The initials were printed on armbands and steel helmets, on flags and on the hoods of patrolling Jeeps. "OEA," the Spanish abbreviation for the Organization of American States, signaled a growing hemispheric presence and new responsibility in the scarred city of Santo Domingo.
In seven weeks of sporadic fighting and tortured negotiations, the U.S., acting largely alone, had managed to impose a shaky truce between the loyalist forces of Brigadier General Antonio Imbert Barreras and the collection of rebellious soldiers, discontented civilians and Communist infiltrators led by Colonel Francisco Caamaño Deñó. Now the U.S. was trying hard to move into the background. It was time for Latin Americans, however reluctant, to share the burden of keeping peace and restoring some sort of workable government to the bloodied little nation.
Man in Command. At his headquarters in the Jaragua Hotel, Brazilian General Hugo Panasco Alvim, 64, took command of the 23,000-man OAS military force from U.S. Lieut. General Bruce Palmer. "I'm happy to serve under you, General," said Palmer, and there was no question that Alvim meant to run the show. "You speak Spanish, General?" asked Alvim. "I'm trying^ sir," replied Palmer. "Well, you'd better learn," said Alvim.
After a look around, Alvim advised President Johnson that the situation seemed well enough in hand to withdraw more U.S. troops. Almost immediately, Johnson ordered the last 2,100 marines out, leaving 12,500 U.S. paratroopers and 1,560 troops from Brazil, Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua, plus a 6,500-man U.S. Navy task force offshore.
Alvim called on both loyalists and rebels to "demonstrate democratic and humanitarian understanding by finding a dignified formula for the re-establishment of a lasting peace." That was obviously a long way off, but to underscore his message, General Alvim sent a battalion of Brazilian infantrymen to secure Santo Domingo's bullet-pocked National Palace on the fringe of the rebel zone. From the first days of the civil war, the palace had been held by Imbert's loyalists, who beat off rebel attacks. Now Alvim wanted the shooting to cease. As the OAS troops marched in to guard the building, Imbert's soldiers reluctantly got into trucks and withdrew, leaving behind only a corporal's guard of 25 men.
Cutting the Ground. Until now, Imbert had been insisting on a fight to the finish against Caamaño. He was still grumbling, and so were his officers, who were itching to clean out the rebels. But after days of talk with OAS Secretary-General Jose Mora, Imbert at last agreed that a bloodbath was hardly the answer to the Dominican Republic's ills, accepted an OAS plan to hold new elections, possibly within the next two to three months.