非政府組織作為美國國家安全戰略的機制：非政府組織參與尼加拉瓜的未遂政權變革 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學國際研究英語碩士學位學程碩士學位論文. Non-Governmental Organizations As Mechanisms for the National Security Strategy of the United States: Participation of NGOs in the Attempted Regime Change in Nicaragua. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 非政府組織作為美國國家安全戰略的機制：非政府組織參與尼加立拉瓜的未遂政權變革. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. 指導教授：Dr. Courtney Work 研究生：Renan Guevara Serrano (雷南). July, 2020. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(2) Non-Governmental Organizations As Mechanisms for the National Security Strategy of the United States: Participation of NGOs in the Attempted Regime Change in Nicaragua 非政府組織作為美國國家安全戰略的機制：非政府組織參與尼加拉瓜的未遂政權變革. 政治大立Renan Guevara Serrano. ‧ 國. 學. 雷南 106862009. ‧. International Master’s Program in International Studies. n. al. Ch. engchi. er. io. July, 2020. sit. y. Nat. PhD Assistant Professor Dr. Courtney Work. i Un. v. DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(3) Abstract In the sphere of international cooperation, non-governmental organizations have, over time, taken an increasingly important role. In the case of the United States, non-governmental organizations are tools to ensure national security. In the attempt to change the regime in Nicaragua in 2018, the activities carried out by the NGOs funded by the United States contributed towards the creation of a framework through which the involvement of the United States in the conflict would be justified. This study analyzes the evolution of International Aid approaches and the United States’ strategies to ensure its national security plan in Latin America. The results show that international aid is a set of political guidelines. 政治大 aimed at maintaining a given status quo. In the specific case analyzed in the paper, the United 立. ‧ 國. 學. States provided aid to groups aligning with American goals, while legitimizing the use of violence and coercive economic measures and authorizing to commit crimes against. ‧. humanity when these were necessary to meet the goals set by the White House. By analyzing. sit. y. Nat. historical data in light of contemporary events, this paper will show the mechanisms and. al. er. io. frameworks through which the destruction and violence of the 2018 protests in Nicaragua. v. n. could be perceived as necessary and beneficial by the international community.. Ch. engchi. i Un. Keywords: NGOs, international aid, United States, Latin America, Nicaragua, Sandinismo.. 2 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(4) Table of Content Abstract. 2. Introduction. 5. Research Questions. 11. Chapter I. 12. Construction of International Aid Approaches Global Evolution of International Aid Approaches United States Bilateral Aid Critical Social Science Perspective on Ngos Aid and Security. 13. United States Foreign Policy in Nicaragua in the Beginning of 20th Century The Dollar Diplomacy Political Struggle During the Dollar Diplomacy US Military Occupation of Nicaragua (1912-1926) Sandino, A Symbol of Resistance Good Neighbor Policy. 26. The Sandinista Popular Revolution. 39. 13 20 23. 政治大. 學. 29 30 31. 53. Analysis Chapter I. 56. ‧. CIA Secret War in Nicaragua Participation of the United States in the coup d'état to Salvador Allende C.I.A.’s Covert War Scope. 41. y. 34. sit. ‧ 國. 立. 28. io. n. al. er. Nat. The Neoliberal Era 1990-2006. Ch. n U engchi. United States Foreign Aid Strategies in the 21st century The Return of the Sandinistas. 51. 61. iv. 64 67. The ALBA Bloc Joint Implementation of Regional Policies. 69. The New Panorama of United States Security NGOs Funded by USAID. 74. Overview of the Sandinista Government The Withdrawal of International Cooperation in Nicaragua (2010 - 2012). 80. Analysis Chapter II. 85. Unexpected Uprising Reform of the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute (INSS) Evolution of Events. 90. 70 77 83. 91 95. 3 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(5) The National Dialogue First National Dialogue. 100. Nicaragua Investment Conditionality Act (Nica Act) Second National Dialogue. 105. United States Regime-Change Strategy. 112. US Regime-Change Strategies in Nicaragua. 113. NGOs Financed by the United States and their Role in Conflict Transformational Youth Programs Directors of NGOs Financed by the United States Accused of Criminal Charges Student Delegation Visit to Washington Manipulation of Death Toll by Human Rights Organisations Media Coverage Social Media. 115. The Concealed Reality The Spontaneity of the Conflict Criminal Gangs The Sandinista Renewal Movement (MRS) The Catholic Church Violent Protests The Road Blocks “Tranques” Political Prisoners. 129. 100. 政治大. engchi U. 122 123 127 128. 129 130 133. y. sit. 137 139 139. er. Ch. 119. 131. ‧. al. n. References. io. Conclusion. Nat. Analysis Chapter III. 117. 129. 學. ‧ 國. 立. 107. v ni. 143 153. 4 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(6) Introduction International cooperation represents a key tool for triggering a number of relevant changes in the life of countries. To achieve this, a key tool of international cooperation is represented by framing its messages and actions to deliver the desired meanings, while allowing it to reach given results. In a broad perspective, aid and development operations undertaken by international cooperation agencies more often than not hide a generally hostile significance, directed to purposes set to protect the interest of industrialized countries. Furthermore, the representational frame, historically used by donor countries, allows the means of control through an internally logical system.. 政治大 In the case of the United States, bilateral aid is defined as a tool to influence and exert 立. ‧ 國. 學. national security strategy. This viewpoint utilizes the moral imperative, i.e. the sovereignty of the national interests, above all other principles that frame legitimate behaviors. Since the. ‧. beginning of the 20th century, the American activities in Nicaragua used means of influence. sit. y. Nat. to maintain the hegemony of the United States over the country. Despite being framed as. al. er. io. activities directed toward the development of the country, they often involved actions such as. v. n. weapons supply, military intervention, coup support, covert operations, financing rebel. Ch. engchi. i Un. groups, the use of distributed war manuals, or economic embargo, among others. In relation to NGOs, arguments collected by social scientists regarding the role they can play and how they can be placed as tools of political and security strategies. In this case, it is identified that the NGOs, especially those of the United States, have been compromised in conflict zones that question their independence, neutrality and impartiality. At the beginning of the 20th century, the United States developed a framework called “Dollar Diplomacy” (1904-1933). According to Washington, Dollar Diplomacy was aimed at ensuring the stability of Latin America through the modernization of the State. In fact, it 5 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(7) ensured that the state institutions were controlled by the United States. In order to achieve the purpose, American aid was directed toward the support of Latin American leaders that would grant the interest of the United States, and the eradication of those opposed to it. For example, Nicaraguan president Zelaya was forced to flee the country for challenging the construction of the Panama Canal, the United Fruit Company provided funds to support Zelaya’s rival Estrada, marine corps and weapons were deployed on the Nicaraguan territory. A great share of the Nicaraguan state institutions was controlled by US corporations, and the United States was eventually granted exclusive rights in perpetuity to build a canal through Nicaragua. The Dollar Diplomacy in Nicaragua was framed as an economic tool aimed at. 政治大. modernizing the country for its own benefit and growth enhancement. However, the real. 立. purpose of this initiative turned out to be mainly geopolitical, aimed at preventing. ‧ 國. 學. oppositional interests to the United States to build the interoceanic canal in Nicaragua.. ‧. The international pressure over the direct and indirect interventions of the US in Latin. sit. y. Nat. America, the economic depression and other factors contributed to the formulation of the. al. er. io. “Good Neighbor” policy. Under this framework, the United States promised not to engage. v. n. directly in the internal affairs of any of the Latin American countries. While the Good. Ch. engchi. i Un. Neighbor framework was described following a mainly economic interpretation, its practical application was directed towards defending the United States economic, political and military interests. In order to implement this strategy, and comply with the non-intervention policy, the United States financed, guided and armed several military dictators in a number of Latin American countries. In Nicaragua (1936), the United States supported the Commander-inChief of the National Guard - body trained and armed by the United States - Anastasio Somoza in a military coup, which would give birth to a 43-year long autocratic family dictatorship (1936-1979) supported and backed by the American government. The Somozas dictatorship received cooperation from the United States on economic and military issues, 6 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(8) and committed a large variety of crimes such as genocide, kidnapping, and murders, at the service of the interests of the Somoza family. Despite the blood and violence, the Somoza leadership granted the front-line alliance of Nicaragua with the interests of the United States, and faithful association during the Cold War years. However, the Sandinista Front for National Liberation (FSLN), a revolutionary movement, came to light in the early 1960s in Nicaragua, inspired by the Cuban revolution, starting a conflict which by the end of the 70’s decade turned into a civil war. Following media pressure, the United State interfered in a democratization process, which was however refused by president Somoza. In July 1979, the “Sandinistas” overthrew. 政治大 the dictator through a popular insurrection. The rise of the Sandinista revolution was 立. ‧ 國. 學. considered a threat to American national security. In an attempt to take action against it, the new government of Ronald Reagan was determined to definitely “destroy the Sandinistas”,. ‧. and authorized the C.I.A. to train, arm and finance a counter-revolutionary army, i.e. the. sit. y. Nat. “Contra”, to achieve the purpose. With the sole scope of fighting the Sandinistas, this armed. al. er. io. corp participated in acts such as murdering, torturing, raping, and many others. As these. v. n. methods were coming to light, Ronald Reagan paid 300,000$ to a public relations firm to. Ch. engchi. i Un. frame the Contras in a positive light: the “Freedom Fighters”, as the American president himself addressed them. Besides spending an estimated $50 million to support the Contras, the CIA also leveraged other methods aimed at creating chaos, together with a directed effort to manipulate the general public opinion. Among these, an air dropped manual intended to cause civil disobedience, and another one explained how to effectively sabotage the economy. In 1990, the Nicaraguan presidential candidate Violeta Chamorro from the National Opposition Unit (UNO), with the support of the United States, won the elections against the Sandinistas. This event marked the beginning of the “neoliberal” era in Nicaragua, stretching 7 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(9) from 1991 to 2006 and within which the relationship with the United States was friendly and peaceful. The beginning of the 21st century brought adjustments to the national security strategies of The United States and Latin America. Among the most important: 1) an update to the American national security strategies, following which external cooperation agencies should pursue the maximum objective of guaranteeing internal security; 2) the birth of The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), an economic, ideological - and later political - integration project among countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, which was soon labeled “axis of evil” by President Bush administration; 3) the victory of Daniel Ortega, leader of the Sandinistas, in the Nicaraguan presidential elections of 2006,. 政治大. following which event Nicaragua became a member of the ALBA bloc.. 立. ‧ 國. 學. This research aims at providing a deeper overview on the role of international cooperation as a national security tool of the United States. According to the American. ‧. framework, in order to achieve national security for the United States, countries should be. sit. y. Nat. aligned with the American philosophy. In this scenario, a number of development agencies. al. er. io. belonging to the United States enacted programs in the targeted countries, such as civic. v. n. participation in political affairs and democracy promotion. Peer-reviewed academic articles. Ch. engchi. i Un. such as “Chaves vs los Medios” by Gerson Lopez (2010) have proven the participation of NGOs financed by United States international development agencies in the Venezuelan coup d'état attempt of 2002. Similarly, Ecuador and Bolivia expelled in 2013 those American development agencies operating on their territories which were found to pursue political purposes. The three mentioned countries were all members of the ALBA bloc and political allies of the Sandinista president Ortega. The bankruptcy of the Nicaraguan Institute of Social Security in 2018 led the government to negotiate a package of reforms, which triggered a massive wave of protests.. 8 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(10) President Ortega quickly revoked the reforms, however the turmoil did not end and instead took the direction of openly demanding the resignation of president Ortega. This paper aims at investigating the methods historically implemented by the United States in Latin America to identify a framework of self-serving interventions that might be present in the specific interventions in Nicaragua. In order to guide the framing approach in this investigation, the theories developed by anthropologists Gregory Bateson, in his essay “A Theory of Play and Fantasy”, and Erving Goffman, in his book “Frame Analysis”, are intertwined with international aid and the activities of the United States. Following Bateson’s theories, the entwined outcome proposes that the message of aid and development sent by. 政治大 international cooperation agencies, in effect, hides a generally self-serving interest from 立. ‧ 國. 學. industrialized countries towards lesser developed countries. In a different way, Goffman’s ideas let us discuss the way that framework set by donor countries toward the receivers. ‧. allows the donors to set the framework and interpretations. Furthermore, the actions of the. sit. y. Nat. C.I.A during the Sandinista revolution and the NGOs in 2018 take the approach to a new. al. er. io. level where Foucault’s theory is intertwined with the intentions were located in the access to. v. n. the daily life of the receiving communities, carrying out practices with the intentions of. Ch. engchi. i Un. configuring, normalizing, guiding and instrumentalizing actions and thoughts to achieve the stated objectives. More in detail, the analysis carried out in this paper focuses on how practices such as the Dollar Diplomacy, the Good Neighbor Policy and the CIA Covert Operations during the Cold War contributed to the construction of a framework which the United States used as a tool to defend its economic interests under the guise of international aid and US natural security. As such, it can be evidenced that in the attempted regime change in 2018, the United States supported the opposition in overthrowing President Ortega. This attack was carried out using similar strategies and methods as during previous similar events aimed at (re-)aligning 9 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(11) countries with the American philosophy and, as in all other cases, the United States obfuscates its intentions to project a message geared towards protection and benefit for Nicaragua. Analyzing the history of the US involvement in Nicaragua in light of the most recent events, this paper draws out important parallels surrounding the Nicaraguan attempted regime change in 2018. This investigation aims at bringing to light the methods implemented by the United States international development agencies in order to align countries with the “American philosophy” and achieve the goal of granting “internal security”. Evidence from the crisis in Nicaragua in 2018 suggests that the United States financed NGOs to: 1) recruit. 政治大 student leaders, grant their education in courses related to leadership and defense of 立. ‧ 國. 學. democracy in which they would be methods to influence the younger population; 2) fund the opposition media to carry out a campaigns fueling the sense of chaos and ungovernability; 3). ‧. finance Human Rights institutions whose actions misrepresented data, which allowed for the. sit. y. Nat. United States to justify its participation in the conflict before the international community.. n. al. er. io. The evidence supporting the validity of the stated hypothesis will be divided in three parts. i Un. v. throughout the course of this investigation: 1) international aid evolutions of approaches,. Ch. engchi. United States definition of aid and the US foreign policy towards Latin America together with the execution in Nicaragua; 2) The new objective of national security of United States foreign cooperation agencies in the 21st century as tool to ensure internal security, the creation of the ALBA Bloc as a counterpart to the United States hegemony and the electoral win of Sandinista president Ortega; 3) an outlook of the Nicaraguan crisis in April 2018 and the activities performed by NGO.. 10 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(12) Research Questions This paper analyses the following research questions: From a global and theoretical approach, what is the purpose of international cooperation for donor countries? What have been the mechanisms of interaction of the bilateral cooperation of the United States to implement its national security strategies? How have the US- financed NGOs in Nicaragua been instruments of the United States’ security strategy?. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. 11 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(13) 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Chapter I. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. 12 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(14) Construction of International Aid Approaches Global Evolution of International Aid Approaches During the 18th and 19th centuries, many European colonizing countries underwent an industrialization phase and a large number of inventions came to change their societies. Meanwhile, post colonized Latin America's countries were dealing with ethnic rivalry, unequal distribution of resources, disallowed democratic governments, prohibiting a great part of the population in a governmental decision, unjust actions against minority populations and further consequences of post-colonization. World War II brought numerous changes in the world order, and one of the new. 政治大 “discoveries” that took place on the agenda was mass poverty. Arturo Escobar noted in 立. ‧ 國. 學. Invention of Development that rich countries were believed to have the “financial and. technological capacity to secure progress the world over” (1999). On January 20, 1949,. ‧. United States President Harry S. Truman announced The Point Four Program, a technical. sit. y. Nat. assistance program for “developing countries”. President Truman recognized that the United. al. er. io. States, with its industrial and scientific techniques, could “afford to use [its techniques and. v. n. material resources] for assistance of other peoples” with limited resources. It was the only. Ch. engchi. i Un. plan of action that could foster economic development and opportunities for capital investment. President Truman’s speech started a new era in American foreign policy leveraging on American scientific and industrial advances, or, as Truman put it, means of improvement and growth of lesser developed areas (Haddad, 2017). Truman’s statement is characterized by its particular way of framing the relationship between industrialized countries, i.e. former colonizers, and the rest of the world, i.e. former colonies. The concept of framing was first introduced by anthropologist Gregory Bateson in his article A Theory of Play and Fantasy (1955), through which he demonstrated that all forms of communication cannot be understood without a frame of reference. Bateson’s theory 13 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(15) explains that only with the reference of an inner message that could be inferred from a message the receiver could understand the self-serving intentions of another without the intention of aggression. He argues that a message and its framework must instruct, or assist the observer in the attempt to understand the message included in the framework (1954). The message sent by President Truman, for example, creates a non-hostile framework whereby American aid would be directed to the help and development of lesser developed areas. Because of the framework created, the actual intention of self-serving interest is hidden. Using the words of Turner, author of Theories of Modernity and Postmodernity, the superstructure of the “Modern World” is the confluence of the three great world systems—. 政治大 imperialism, capitalism, and the enlightenment. Modernity is fundamentally about conquest, 立. ‧ 國. 學. “the imperial regulation of land, the discipline of the soul, and the creation of truth” (Turner, 1990). The World System theory holds that Latin American economies are already a part of. ‧. the capitalist world system. They are not at an earlier stage of a transition to industrialization,. sit. y. Nat. instead are undeveloped because they are peripheral, raw-material producing areas, at the. al. er. io. margins of, and exploited by the industrialized world. This postulates that as a result of the. v. n. specific histories of Latin American countries, they are relegated to the edges of the world system (Ashcroft, 1998).. Ch. engchi. i Un. In his book Frame Analysis (1974), Erving Goffman links to Bateson's frame concept by stating that, in order to interact and communicate in a particular situation, individuals might choose specific frameworks for their messages in order to endow them with a particular meaning, and allow the receiver to comprehensively and consistently understand the situation. In other words, once the framework is used, the interpretation of the action is determined by its creator and the frame is used for the receiver to interpret the message. This evaluation brings conceptual tools to analyze various layers that represent the empirical. 14 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(16) material to which the analysis of the frames is applied, despite the fact that frameworks impose control and restrictions in the process. This can be evidenced in the Marshall Plan. In 1948, the Marshall Plan came as an initiative in economic assistance to help rebuild Western European economies. The framework provided was successful, however, unlike the decolonized countries, Western European countries were already industrialized countries. The level of their own technology and skilled workforce aligned in fact with the results expected by the Marshall Plan. The Alliance for Progress (ALPRO), created and led by John Kennedy, directly led to the creation of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in 1959. This funding program was seen as a Marshall Plan for Latin America, although there. 政治大 were differences in regards to the allocated resources, unevenly distributed across the region 立. ‧ 國. 學. (Pastor, 1989).. In the 1950’s, economic growth was one of the basic tenets of development theories. ‧. and gave birth to concepts such as big push and take off into self-sustained growth. Gross. y. Nat. sit. National Product (GNP) growth was considered to be the objective and measure of progress. n. al. er. io. and development. Industrialization was deemed a key instrument of growth which would. i Un. v. create employment opportunities, increased demand for raw materials, thus providing an. Ch. engchi. impetus from other industries to enhance their production and supply manufactured goods to agriculture (Thorbecke, 2006). In practice, however, latin American countries saw increases under employment, poverty, and excessive extraction of raw materials. One type of transformation of the relevant framework on which this investigation is focused relates to the concept of fabrications (Goffman, 1974). The “keys”, as Goffman names them, are a transformation that is not hidden. For Goffman, the keys reveal the actions of the individuals destined to manipulate the activity with the aim of falsifying the events, for example, creating a deceptive narrative to serve one's self interest. 15 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(17) Using the above theories, it helps to discuss how donor countries approach development as a whole object and strategy, without taking into consideration many important aspects. Development treats people and culture as abstract concepts, conceived without nuance, where a standardized system of technical interventions are intended to deliver a badly needed good (Escobar, 1999). International aid overall does not embrace the understanding of national development, it instead functions without a concept as a theoretical definition of development (Pye, 1969). Pye suggests here that the international aid was only working from assumptions and within their own framework. By the 1970’s it became clear that, in order to achieve social development, it was not. 政治大 enough to focus solely on economic reforms (Escobar, 1999). The issue brought about a new 立. ‧ 國. 學. model under the “basic needs approach”. As one of the major approaches to measure absolute poverty in developing countries, this method attempts to define the absolute minimum. ‧. resources necessary for long-term physical well-being, usually in terms of consumption. sit. y. Nat. goods. Under this framework, any development proposal that did not take poverty, inequality. al. er. io. and unemployment into account would not be able to ensure development. These basic. v. n. services entailed adequate food, shelter, clothing, safe drinking water, sanitation, health and. Ch. engchi. i Un. educational services. This is a development strategy directed to social services more than economic growth. The external debt of the Latin American countries in the 1980s caused by lending and investments to raise their Gross Domestic Product was important in the development debate. It called for the adoption of an economic model of neoliberal inspiration known as the Washington Consensus, based on economic liberation, the predominance of market forces, external openness and the supremacy of the export sector, with which to seek a new modality of insertion in the world economy (Pastor, 1989). In this context, framing may be defined as the permanent activity in which subjects “actively project their frames of reference on the 16 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(18) immediate world around them, (…) [and] do so only because events normally confirm these projections, leading the assumptions to disappear in the smooth flow of activity” (Goffman, 1974, p. 39). According to Goffman, “false frames” can be generated with honor, and used falsely. Framing imposes limitations, with control and power strategies as catalysts in this process. Both modulations and fabrications not only determine the interpretation of the world, but also guide the actions of the actors in the situation. At the same time, they however display a reality prone to the mutations, misrepresentations and interests of social subjects. This dynamic within the primary frameworks and in what happens within them requires the permanently attentive activity of the subject in order to distinguish with some precision “the. 政治大. edges” of the frame used to interpret reality, for example, the situation with the World Bank. 立. and the International Monetary Fund.. ‧ 國. 學. Recipient countries were subject to the implementation and fulfillment of certain. ‧. conditions, which is why the era is dubbed as the era of conditionality. Structural adjustment. sit. y. Nat. was the process according to which the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary. al. er. io. Fund (IMF) gave loans to underdeveloped countries under specific conditions which were to. v. n. be implemented in their economies (Harrigan, Mosley and Toye, 1995). These conditions. Ch. engchi. i Un. were planned and devised by the above-mentioned institutions and were implemented under their auspices. These programs usually contained measures including privatisation of stateowned enterprises, liberalisation of trade and economy, improvement of the price system by removing distortions/subsidies, enhancement of the efficiency and profitability of public enterprises, devaluation of the domestic currency, reductions in government expenditures and increases in taxes (Doroodian, 1993). The above resulted in a sharp decrease in public spending and the dismantling of the State, with the consequent impact on the ability of the domestic state to influence the development processes. These conditions show that the aid brings mechanisms for the 17 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(19) expansion of the values, institutions and standards that make up a certain world order (O’Neil, 2019). In “status quo” maintenance strategies, aid is largely preventative: aid is designed to avoid systemic shocks and maintain a regional or international status quo acceptable to a donor government (Markovits, Strange and Tingley, 2019). In the nineties, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the ideological clash was a factor of great importance, especially in relation to the reorganization of the spheres of dominance. The neoliberal policies received great acceptance, the market was seen as the only alternative for the organization of economic life, and the Soviet model was instead viewed as an obstacle to development (Fukuyama, 1992).. 政治大. 立. Roger Riddle in his book “Does foreign aid really work” pointed out that the problem. ‧ 國. 學. was not technical; the focus should instead be on understanding the inefficiency of the Official Development assistance through a political analysis (2008). It was an important yet. ‧. slightly discouraging decade for the international aid industry. In most cases, donors pursued. y. Nat. sit. their own political-strategic and commercial interests while allocating aid, while ignoring. n. al. er. io. issues such as human rights, transparency, accountability, good governance and democracy for recipient countries (Dijkstra, 2002).. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. At the Rio de Janeiro Conference of 1992, the World Conference on Environment and Development outlined an international development strategy that came to overlap with the previous ones of the United Nations. This strategy was characterized by a) placing its center of interest to the developing and underdeveloped countries; b) promoting evolution towards modes of production and sustainable consumption; c) the eradication of poverty; d) international cooperation to accelerate the sustainable development of the underdeveloped countries (Abellán, 1997).. 18 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(20) The 2005 Paris Declaration attempted to correct the above strategies (2005). The Paris Declaration is a practical, action-oriented roadmap to improve the quality of aid and its impact on development. It provides a list of specific implementation measures and establishes a monitoring system to assess progress and ensure that donors and recipients hold each other accountable for their commitments. The Paris Declaration outlines the following five fundamental principles for making aid more effective: ● Ownership: Developing countries set their own strategies for poverty reduction, improve their institutions and tackle corruption; ● ●. Alignment: Donor countries align behind these objectives and use local systems;. 政治大 Harmonisation: Donor countries coordinate, simplify procedures and share 立. ‧ 國. ●. 學. information to avoid duplication;. Results: Developing countries and donors shift focus to development results and. Mutual accountability: Donors and partners are accountable for development results.. sit. y. Nat. ●. ‧. results get measured;. n. al. er. io. The international cooperation framework is not natural. Instead, it implies human. i Un. v. intentions and incorporates the will, effort and control of an agency that guides and directs. Ch. engchi. such intentions. It is a correspondence between the perception and the organization and structuring of the perceived. The social frameworks of international cooperation constitute a central strategy of their practices. Social frameworks are cognitive frameworks that allow us to interpret events in which human beings are responsible. They outline a world of meanings and endow people with codes to interpret and communicate the meanings of the reality they experience. Overall, international aid strategies are created by donor countries as frameworks which are successively imposed on the receiving countries. Such frameworks are set by the 19 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(21) donors on the basis of their own experiences, without considering the specific interests and situations of the receiving countries. Permanent activity on these allows donor countries to set the edges of the frameworks and therefore protect the donors’ interest. This not only imposes limitations on the receiving countries, but it implies a hidden framework of self-serving interest within the framework created for international aid strategies. United States Bilateral Aid American foreign aid strategy begins during the presidency of Harry S. Truman, who proposed the concept of International Development Assistance with two main purposes: first, to rebuild those European countries devastated by World War II and ensuring allies; second,. 政治大 to stop the advancement of communism, a situation that took hold in the Presidency of John 立 ‧. ‧ 國. the Cold War.. 學. F. Kennedy, who turned International Aid into a tactic to attract and maintain allies during. In political terms, US foreign assistance is defined as a fundamental tool of the. y. Nat. sit. national security strategy. Development is as essential to national security as diplomacy and. n. al. er. io. defense are (WH, 2002). Özlem Savas (2008) defines the culture of national security as a set. i Un. v. of characteristics, values and priorities shaping the nation-wide security thinking and policies. Ch. engchi. through the legacies of the past and inherent within the state structures and the minds of people. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has similar definitions: “Just as the tools, ideas, and resources for progress can quickly move from industrial to developing countries, many forms of risk and instability can travel in the opposite direction.” (USAID, p1, 2002). We need to recognize that U.S. assistance matters a great deal. All aid is political, particularly in countries at high risk for conflict (USAID, p23, 2002). 20 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(22) The aid administered by USAID is channeled through a complex network of international institutions (companies, religious and secular organizations), US state agencies and local institutions of the recipient country, together with national and transnational NGOs (non-governmental organizations). Many of these organizations, in turn, finance local contractors in complex tender and service outsourcing networks with strategic linkage and complementation with European government cooperation agencies, multilateral credit agencies (World Bank, IDB, among others) and other US-based state agencies (Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, among others). Through a network of assistance programs, this blending of institutional and extra-. 政治大 institutional allows access to the daily life of the receiving communities, building senses, 立. ‧ 國. 學. values and promoting practices. In theoretical terms, external assistance could be thought of as part of a set of government technologies, that is, of “practical and concrete mechanisms,. ‧. local and everyday practices, through which the various authorities intend to shape,. sit. y. Nat. normalize, guide and instrumentalize actions, yearnings and thoughts of others, in order to. n. al. er. io. achieve the objectives considered desirable” (Foucault, DE4, Cited by Castro; 2004).. i Un. v. These government technologies build a set of procedures that shape the practical. Ch. engchi. exercise of power. These technologies are supported and built on the same political rationalities that configure discourses and practices from which problems and solutions for government are built (Rose, 1996); in other words, the discursive formulation of the problems and the practices promoted to intervene into them. These historically changing joints are assembled and disassociated, and interact in permanent struggle. The Cold War context meant a change in US foreign policy with respect to Latin America: The Western Hemisphere should be defended from the “communist threat”. In this context, the communist advance in the region justified, from the American perspective, the 21 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(23) need for a doctrine of internal security, that is, the elimination of the “internal” enemy to each territory. This is how the US military and political intervention intensified in the countries of the region. Even in the cases when it was presented as development assistance, it was the political and military objectives that prevailed (Romano, 2011). In this framework, new forms of territorial intervention are proposed, whereby the maintenance of preeminence does not only presuppose the potential invasion or direct military intervention or the presence of military bases in the territory, but also occurs in other forms and shapes built in a longwinded scheme of which development assistance and humanitarian aid are a fundamental part (Kennedy and Lucas, 2005).. 政治大 Having the external assistance work platform and its supporting structure, the 立. ‧ 國. 學. argument for the need for security is transformed into a field of verification, of legitimacy construction, in two plans. First, as an internal political strategy, whereby foreign aid may be. ‧. justified as a means to prevent risks from outside the borders. Second, as an international. sit. y. Nat. strategy, whereby external assistance is invoked from the discourse of human rights, of. al. er. io. humanitarian protection, of moral duty toward foreign countries. “There is a moral imperative. v. n. for the United States: to take a position whenever unimaginable human atrocities happen, no. Ch. engchi. i Un. matter where” (USAID, p.26, 2002). A line of continuity is thus established with arguments linked to the moral duty of the intervention. From this political fact (internal and external) around the urgency of security and “moral duty”, assistance can no longer be directed solely towards “development”. “USAID programs aimed at strengthening effective and legitimate governance are recognized as key instruments to deal with counterinsurgency” (Baltazar, 2007). It can be said that the leitmotif of these foreign policy doctrines is represented by the sovereignty of the national interests of the United States is above all other principles that frame legitimate behaviors (Samir, 2004), ignoring the supranational law that regulates the rest of the countries. 22 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(24) United States external assistance may be most accurately defined as a set of postulates bringing about the delimitation of territories and plausible populations to be assisted and to which a series of practices may be suggested. An analysis of the American modes of exercise of power reveals that these are only slightly connected with external assistance; they guide, reproduce, sustain, prescribe, induce, and impose within the dynamic framework the involved actors. A historical journey of the United States foreign policy towards Latin America in the specifics of economic, military and cultural activities of the United States in Nicaragua explains the means used to maintain US hegemony over the country. From this investigation. 政治大 a series of programs, doctrines, documents and supporting speeches will be identified, in 立 States to implement its national security strategies. Critical Social Science Perspective on Ngos Aid and Security. Nat. y. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. order to identify the mechanisms of interaction of the bilateral cooperation of the United. er. io. sit. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have taken an increasingly indispensable role in the field of national and transnational humanitarian aid. NGOs have been involved in world-class. al. n. v i n C political projects that have been recognized by U their influence in the global h e n gactors, c h itherefore sphere of international relations and politics is significant (Ryfman, 2007). However, scholars have highlighted “challenges which are crowding in on the humanitarian world” (Chandler, 2001, p700).. NGOs can be placed in a space where they represent private citizens, which leads them to have an influence in the humanitarian political field at local, national and global levels. However, weaknesses have been exposed in elements such as transparency, responsibility and neutrality. 23 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(25) (Lawrence & Nezhad, 2009, p76-83). The following table shows the strengths and weaknesses of NGOs:. Strength and weaknesses associated with the NGO sector (Shastri 2008):. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學 er. io. sit. y. Nat. Many NGOs are linked to government funding. A Study by Aldashev and Verdier (2010, p49). n. al. discovers a relationship between. v i n Ch competition e n gbetween c h i Ufundraising. competition and the. negative effect on the decrease of the welfare of the beneficiaries. Even so, undoubtedly whether or not they receive funds from governments, it is necessary to take into account that many NGOs can easily be placed as part of a political agenda (Gjorv, 2016).. Since the late 21st century, Western governments (especially the United States) have labeled cooperation as "humanitarian," yet it has increasingly been used for security agendas that have led to it being sometimes controversial. It is argued that governments use humanitarian action as a tool for objectives within their foreign policy (Curtis, 2001, p4). Many NGOs that carry 24 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(26) this humanitarian label have been and continue to be "“tarred with the same brush", which makes it difficult to distinguish who is fraternized with the political objectives of governments and who is not (Schofield, 2019, p5). However, NGOs are often considered more trustworthy and credible than governments or private companies (Todaro and Smith, 2006).. In conflict zones, NGO humanitarian personnel generally live and / or work in military complexes (Crane et al, 2009). NGOs can still set valid targets because locals assume that those of a "western nation" have established relationships with government and political offices (Gaist, 2010, p122). According to Torrente (2004), the United States has promoted an. 政治大. integrated approach among various actors in order to ensure that its interventions and. 立. humanitarian aid are directed towards the common goal of building peace. Although, when the. ‧ 國. 學. United States Army has publicly said that it can "use" humanitarian actors as "extenders of. ‧. force" (Smith, 2010, p267), this agenda takes on new meaning for US governments. Imposed. er. io. sit. only the conduct of the war, but also its course (Richmond, 2011).. y. Nat. upon societies destroyed by conflict, the use of humanitarian NGOs as tools to influence not. al. n. v i n C h the interventionUof "hearts and minds" directed its In Afghanistan, the United States during engchi. approach to generate cooperative and supportive behavior on the part of local actors towards their military intervention, in order to carry out its measures more efficiently (Schofield, 2019). However, these maneuvers were carried out by civilian agents that included NGOs (Abiew, 2012). The United States government openly described NGOs as drivers and executors of this assistance initiative. These events affected the credibility of humanitarian NGOs in the eyes of the beneficiaries (Abiew, 2012). “First there was Communism, then there was Talibanism, and now there is NGOism” (Murdie, 2014, p1).. 25 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(27) In general, the information collected in this section suggests that whether NGOs are or are not financed by the States, in one way or another they may be part of a political and / or military agenda. This group of social scientists point out that the principle of NGO neutrality, especially in the United States, has been seriously compromised. NGOs, especially Western ones, have become an extension of military and political agendas. This situation has impacted the independence, neutrality and impartiality of their NGOs.. The United States Army has already announced partnerships with NGOs as part of its geopolitical strategies through its assistance initiatives. These facts have made the resistance. 政治大. programs of these NGOs be perceived as a related hostile act in the same military conflict.. 立. ‧ 國. 學. United States Foreign Policy in Nicaragua in the Beginning of 20th Century. ‧. The activities of the United States in Latin America began in the 19th century. Except. sit. y. Nat. for Puerto Rico, the United States did not formally colonize the nations of the region; instead,. al. er. io. it made them protectorates, allowing them to remain nominally independent while the United. v. n. States exercised extensive control over its internal and external affairs. The United States'. Ch. engchi. i Un. interest in Nicaragua was dominated by a particular geographic factor — the existence of a large volcanic lake that covers approximately a quarter of the country's total area — and which made Nicaragua the most logical site for the construction of a canal through the Central American isthmus. The US corporations and the government maintained an aggressive stance towards Nicaragua, and continued to use strategies to coerce Nicaragua to maintain its interests during the first two decades of the 21st century. These activities goals evolved from more open military political advocacy forms into more subtle tactics, based on media, liberal. 26 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(28) democracies and political legitimacy to discredit threats and to support allied groups in Nicaragua, in order to establish a docile neoliberal regime. Since its birth as a republic in 1838, Nicaragua has been the stage of a dispute between the Liberals and Conservatives. These parties shaped Nicaraguan history even before the United States became a factor in national politics. The post-colonial oligarchy and the Catholic Church were part of the Conservative Party in the city of Granada. The Liberal Party, instead, was formed by a commercial and professional urban class in the city of Leon. In their constant struggle for power, the liberals bought the services of the American filibuster William Walker, which marked the first United States regime-change operation in. 政治大 Nicaragua. William Walker took advantage of the situation and usurped power in Nicaragua 立. ‧ 國. 學. declaring himself president in 1856 to 1857 when he was defeated by a coalition of Central American armies (McPherson, 1988) 1.. ‧. Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Theodore. y. Nat. sit. Roosevelt exercised the command of the United States of America guided by the “Big Stick”. n. al. er. io. ideology, theory that he soon complemented by what he called “The Dollar Diplomacy”. The. i Un. v. following chapters of this paper detail how the United States interacted and communicated. Ch. engchi. with Latin America throughout the 20th century. Foreign policy will be treated as a focal point to evaluate the methods the United States implemented to endow messages with specific frameworks to ensure a given particular interpretation. This investigation further narrows its focus on the political struggle in Nicaragua, marked with continuous regime changes through which the US has actively projected its self-serving interests.. 1. Walker returned in an attempt to reestablish his control of the region and was captured and executed by the government of Honduras in 1860.. 27 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(29) The Dollar Diplomacy Central America is the only region in the world with an intercontinental and interoceanic position. In essence, its importance is not given by its productive resources, but by its isthmicity and its geographical location. The interest of the United States in the region was determined by how vital it was for the internal and external circulation of its merchandise, and for its proximity to its territory (Granados, 1985). However, the most geographically widespread US form of intervention was financial. The “Dollar Diplomacy" was the term coined in response to the 1912 statement by US President William Howard Taft that the United States was seeking to expand towards Latin America by "substituting dollars for bullets” (Munro,1964).. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. The influence of the Dollar Diplomacy in Nicaragua is mainly associated with control of the National Bank, the rail system, and Wall Street's customs reception. However, it was. ‧. especially through the Mixed Commission that American diplomats sought to “modernize”. y. Nat. sit. the Nicaraguan state 2 (Golbat, 2009). Although the Dollar Diplomacy projected a message of. n. al. er. io. modernization, in practice it “involve[d] the conversion of the state department and the army. i Un. v. and navy into collection and insurance agencies for Wall Street interests, concession seekers,. Ch. engchi. munition makers, and those who would exploit weaker peoples under the philanthropic assurance of promoting their development” (Howe, 1916, p. 312). In order to assure these activities, the United States government, the marines and the American corporation United Fruit Company -which became a determining political and economic force- managed to achieve regime changes, which served to suppress the threats to their interests.. 2. In the case of Nicaragua, dollar diplomacy was made up of the two US members of the Mixed Commission; the administrators of the Nicaraguan National Bank in Managua and its branches in Granada, León, and Bluefields; and the administrator of the Pacific Railroad.. 28 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(30) Political Struggle During the Dollar Diplomacy In 1907, the president of Nicaragua Zelaya intervened in Honduras and El Salvador to create a Central American federation dominated by liberal parties (Esgueva, 2005). In that same context, Zelaya negotiated with the Germans and Japanese about the construction of an interoceanic canal through Nicaragua. In result, the United States dramatically changed behavior towards Zelaya, starting to consider him a threat to the region and challenging the monopoly of the Panama Canal, which was already under construction. After receiving covert support from the United States, politician Juan José Estrada. 政治大. proclaimed himself interim president of Nicaragua on October 10, 1909. Although Estrada. 立. represented one of several factions of liberals dissatisfied with Zelaya, he was employed by. ‧ 國. 學. the United States to maneuver and reimpose the unpopular Conservative Party. Within a few months, the forces on Estrada's side consisted mainly of conservative generals, such as. ‧. er. io. sit. Nat. through intermediaries such as Adolfo Díaz (Kerevel, 2006).. y. Emiliano Chamorro, who used contracted troops and weapons supplied by US companies. When one of Zelaya’s counter offensives led to the arrest and execution of two US. al. n. v i n C hEstrada insurgency.UThe Secretary of State of the citizens, soldiers of fortune hired by the engchi. United States, Philander Knox, wrote the notorious “Knox’s Note” to a Nicaraguan diplomat in Washington on December 1, 1909, cutting diplomatic relations with the Zelaya government. At the end of December, Zelaya resigned and left for Mexico by boat from the northwestern port of Corinth, surrounded by American warships (Kerevel, 2006). Zelaya's successor was Jose Madriz, who tried to negotiate peace with Estrada's rebellion to restore relations with the United States. As Knox refused to recognize his government, the US Marines were deployed on the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua and the aforementioned United Fruit Company lent money to Estrada to acquire weapons and 29 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(31) soldiers. The US Navy handed the conservative general arms and blocked the arrival of weapons purchased by the Madriz government. On August 19, 1910 Estrada took office. However, Juan José Estrada, was overthrown by the Constitutional Assembly dominated by conservatives in 1911 in favor of Adolfo Díaz (Gould, 1996). In 1912, President Diaz transferred control of the National Bank of Nicaragua to the Brown Brothers Commercial Bank of the United States. The National Assembly, led by Minister of War Luis Mena, approved a resolution censoring Diaz. Diaz dismissed General Mena and received the support of the United States, which also asked for American intervention. General Mena, together with General Benjamin Zeledon, rebelled against Diaz.. 政治大 In the city of Granada, Mena was defeated with his troops under the combined attack of US 立. ‧ 國. 學. marines and conservative government troops. He was captured and exiled. General Benjamin confronted the Marine troops and died in battle in the city of Masaya.. ‧. The conservative government signed the Bryan-Chamorro Treaty in Washington in. y. Nat. sit. 1914. the Secretary of State of the United States and the Nicaraguan general Emiliano. n. al. er. io. Chamorro granted the United States exclusive rights to build a canal in Nicaragua in. i Un. v. perpetuity, as well as a 99-year renewable option to create a naval base in the Gulf of Fonseca. Ch. engchi. and a 99-year renewable lease on the islands from Big and Little Corn Island in the Caribbean, in exchange for $3 million to be used by Nicaragua to pay debts to US creditors. US Military Occupation of Nicaragua (1912-1926) In 1912, the US Marines in Nicaragua occupied the capital, Managua, and the cities of Granada and León. During the so-called “Banana Wars”, the United States Army intervened in several countries of Latin America between 1898 and 1934. In the “Banana Republics”, United Fruit Company controlled the ports, managed the postal service, and created the first network of radio stations in Central America creating a media monopoly. With equal force it 30 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(32) suppressed all the initiatives of the organization of unions. United Fruit gave governments money and weapons to suppress the numerous rebellions that were happening among the hundreds of thousands of highly exploited banana workers in the region, which led, for example, to the “Banana Massacre”, during which several hundred striking workers died in Colombia in 1928 (Langley and Schoonover, 1995). The United Fruit Company monopoly was protected by the US Marines, placed in Central America and the Caribbean. The “Banana Wars” became a good exercise for the US toward the maintenance of the protection of the capitalist economy. As a consequence, to this event, the Marine Corps started analyzing the strategies and tactics for conducting this type of. 政治大 short war operations. The results of this effort were encapsulated in 1935 in a war tactics 立. ‧ 國. 學. manual going under the name of “Small Wars Operations”, later renamed “The Small Wars Manual” in the revision from 1940.. ‧. In 1926, once again, a confrontation arose between the liberals and the conservative. y. Nat. sit. government. The liberals had popular support, which forced the United States to intervene,. n. al. er. io. obliging the Nicaraguan government to implement measures which would favor the. i Un. v. American counterpart. The Liberal General Augusto César Sandino rejected the terms of the. Ch. engchi. US plan and, with only 29 men, embarked on a guerrilla war against the US occupation of Nicaragua. Sandino, A Symbol of Resistance Sandino's first victory came at the San Andres mine in Nueva Segovia, where he expelled the American managers and handed the plant over to the workers. Consequently, the United States openly began depicting Sandino as a bandit and an outlaw (Campbell-Jeffrey and Sjoberg, p7, 2005). After the defeat, the Marines initiated a counterinsurgency campaign,. 31 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(33) while Sandino had already become internationally a symbol of anti-imperialist resistance (Kaufman, 2019). The first use of airplane attacks in the Americas occurred in Nicaragua, when the US Marines bombed the mountainous region in the north of the country, where it was believed Sandino was hidden (Macaulay, 1998). The fact that American airplanes were more damaging to the civilian population than Sandino, could not fail to have a great impact against the foreign policy of the United States. Thus, Selser reports that the newspaper "The Nation" of New York, 1927, affirmed that the US troops without any legal justification assassinated Nicaraguans. "El Tiempo" of Colombia, pointed out that the president of the. 政治大 United States, Calvin Coolidge, characterized the Sandino patriots as bandits to hide from the 立. ‧ 國. 學. American people that US marines were violating the rights of the people in Nicaragua, as they had previously done in Haiti, committing homicides that went unpunished (Selser,. ‧. 1986).. y. Nat. sit. The United States encountered great struggle defeating Sandino, and the Great. n. al. er. io. Depression forced the withdrawal of U.S troops. Despite this, the American interests. i Un. v. established an armed forces corp, the Nicaraguan National Guard. The U.S. hoped to. Ch. engchi. accomplish three objectives in establishing the National Guard: to replace Nicaragua's old army and police with a central, well-trained and well-equipped military force; to establish internal order; and to obscure the task of preserving a constitutional government and free elections with a military and seemingly non-political force (Millett, 1977). Sandino met with president Sacasa in Managua in February 1934, during which he pledged his loyalty to the President and agreed to order his forces to surrender their weapons within three months. In exchange, Sacasa agreed to give the soldiers who surrendered arms squatters rights on land in the Coco River Valley, together with the requirement that the area 32 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(34) be guarded by 100 Sandinista fighters under the government's orders, and giving preference in employment to Sandinistas on public works in northern Nicaragua (Neugebauer, 1988). On February 21, 1934, Sandino attended a new round of talks with Sacasa. Opposed to it, the leader of Nicaragua’s recently formed National Guard, Anastasio Somoza Garcia, gave the order to assassinate them. The six men were stopped in their car at the main gate by local National Guardsmen and ordered to leave their car. Sandino was taken and executed (Neugebauer, 1988). That same night, the National Guard massacred the nearly 300 unarmed Sandino allies who were in Wiwili, including men, women and children (Tunnermann, 1979). “It was Anastasio Somoza Garcia who planned the murder of Sandino. Somoza. 政治大 himself told National Guard officers that Sandino's removal had the blessing of the American 立. ‧ 國. 學. Minister, Arthur Bliss Lane, with whom Somoza met three times on the day of the crime.. Somoza assured that Washington supported and recommended the elimination of Sandino. ‧. because he was a threat to the peace and tranquility of the country” (Tunnermann, 1979, p. sit. y. Nat. 10). Two years later, General Somoza García proclaimed himself the autocrat of Nicaragua. al. er. io. through a coup d’etat organized with the support of the United States to overthrow Sacasa.. v. n. US president Franklin Delano Roosevelt referred to Somoza as follows: “He is a son of a. Ch. engchi. bitch, but he is our son of a bitch” (Black, 1988).. i Un. While the Dollar Diplomacy was brought about as a means to assist and modernize underdeveloped regions such as Latin America, the real intentions were more self-interested. The United States of America leveraged Dollar Diplomacy to justify forceful and military intervention in these countries to serve American interests. Needless to say, this involved making sure that the reins of the country were handed over to governors politically allied with the United States, and suppressing political adversaries.. 33 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(35) However often successful, the impossibility of defeating Sandino, the international pressure of peoples and governments against intervention in Nicaragua, the approaching of another world war that forced the United States to secure the American continent for themselves against German and Japanese expansionism, the existence of the National Guard as a substitute instrument for the Marines (Barahona, 1989: 49) and the serious economic crisis that shook the entire capitalist world were among the political and social factors that forced the United States of America to rethink their strategy. The United States gave birth to a way to approach Latin America, starting a path which would lead to the “Good Neighbor Policy”. Good Neighbor Policy. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. The “Good Neighbor”, adopted by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, was the new American foreign policy directed towards Latin America. It was framed as a formula tending. ‧. not to directly engage the United States in the internal affairs of Latin American countries.. y. Nat. sit. For this reason, the principle of non-intervention was postulated, by which it was meant that,. n. al. er. io. in the future, the United States would not make any decision concerning the Latin American. i Un. v. nations, without first “consulting” their governors (Moncada,1990). Roosevelt expressed his. Ch. engchi. point of view on the policy in the following words: “The most important item in our country’s foreign policy is the economic exchange of merchandise”. For his part, the Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, emphasized the elimination of military power policy and proposed thawing trade and investment channels (Dick,1975). The policy was centered on one simple pillar: all direct military interventions would fade in the background. In order to achieve its purpose of granting its own economic, political and military interests, the US was therefore forced to find its ways around the problem. The effort concluded that, if the United States could no longer be physically present on the foreign 34 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(36) soil without breaking the policy terms, they could nevertheless be virtually present. As a result, a number of US-financed, -guided and -armed military dictatorships sprang (or better, was imposed) in Latin America. To mention some, in Guatemala, Jorge Ubico (1931-1944); in El Salvador, Maximiliano (1935-1944); in Honduras, Tiburcio Carías (1935-1949); in the Dominican Republic, Rafael Leónidas (1930-1938-1952); in Nicaragua, Anastasio Somoza García and his heirs (1934-1979). Supported by the United States, the Somoza family led Nicaragua from 1936 to 1979. “Somoza Garcia skillfully used his strategic position to gain special military, economic, and political concessions from the U. S. government, and carefully maintained close personal. 政治大 relationships with key members of the State Department until his assassination in 1956” 立. ‧ 國. 學. (Zaremba, 1992, p. 4).. Luis Somoza, 3 his firstborn child, was the President of the Nicaraguan Congress. He. ‧. assumed the presidency upon his father's murdered and appointed his younger brother,. y. Nat. sit. Anastasio Somoza Debayle commander of the National Guard and the Air Force. Luis. n. al. er. io. Somoza had a heart attack and died in 1967. Shortly before the death of his brother,. i Un. v. Anastasio Somoza was sworn into office following his election on 5 February.. Ch. engchi. In 1974, Somoza declared a state of siege when a guerrilla movement called Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front, introduced more fully below) seized government hostages. The fact humiliated the government and the National Guard. The crackdown included complete press censorship and the unleashing of the Guard on the Nicaraguan population (Walker, 1985).. 3. At the age of 14, he and his younger brother Anastasio attended Saint Leo College Prep near Tampa, before transferring to La Salle Military Academy on Long Island. Luis was then educated at Louisiana State University.. 35 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(37) After the 1974 hostage incident, opposition to the dictatorship grew steadily, initiating a brutal cycle of opposition and repression. The most serious events occurred between 1978 and 1979. By June 1979, Somoza was actively engaged in violent tactics in the war against the Sandinistas, including bombing residential neighborhoods (Chomsky, 1992). Among the aforementioned, the testimonies clearly highlighted some facts. In some cases, the National Guard searched for kids between 14 and 20 years of age, and then executed them for the slightest suspicion of being members of the FSLN. In other circumstances, hundreds of farmers “disappeared” in rural areas, usually after being arrested by the National Guard. Finally, torture and ill-treatment were reported to be common methods to interrogate political detainees.. 立. 政治大. ‧ 國. 學. These included blows, hanging by the wrists, electric shocks, immersion of the head in water, hooded or blindfolds, gymnastics exercises until exhaustion, keeping detainees naked. ‧. in air-conditioned rooms at very low temperatures, deprivation of food and drinks, etc. In. sit. y. Nat. many cases, death was following the torture treatments. Some victims even endured. n. al. Artucio 1980, p.24). Ch. engchi. er. io. punishments such as having their eyes torn off, or their tongues were cut (Fragoso and. i Un. v. When his rule was challenged, by the Sandinistas in the late 1970s, the US first tried to institute what was called "Somocismo [Somoza-ism] without Somoza"-that is, the whole corrupt system intact, but with somebody else at the top. That didn’t work, so President Carter tried to maintain Somoza’s National Guard as a base for US power (Chomsky, 1992). Currently, United States media were aware of the crimes committed by Somoza, as the daily student newspaper of Harvard University quoted “as the troops of Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle attempt to pound the widespread popular opposition to his rule into submission, the time has come for the United States government to re-examine its relations with the Somoza regime” (“Carter Must End Aid To Somoza”, 1978). 36 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(38) In some cases, international media seemed to be putting pressure on the United States to quickly clear the situation: “The United States, having helped keep the Somoza family in power in Nicaragua for four decades, is now deeply involved in trying to force President Anastasio Somoza Debayle to resign and replace him with a stable democratic government” (Riding, 1978). On the other hand, the US ambassador sent a cable to the White House saying it would be "ill advised" to tell the Guard to call off the bombing, because that might interfere with the policy of keeping them in power and the Sandinistas out (Chomsky,1992). However, at the end of 1978, State Department officials said the United States was withholding all military aid to Nicaragua, including credits previously authorized. They said. 政治大. $6 million in economic aid had been approved for Nicaragua for the 1979 fiscal year, but that. 立. it will not be “disbursed” until the Nicaraguan Government would assure Washington the. ‧ 國. 學. money would be used to “promote the process of democratization in Nicaragua” (Riding,. ‧. 1978).. sit. y. Nat. An Organization of the American States mediating team, including special U.S.. al. er. io. ambassador William G. Bowdler, sought to resolve the crisis by winning agreement to a plan. n. that would have included free elections and the eventual withdrawal of Somoza from the. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. presidency. Somoza refused the mediation. The United States, retaliating against President Anastasio Somoza's refusal, cancelled two development loans totaling $10.5 million and approximately $800,000, respectively, in military equipment that had been in the pipeline to Nicaragua (Goshko, 1979). On June 21, 1979, ABC American television correspondent Bill Stewart was shot and killed while attempting to film war destruction in a neighborhood of Managua. The Nicaraguan government radio said Stewart's death was a result of sniper shots by Sandinista rebel guerrillas (Deyoung, 1979). However, according to ABC sound technician Jim Cefalo, the incident began when the ABC team, traveling in a marked press van, approached a 37 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(39) National Guard patrol. Stewart and his interpreter, Juan Espinosa, got out of the van and walked toward a soldier with their hands raised, carrying a white flag and government-issued press credentials. As the soldier approached them, his rifle raised, Stewart went down on his knees with his hands up. Cefalo told reporters “He stepped back and motioned… It looked like he told [Stewart] to put his hands behind his back. Bill started to comply, and the guard stepped back, put the rifle to [Stewart's] head and shot once”. [Dramatic films of the shooting, made by survivors among the ABC crew were shown on U.S. television evening news programs] (Deyoung, 1979). John Bargeron, a U.S. vice consul in Nicaragua charged with facilitating shipment of Stewart's body to the United States, was heard telling the ABC crew. 政治大. that “this is a war of murder. Nicaraguans are killed like that everyday”. (Deyoung, 1979).. 立. ‧ 國. 學. Events culminated in July, 1979 with the Sandinista victory in a situation which had become, by that time, a full-blown civil-war (Zaremba, 1992). Somoza fled the country and. ‧. the United States managed to fly Guard commanders out of the country in planes with Red. sit. y. Nat. Cross markings (a war crime), and began to reconstitute the Guard on Nicaragua’s borders. al. n. C.I.A.. er. io. (Chomsky, 1992). This reconstitution of the Guard will later become a covert war by the. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. Like others, made-in-the-USA products, both the Dollar Diplomacy and the Good Neighbor Policy are characterized by having been actively projected as beneficial policies in their own frames of reference. Despite the sugar coating, in both cases the pill was a bitter one to swallow, as the United States was directly involved in triggering political unrest and throwing water on the fire. Although the good neighbor policy did not allow direct intervention, the military, political and economic support to Somoza guaranteed the protection of the interests of the United States in Nicaragua. The means to achieve this goal went often as far as instrumentalizing proper crimes against humanity.. 38 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.

(40) The Sandinista Popular Revolution In the early 1960s, inspired by the success of the Cuban revolution, radical Nicaraguans led by student activist Carlos Fonseca created the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). The communist guerrilla group engaged in military actions and propaganda in order to overthrow Somoza. In June 1979, the guerrilla moved all its combatants in order to gather in the capital, Managua. At the same time, a popular insurrection was being organized with the participation of workers, businessmen, and students in several departments and cities. The FSLN managed to lead a massive popular insurrection that overthrew Anastasio Somoza Debayle, the second son of Somoza García, on July 19, 1979.. 政治大 Between March and August 1980, the national literacy crusade was organized. Tens 立. ‧ 國. 學. of thousands of urban youth members attended as volunteer brigades, organized in fronts, brigades, and squads. They worked to impart basic literacy to half a million of their rural. ‧. compatriots. The new government proudly announced that within a few months the national. sit. y. Nat. illiteracy rate had been reduced from 50.35% to 12.36% (McFadden and Warner, 1983).. n. al. er. io. Dirk Kruijt states in Guerrillas: War and Peace in Central America that “from the. i Un. v. beginning, the FSLN sought to “integrate the masses” in the revolutionary process by. Ch. engchi. creating urban and rural organizations of middle-class workers and middle-class landowners and small owners of the Pacific coast (2011). The government also unionized other key sectors of the labor force. According to the registers of the Ministry of Labor, in 1979 there were 133 unions, with a total of 27,000 members. By 1982, the number of unionized workers had reached 150,000 (Núñez, 1998, p. 238). Ideologues of the FSLN concluded that “democracy came to have in Nicaragua the natural surname of participatory” (Núñez 1987, p. 238). But it must be borne in mind that the relationship between the Sandinista party and its unionized organizations was not a 39 DOI:10.6814/NCCU202001548.