In Mark Danner's book, The El Mozote Massacre, he argues that US policy towards Latin America was an indirect result of the massacre in El Salvador. After reading his book, I agree with the following statement. Not only did the United States aid the military government, but it also denied any killings that occurred which allowed the military government to continue the massacre of innocent farmers. The United States has hidden or discredited several news sources and human rights organizations to continue helping El Salvador. The fact that the United States discredited the information sources also allowed them to sign the certification, all because the United States did not want to have a communist country on its side of the hemisphere. By the end of this book it is very clear that the United States' actions regarding the massacre in El Mozote and nearby villages were all for its own benefit. The massacre that took place in El Mozote is nothing short of gruesome. Ultimately, around 370 people were killed in El Mozote. While the total count of all villages attacked was approximately 767 people, El Mozote constituted approximately half of the dead during El Salvador's Dirty War. Although the government of El Salvador did most of the dirty work, it received assistance to do so. As time went on the United States began to worry that the left-wing parties would win, and as the guerrillas were fighting back, it seemed more and more like a reality as time went on. Therefore, President Reagan, “doubled economic aid for El Salvador, bringing it to 144 million dollars, increased military aid, from twenty-six million dollars to more than thirty-five million…” (Danner, p. 40). Even though the U.S. government “had stepped… half a paper… well. US policy has focused primarily on preventing the rise of left-wing parties, and in some respects they have been successful. While the United States prospered because it did everything it could to prevent left-wing parties from rising up, innocent farmers were being killed. Ultimately, the financial aid provided by the United States to El Salvador allowed the military government to purchase the weapons that essentially killed the farmers. The way the United States discredited and presented the facts had a major impact on why little was done to help and stop the military government. Finally, the certification program, which allowed El Salvador's military government to continue providing funds, had a major impact. US policy had an indirect impact on the El Mozote massacre, all because they refused to allow a communist country to be on their side of the hemisphere.