mayor in March 1966 and March 1968. After leaving office in 1970, he set up his own estate agency until he ran in the February 20, 1972 presidential election under a political grouping called the United National Opposition (UNO). He lost to Arturo Armando Molina in an election that was widely viewed as fraudulent, with Molina declared the winner even though Duarte was said to have received a majority of the votes; poll watchers claimed the real vote tally was 327,000 for Duarte and 318,000 for Molina. On 25 March 1972, a coup d'état was attempted by left-wing military officers who supported Duarte. The coup was suppressed and Duarte was arrested. He was subjected to torture. He was condemned to death for high treason, but international pressure forced Molina to grant him exile, which he obtained in Venezuela. Duarte got a job as an engineering advisor and became involved as a private investor in various construction projects. He was also given posts in the international Christian Democratic movement. In 1974, he returned to El Salvador, where he was promptly arrested and returned to Venezuela. Junta leader On 15 October 1979, a Revolutionary Government Junta (JRG) took control of El Salvador, deposing President Carlos Humberto Romero. This is the start of the beginning of a full scale civil war. Duarte returned to El Salvador on March 3, 1980 and joined the Junta, becoming El Salvador's foreign minister. Just weeks after joining the government, Duarte came to the attention of the U.S. public as spokesperson for the Junta following the assassination of Archbishop Romero on 24 March 1980. As an official source, he promoted a "blame on both sides" apologetic to explain the government's lack of resolve to investigate the assassination. On 22 December 1980, he became the head of state and of the Junta. The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) responded by launching an all out attack on the government on January 10, 1981, which resulted in the regime receiving immediate military aid and advisors from the United States of America. With the arrival of the new US government of Ronald Reagan, Duarte became a symbol for "anti-communist" resistance in Central America although support for the FMLN from the Soviet Union has been questioned by Noam Chomsky. On 28 March 1982, elections were held to the National Congress in which Duarte's Christian Democratic Party (PDC) party gained 24 of the