Louisiana. It was soon facetiously dubbed the "Bayou of Pigs", referring to the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion years before in Cuba. Charles became more widely known to the outside world for her role in the lead-up to the United States Invasion of Grenada on 25 October 1983. In the wake of the arrest and execution of Grenadian Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, Charles, then serving as chair of the OECS, appealed to the United States, Jamaica, and Barbados for intervention. She appeared on television with U.S. president Ronald Reagan, supporting the invasion. Journalist Bob Woodward reported that the U.S. paid millions of dollars to the Dominica government, some of which was regarded by the Central Intelligence Agency as a "payoff", for Charles's support of the intervention. She was re-elected in the 1985 general election and the 1990 general election. Charles and her party were considered conservative by Caribbean standards. However, American observers considered many of her policies to be centrist or even leftist; for instance, she supported some social welfare programmes. Other issues that were important to her were anti-corruption laws and individual freedom. For her uncompromising stance on this and other issues, she became known as the "Iron Lady of the Caribbean" (after the original "Iron Lady", Margaret Thatcher). Later years and death With popularity declining during her third term, Charles retired in 1995. The DFP subsequently lost the 1995 general election. After retiring, Charles undertook speaking engagements in the United States and abroad. She became involved in former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's Carter Center, which promotes human rights and observes elections to encourage fairness. On 30 August 2005, Charles entered a hospital in Fort-de-France, Martinique, for hip-replacement surgery. She died from a pulmonary embolism on 6 September, at the age of 86. She was buried in Pointe Michel on 14 September. See also First women lawyers around the world References Further reading Gabriel J. Christian, Mamo! The Life & Times of Dame Mary Eugenia Charles , Pont Casse Press, 2010. "Memorial Mass for Dame Eugenia", The Chronicle, 11 September 2009. Torild Skard (2014), "Eugenia Charles", Women of power – half a century of female presidents and prime ministers worldwide, Bristol: Policy Press, Alan Gregor Cobley and Eudine Barriteau (2006), Enjoying Power: Eugenia Charles and Political Leadership in the Commonwealth Caribbean, University of the West Indies Press, Janet Higbie (1993), Eugenia: The Caribbean's Iron Lady, Macmillan Caribbean, External links