negotiations with the guerilla leaders who opposed him.

Jose Napoleon Duarte

4.4 Falkland Crisis In the midst of his Central American problems, Reagan had to deal with the Falkland crisis. In April 1982, several thousand troops from Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands off the coast of Argentina. The government of Argentina claimed the islands were stolen from them in 1833. The prime minister of England, Margaret Thatcher, stated that she would use force if the Argentines refused to leave.

Argentina and the Falkland Islands

England’s Prime Minister-Margaret Thatcher

The Falkland Crisis put the United States in an awkward position. The military action of England would violate the Monroe Doctrine while England was a close ally of our nation. To work out a settlement, Reagan dispatched Alexander Haig to do shuttle diplomacy between London and Buenos Aires, Argentina for several weeks. The talks broke down and the United States government, along with several close allies, backed England and placed sanctions on Argentina.

In May of 1982, the British landed troops in the Falklands and took over Argentine positions. In June, the Argentines surrendered and the British regained control of the islands. The war brought bitter feelings between the United States and Argentina. The government of Argentina believed they were let because the United States refused to honor the Monroe Doctrine.

War in the Falkland Islands

4.5 Grenada In 1983, the United States faced a crisis on the Caribbean island of Grenada. Grenada built up its military forces under Maurice Bishop, a supporter of Fidel Castro. There was also growing political unrest which troubled other political nations in the Caribbean. Those nations asked the United States to intervene.

Map of Grenada

In October 1983, the US military invaded the island. After a few days of fighting, the Americans defeated the Grenadan and Cuban forces, which were using Soviet equipment. The Marxist government was overthrown in favor of a more democratic government. Although he was criticized, Reagan was determined to protect the interests of the US and its allies.

Invasion of Grenada (1983)

Invasion of Grenada (1983)

Invasion of Grenada (1983)