author, for the past 200 years the United States has not been an advocate of revolutionary change, but a protector of the status quo. Later in the book, the author states that three policies have dominated U.S. government dealings with Central America in this century. First, the government has made a decision to cooperate with dictators ("authoritarians" as opposed to "totalitarians"), largely because dictators can be bought, and will protect U.S. business interests. Second, U.S. government foreign aid has been used in a "carrot and stick" way to force Central American nations to accede to U.S. demands. Third, the national police force and army officers of the Central American governments have been trained by the United States in counterinsurgency techniques, including the use of torture (which President Jimmy Carter supposedly deplored). Anastasio Somoza of Nicaragua, the notorious dictato
...