Choosing Exile 1930-1950

About the Book

During the 1930s, 40s and 50s, Central American countries faced a series of tyrannical repressions by military-led governments. After WWII, US interest shifted to address a new threat: communist incursions in the region. Caught in this post-war juxtaposition was a group of young professionals in El Salvador led by an enigmatic rebel, who skillfully promoted aggressive reforms and alliances to establish a representative government. Swept into the insurgency is a young dentist. When his participation is exposed, he is forced to flee the country. The choice takes him and his family to post-war San Francisco, California where he is recruited by an eccentric millionaire dentist bent on exposing the prejudicial actions of his nemesis, the American Dental Association. Meanwhile, Salvadoran death-squad pursuers force the immigrant into a series of ethnocentric experiences, which eventually force the young dentist into a dramatic choice despite their eagerness to return to their native land.

About the Author

R. L. Cañas is the son of Salvadoran immigrants. In 1945, at the age of four, his family moved to San Francisco, California where he grew up and attended High School and University. In 1976, while working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration as a Special Agent in San Francisco, Cañas accepted a post in Guatemala City, Guatemala. During his career with DEA he completed six years in Guatemala, and five years in Mexico City. He has held various positions with the US government. Among the most notable are: Latin American Division of the CIA, Director of Counterterrorism and Counternarcotics at the White House NSC, Director of National Drug Intelligence, and Director of Department of Homeland Security, New Jersey. His last published books with Authorhouse were non-fiction: Shift- The End of the Drug War, and Homeland Security at the State Level.