In 1922 President Franklin Roosevelt introduced the "Good Neighbor" Policy. This policy was created to keep the United States from getting involved in problems that could and would occur in Central America. This policy, however, did not stop many government agencies from interfering and creating a few new problems for United States neighbors. Of course, all of this was done in an aim to better the political position of the United States. In 1953, the Central Intelligence Agency created a rumor of an assassination attempt in Guatemala to run the corrupt government out of the country. This is a perfect example of the United States sidestepping policy and becoming entangled in Latin American affairs. History of course, was destined to repeat itself. Only this time, it would be a scandal that would shake the very foundation of a nation. .
When President Reagan was elected in 1980, he came into office promising to restore America's military and moral prestige in the world. Voters responded when he pledged to be tough on terrorists, a vow he repeated time and time again: "Let me further make it plain to assassins in Beirut and their accomplices, wherever they may be, that America will never make concessions to terrorists." Was this vow strictly a campaign promise made that he never intended to honor?.
In 1970 in Nicaragua, President Anastasio Somona Debayle fled the country. A civil war had been devastating the nation's economy. The popular sentiment showed that the public wanted the Sandinistas. The Sandinistas promised free enterprise but what they brought was political oppression. The United States tried to form an alliance with them but the Sandinistas grew closer to the USSR. Many Nicaraguans rejected this government. They decided to fight back. The rebel Nicaraguans groups that formed was known as the Contras. President Reagan had long ago taken a stand against the Sandanistan regime.