Tabla de Contenidos: “…Assumptions: Reagan and the militarization of policy ; Assumptions: Kirkpatrick and the "authoritarians" ; Assumptions: "Domination by force eliminates a lot of ticklish problems of cultural understanding" ; Assumptions: Unilateralism, or the Monroe Doctrine ; Assumptions: Novak and Reaganomics for Latin Americans ; The 1983-84 crisis: (I) We must "persuade the American people the Communists are out to get us" ; (II) The outside threats ; (III) The inside threats ; (IV) Unwanted third parties, Congress and Contadora ; (V) Reagan, the C.I.A., and the origins of the Iran-Contra scandal ; Nicaragua: "the epidemiology of aggression" ; Honduras: refitting the aircraft carrier ; El Salvador: "plumping for savagery" ; Costa Rica: Hobson's choice ; Guatemala: "totally dedicated to democracy" ; Conclusion: beyond neodependence -- Rearranging the remains of the system. 1985-86: trying to create consensus ; The USS Honduras to the rescue ; Iran-Contra: "General Custer in diplomatic drag" ; The beginning of the end: Costa Rica and the Arias peace plan ; The Bush years: coming to terms with a rearranged system ; Nicaragua's February surprise of 1990 ; El Salvador: expanding the killing fields ; Guatemala: "They're poor her..., they'll be better off in heaven" ; Conclusion.…”