Editing Roberto D'Aubuisson (section)

=== 1984 presidential campaign ===

On 25 March 1984, D'Aubuisson began his campaign for the Salvadoran presidency. On 2 May he lost the [[1984 Salvadoran presidential election|presidential election]] to former President of the Junta [[José Napoleón Duarte]] of the [[Christian Democratic Party (El Salvador)|Christian Democratic Party]], receiving 46.4 percent of the vote to Duarte's 53.6 percent. D'Aubuisson claimed fraud and U.S. interference on behalf of Duarte, who was later confirmed to have been a CIA asset.
In Washington D.C., a supporter of D'Aubuisson was Senator [[Jesse Helms]], who had close ties with D'Aubuisson's ARENA party.<ref name="Bronstein Jy 8">{{cite news | last = Bronstein | first =Phil | title=Jesse Helms and his arms-trading staff | work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] | date=July 8, 2008 | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/bronstein/detail?&entry_id=27938 | access-date=July 8, 2008}}</ref><ref name="McEwan Jy 7">{{cite news | last = Melissa McEwan | first =Melissa McEwan | title=Republican dinosaur: Although he fought every progressive cause, Jesse Helms aimed special enmity towards black people | work=[[The Guardian]] | date=July 7, 2008 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/jul/07/usa | access-date=July 8, 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=National Catholic Reporter |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_n41_v30/ai_15802111 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622192750/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_n41_v30/ai_15802111 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 22, 2008 |date=September 23, 1994 |author=Arthur Jones |title=El Salvador revisited: a look a declassified State Department documents – some of what U.S. government knew – and when it knew it }}</ref>

Helms opposed the appointment of [[Thomas R. Pickering]] as [[United States Ambassador to El Salvador|Ambassador to El Salvador]],<ref name="Link 248">Link (2007), p. 248</ref> and alleged that the CIA had interfered in the 1984 Salvadoran election in favor of Duarte,<ref name="CIA role in El Salvador">{{cite news |first=Reginald |last=Dale |title=CIA role in El Salvador election criticised |work=[[Financial Times]] |date=May 10, 1984 }}</ref> claiming that Pickering had "used the cloak of diplomacy to strangle freedom in the night".<ref name="Link 248" /> A CIA operative testifying to the [[United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence|Senate Intelligence Committee]] was alleged by Helms to have admitted rigging the election, but senators who attended stated that, whilst the CIA operative admitted involvement, the person did not admit to rigging the election.<ref name="CIA role in El Salvador" /> Helms disclosed details of CIA financial support for Duarte, earning a rebuke from fellow senator [[Barry Goldwater]], but Helms replied that his information came from sources in El Salvador, not the Senate committee.<ref>Link (2007), p. 249</ref>

In December 1984, D'Aubuisson travelled to Washington and was presented with a plaque by groups such as the [[American Foreign Policy Council]], the [[Moral Majority]] and the [[Young Americans for Freedom]] for “continuing efforts for freedom in the face of communist aggression which is an inspiration to freedom-loving people everywhere”.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Omang|first=Joanne|date=December 5, 1984|title=D'Aubuisson Honored by Conservatives at Capitol Hill Dinner|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref>