Dominican Republic: Responsibility & Deadlock

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Seventh Mission. To hear Caamaño tell it, one signal from him and the countryside would flare in revolt. "We have commandos throughout the entire country," he warned. "We don't want to bloody the nation, but we will use them if we have to." How much genuine strength he has outside Santo Domingo is open to question, but there was disturbing evidence of increasing rebel activity in the countryside. The fertile northern farming area of Cibao reported hit-and-run raids on army barracks. In the country's second city, Santiago, police rounded up 100 suspected rebels, seized 30,000 rounds of ammunition, four machine guns, and 20 rifles. At week's end, a three-man team of OAS ambassadors—Brazil's Ilmar Penna Marinho, El Salvador's Ramon de Clairmont Duefias and the U.S.'s Ells worth Bunker—landed in Santo Do mingo to help Secretary-General Mora in his attempts to negotiate a settlement. It was the seventh peace-seeking mission in six weeks. The hope was that Caamaño could be persuaded to agree to OAS-held elections. But at rebel headquarters, a spokesman said that Juan Bosch had just telephoned a message for Caamaño from Puerto Rico: "Have nothing to do with elections."

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