The U.S. had come to the end of a policy. At Bogotá, the American nations had agreed to junk the old practice of not recognizing dictatorial or unpopular governments. Last week the U.S. (and Colombia) recognized the sovereign state of Nicaragua, ruled over by smirking, slippery Dictator Anastasio "Tacho" Somoza.
Chiefly responsible for this new diplomatic tack was 44-year-old Paul Daniels, the State Department's Director for American Republic Affairs. From long experience, Daniels had concluded that the policy of ignoring de facto governments was silly: it was a relic of the days of kingdoms...