Central America

THE MOST important thing the United States can do now for the little states of Central America is provide the nearly $1 billion in emergency aid that President Clinton asked of Congress. And the most important part of the aid is its substantial forgiveness of Nicaraguan and Honduran debts and its two years of grace for other repayments.President Clinton's swing through Central America, meeting its leaders in one room, heralds a new relationship. Before, the CIA was heavily involved in right-wing and brutal regimes that went beyond legitimate suppression of Communist-influenced insurgent movements in Guatemala and El Salvador.

WASHINGTON -- Four months after Hurricane Mitch devastated Central America, President Clinton begins a visit to the region today with an offer of aid he hopes will help people there and at home.During his four-day tour of Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, Clinton will propose -- subject to congressional approval -- another $956 million in aid to Central America and Caribbean nations hurt by Hurricanes Mitch and Georges.That is more than triple the $305 million already spent and would make it the largest ever U.S. government aid package for a foreign disaster.

The holidays are past, the chill of winter has settled in and daydreamers' thoughts are filled with tropical beaches, swaying palm trees, sparkling turquoise water -- and purchases of oceanfront property.Marylanders who long to escape the snow and chilling rains by migrating to a warm weather home often look to popular retirement destinations such as the Carolinas and Florida.But those who want something warm, spicy and a bit more exotic may try to follow the trade winds farther south to the Caribbean.

MEMORIES OF Hurricane Andrew help us appreciate the devastation that Hurricane Mitch left behind in Central America. Andrew was one of the most powerful Atlantic storms of the century when it blew into Dade County, Fla. The 1992 storm killed 14 people and left 40,000 homeless. But that storm's fury does not compare with Mitch's path of death and destruction.The hurricane, later downgraded to a tropical storm, killed at least 9,000 people. Many were buried in mudslides. Another 13,000 people are missing.

U.S. national team coach Steve Sampson wants a win and the resulting three points in the standings from his team's World Cup qualifier in El Salvador on Sunday afternoon.But the State Department gave him an unexpected downer this week, opting for prudence and safety over victory and glory. The U.S. ambassador to the Central American nation warned embassy employees to stay away from San Salvador's Cuscatlan Stadium and other Americans to blend into the crowd, one of the world's -- how to put this?

AT THE same time the U.S. was winning the Cold War with the Soviet Union less than a decade ago, it was on its way to victory in the hot ideological civil wars then roiling Central America. President Clinton's visit to the region this week is a celebration of comparative peace, incipient democracy and free-market economic reform.Although he can hardly be expected to pay tribute to Ronald Reagan's interventionism lest he offend his hosts and remind his countrymen of unsavory events, Mr. Clinton is the beneficiary of Mr. Reagan's policies.

GIVEN his long history as a confidence man, Salvatore Spinnato might have ended up playing the part of a Galveston shrimp farmer, or a Dallas doctor, or maybe a Fort Worth physical therapist. Had things gone his way, he might have been chowing down enchiladas and knocking back tequila cocktails somewhere in Mexico by now. Or maybe he would have gone even farther south and ended up, like some character in a novel of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, running a steamboat in a river in Central America.

WASHINGTON -- John D. Negroponte, a high-ranking American diplomat who was a key figure for President Ronald Reagan's anti-Communist crusade in Central America, plans to retire June 1, he disclosed yesterday.His decision to retire came as a surprise. Earlier this week, he was reported to be in line for an important ambassadorship.He said his decision was based on his need to pay for the education of his five children, ages 4 to 15, all of whom were adopted in Honduras."I've made the decision that the time has come, after 36 years, to devote my energies to other pursuits," he said.

BURNABY, British Columbia -- Amid all the flag-waving, chants of "U.S.A." and general postgame bedlam, some U.S. national soccer team players wanted assurances that they'd qualified for next summer's World Cup."Everyone was running around hugging each other," Claudio Reyna said. "I said, 'Are we in?' "Yes, he was told, he could wrap himself in a flag. They were in.Reyna scored the game-winner in yesterday's 3-0 victory over Canada, and the United States got the help it needed in two other qualifying games.

LONDON -- Can one imagine when (and if) Daniel Ortega Saavedra and his ex-revolutionary Sandinistas are swept back into office after Sunday's general election Ronald Reagan saying calmly, ''Here we go again. So what?''It was Mr. Reagan, after all, who said of the Sandinista regime, ''If we ignore the malignancy in Nicaragua it will spread and become a mortal threat to the entire New World.'' The Sandinistas were ''just two days drive from Harlingen, Texas.'' And, as Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger said, ''Defending the mainland ranks above all other priorities.

WASHINGTON - Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt, who has been working to open Food and Drug Administration offices in China, said yesterday that he believes a similar office should be opened in Central America. Leavitt, emphasizing that he was not conveying administration policy, said that he believes the FDA should station inspectors in Central America because of the region's leading role in supplying fruits and vegetables to the United States. The secretary plans to discuss the issue, as well as other possible steps to improve the safety of food shipments, with counterparts from El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama and other Central American countries at a conference scheduled for next month.

GRANADA, NICARAGUA / / Boomtown fever is often followed by nostalgia for the way of life that just disappeared. Rapid change usually means rapid loss of charm. Tourism boomtowns are, of course, no exception, and the world brims with overbuilt locations where it's now impossible to find what led folks to flock there in the first place. (Cabo San Lucas, can you hear me?) Nicaragua's colonial gem of Granada, and its lakeside cobblestone streets, has thankfully not yet lost its character, but it doesn't take long here to see that nearly every block features a new hotel or a building for sale.

WASHINGTON - Congress must ratify the pending Central American Free Trade Agreement for one reason: national security. While much of our country's attention has been focused on Iraq, a series of troubling events, political and otherwise, have occurred in South America: Argentina has suffered economic collapse and, despite a recent recovery, remains a financial pariah. In oil-rich Venezuela, the erratic and autocratic President Hugo Chavez - in league with Fidel Castro of Cuba - has consolidated his power over his own dismayed population and extended his overtly anti-U.

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala - It's about a three-hour bus ride to the Pacific side of this Central American country, but that could turn out to be a short trip compared with what's ahead as the United States begins the long road to Asia today for World Cup 2002. Host Guatemala, an outsider in a CONCACAF qualifying group that also includes Barbados and Costa Rica, is doing everything it can to make today's opener difficult, including shifting the site from the capital city to isolated Mazatenango.

THE MOST important thing the United States can do now for the little states of Central America is provide the nearly $1 billion in emergency aid that President Clinton asked of Congress. And the most important part of the aid is its substantial forgiveness of Nicaraguan and Honduran debts and its two years of grace for other repayments.President Clinton's swing through Central America, meeting its leaders in one room, heralds a new relationship. Before, the CIA was heavily involved in right-wing and brutal regimes that went beyond legitimate suppression of Communist-influenced insurgent movements in Guatemala and El Salvador.

WASHINGTON -- Four months after Hurricane Mitch devastated Central America, President Clinton begins a visit to the region today with an offer of aid he hopes will help people there and at home.During his four-day tour of Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, Clinton will propose -- subject to congressional approval -- another $956 million in aid to Central America and Caribbean nations hurt by Hurricanes Mitch and Georges.That is more than triple the $305 million already spent and would make it the largest ever U.S. government aid package for a foreign disaster.

MEMORIES OF Hurricane Andrew help us appreciate the devastation that Hurricane Mitch left behind in Central America. Andrew was one of the most powerful Atlantic storms of the century when it blew into Dade County, Fla. The 1992 storm killed 14 people and left 40,000 homeless. But that storm's fury does not compare with Mitch's path of death and destruction.The hurricane, later downgraded to a tropical storm, killed at least 9,000 people. Many were buried in mudslides. Another 13,000 people are missing.

The holidays are past, the chill of winter has settled in and daydreamers' thoughts are filled with tropical beaches, swaying palm trees, sparkling turquoise water -- and purchases of oceanfront property.Marylanders who long to escape the snow and chilling rains by migrating to a warm weather home often look to popular retirement destinations such as the Carolinas and Florida.But those who want something warm, spicy and a bit more exotic may try to follow the trade winds farther south to the Caribbean.

BURNABY, British Columbia -- Amid all the flag-waving, chants of "U.S.A." and general postgame bedlam, some U.S. national soccer team players wanted assurances that they'd qualified for next summer's World Cup."Everyone was running around hugging each other," Claudio Reyna said. "I said, 'Are we in?' "Yes, he was told, he could wrap himself in a flag. They were in.Reyna scored the game-winner in yesterday's 3-0 victory over Canada, and the United States got the help it needed in two other qualifying games.

GIVEN his long history as a confidence man, Salvatore Spinnato might have ended up playing the part of a Galveston shrimp farmer, or a Dallas doctor, or maybe a Fort Worth physical therapist. Had things gone his way, he might have been chowing down enchiladas and knocking back tequila cocktails somewhere in Mexico by now. Or maybe he would have gone even farther south and ended up, like some character in a novel of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, running a steamboat in a river in Central America.