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Imbert still talked of resuming the attack—this time against the main rebel force in downtown Santo Domingo. That would mean pushing across the corridor held by U.S. troops, and the U.S. showed little inclination to let him press on with what would surely bring the bloodiest fighting yet seen in the Dominican Republic. Instead, the U.S. intends to stand as a buffer between the loyalists and rebels while the diplomats seek some sort of compromise government. U.S. officials hope that Imbert may be less adamant about negotiating as the rebels grow weaker. U.S. intelligence reports tell of plummeting morale in the rebel area. Many of the disaffected Dominican army officers with Caamaño are reported to be ready to give up; so are the supporters of Juan Bosch, who now seem to be continuing more out of fear than fanatic conviction. If so, that would reduce the rebels mainly to hard-core Communists, and OAS peace-keeping troops might be called upon to deal with them.
More Than a Symbol. How much of an effort the OAS can muster to help restore peace in the Dominican Republic remains to be seen. There were some indications that the Inter-American Armed Force was becoming more than a mere symbol. Brazil announced that it was sending 1,300 combat troops to bolster the handful of Costa Rican, Honduran and Nicaraguan soldiers already in Santo Domingo. The U.S. responded with a pledge to pull out an equal number of troops as the Latin American units arrive. The OAS then voted to put the entire peacekeeping force, including U.S. troops, under a Brazilian general, with a U.S. officer as deputy commander.
The man who now appeared to be the key to the situation was the loyalists' Tony Imbert, who had surprised almost everyone by his show of strength and determination to clean out the rebels. As one Latin American diplomat told OAS Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker: "You uncaged a tiger. Now cage him." At week's end Imbert rejected a permanent ceasefire, though he promised to refrain from "initiating any aggressive actions"—at least temporarily. True to form, the rebels began shooting again. New sniper fire poured into U.S. positions, and another four paratroopers were wounded.