The People's Vanguard Organization is likely a loosely affiliated umbrella organization of leftist Central American guerilla groups. It is unclear where the organization is based and exactly what it is comprised of, but one of its primary member groups, the Commander Carlos Aguero Echeverria Command (CAEC) was made up mostly of Nicaraguan nationals and operated out of Costa Rica. It is possible, or even likely, that the People's Vanguard Organization is an umbrella group of leftist organizations that, while hailing from other Central American countries, operate out of Costa Rica. <p><br />Costa Rica has long been seen as a model of democracy and stability in Latin America  --  Central America, in particular. While leftist and rightist revolutions occurred in neighboring Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua, Costa Rica largely stayed out of the conflicts. Due to this neutrality, large numbers of political exiles from neighboring countries from both ends of the political spectrum came to reside in Costa Rica. By the early to mid-1980s, however, the presence of violent foreign guerillas from both the right and the left had brought terrorism and violence to the country. <p> <br />The relative Costa Rican peace was broken when the CAEC, operating under the People's Vanguard Organization, shot a bazooka-type rocket at a van carrying U.S. Marines, injuring five people on March 17, 1981. In pamphlets distributed to the media, the CAEC said the attack was retribution for United States, Costa Rican and Honduran support for El Salvador's junta. The group said it was named after a Costa Rican who fought with Nicaraguan guerrillas who ousted President Anastasio Somoza in July 1979. These leftist guerrillas were called Sandinistas after famous anti-imperialist Augusto C. Sandino. The CAEC's identification with this Costa Rican commander has led the group, and its umbrella organization, the People's Vanguard Organization, to be (correctly or incorrectly) labeled as part of the Sandinista Nicaraguan leftist movement. Despite this label, it is clear only that the People Vanguard Organization is a leftist group comprised of people with various group affiliations. It is unclear whether their primary motives are related to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador or Central America in general. <p><br />The CAEC was first linked to the People's Vanguard Organization when several of the four Nicaraguan men arrested in association with the attack on the U.S. van identified themselves as members of the larger organization. They also associated themselves with the CAEC and a previously unheard of group they called the Prolonged Popular War. The van attack, along with another attack against the Honduran embassy, which occurred an hour afterwards, prompted a wider crackdown on foreign nationals in addition to the four primary arrests. More than 40 foreigners were believed to have been detained in connection with the two attacks or leftist guerillas. At least twenty-five were deported. The majority of those questioned were Nicaraguan and Salvadoran.