“There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried.”(Oscar Arnulfo Romero). Oscar Arnulfo Romero was an Archbishop of San Salvador who helped popularize liberation theology in Latin America. He was outspoken about the suffering of the poor, against capitalism, oligarchies, and repression from the state. In particular, he voiced concerns about the U.S. arming the Salvadoran military, which had acted as a brutal state police and committed violence against the Salvadoran people. In alignment with the U.S. foreign policy of containment and rollback of communism. Worrying that Nicaragua could influence neighboring Central American countries that could fall under communism, Reagan and Carter imposed this heavily. Hence, the
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The U.S. didn’t want to appear weak in handling Latin American affairs, and that led them to a path of repressing the people. Nevertheless, Oscar Arnulfo Romero’s constant activism, often at the expense of his safety, ended in his murder. Even though he advocated for peace and against foreign intervention, he would not be able to succeed in avoiding U.S. involvement in El Salvador, which would plunge thousands to their deaths in the Civil War. However, through the people's will, they would continue his advocacy for him, and with that, Oscar Arnulfo Romero’s dream would come to fruition.
Fervently, Oscar Arnulfo Romero discussed with his fellow Salvadorans that he would fight in any way he could to end the suffering of his people, stating, “If they kill me, I will rise again in the Salvadoran people.”(Wellington). This is in reverence of what Jesus of Nazareth would do, helping his people; even though the challenge may be daunting, it had to be done for the greater good of the community. In addition, Romero voiced his concerns about involving El Salvador in the US-USSR arms race to Jimmy Carter in a letter, saying, “If this newspaper report …show more content…
However, just like the Carter Administration, Reagan also provided aid and military tactic support but focused more on the repressive nature of the military than the agreement of El Salvador conducting reforms (Pastor). It was never in the U.S. interest that El Salvador would be part of its pawn in the Cold War, but as guerrillas in El Salvador were arming up and the masses tired of an oppressive regime it would become evident that they too could fall to communism.
With that in mind, Romero’s advocacy would ensue due to the increasingly violent attacks from the government against the Catholic Church. The government was being trained and supplied with weapons from the U.S., all part of the campaign to ensure no communist ideals would spring up (Wellington). A casualty of this increase in attacks was the rise of liberation theology and the upper class as well as the government emulated that ideal with communism, which in the U.S eyes justified the reason for repressing the people in El Salvador from rising in power. Even with all the intimidation and death threats, Romero still dared to speak out against the U.S., Salvadoran government, and communist rebels. As
The U.S. didn’t want to appear weak in handling Latin American affairs, and that led them to a path of repressing the people. Nevertheless, Oscar Arnulfo Romero’s constant activism, often at the expense of his safety, ended in his murder. Even though he advocated for peace and against foreign intervention, he would not be able to succeed in avoiding U.S. involvement in El Salvador, which would plunge thousands to their deaths in the Civil War. However, through the people's will, they would continue his advocacy for him, and with that, Oscar Arnulfo Romero’s dream would come to fruition.
Fervently, Oscar Arnulfo Romero discussed with his fellow Salvadorans that he would fight in any way he could to end the suffering of his people, stating, “If they kill me, I will rise again in the Salvadoran people.”(Wellington). This is in reverence of what Jesus of Nazareth would do, helping his people; even though the challenge may be daunting, it had to be done for the greater good of the community. In addition, Romero voiced his concerns about involving El Salvador in the US-USSR arms race to Jimmy Carter in a letter, saying, “If this newspaper report …show more content…
However, just like the Carter Administration, Reagan also provided aid and military tactic support but focused more on the repressive nature of the military than the agreement of El Salvador conducting reforms (Pastor). It was never in the U.S. interest that El Salvador would be part of its pawn in the Cold War, but as guerrillas in El Salvador were arming up and the masses tired of an oppressive regime it would become evident that they too could fall to communism.
With that in mind, Romero’s advocacy would ensue due to the increasingly violent attacks from the government against the Catholic Church. The government was being trained and supplied with weapons from the U.S., all part of the campaign to ensure no communist ideals would spring up (Wellington). A casualty of this increase in attacks was the rise of liberation theology and the upper class as well as the government emulated that ideal with communism, which in the U.S eyes justified the reason for repressing the people in El Salvador from rising in power. Even with all the intimidation and death threats, Romero still dared to speak out against the U.S., Salvadoran government, and communist rebels. As