Castro, Si; Yanqui, Si

Names like Cabot and MacArthur are certainly American. Even Labouisse and Poullada or Reinhardt and Riddleberger do not seem very out of place on the roster of U.S. ambassadors, but the newest name in the diplomatic ranks will have them goggling. Last week President Johnson appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador a man named Raul Castro.

Well, no, it wasn't that Raul Castro --he's still waiting 90 miles off Florida. This Raul Castro, 48, is a Tucson, Ariz., superior court judge who was born in Mexico, became a U.S. citizen and graduated from Arizona State College in 1939, then served in Mexico for the State Department before going into law practice in 1949. His knowledge of Central America, plus long, faithful labors for the Democratic Party, plus perhaps some sly thoughts about the name, led President Johnson to tap him for the El Salvador job.

In El Salvador, he replaces Career Diplomat Murat Williams, 50, whose four-year tour of duty rates as one of the more successful U.S. diplomatic efforts in Latin America in terms of general economic and political progress under the Alliance. Inheriting a sound relationship, perhaps the new man can even make his name work to advantage. To knock the U.S. now, leftist Salvadorans will also have to knock Castro.

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