After his retirement, San Martín intended to live in Cuyo, modern Argentina. The Argentine theater of the Spanish American wars of independence had ended, and by that point the conflict was restricted to northern South America. However, the Argentine Civil Wars had begun, between the unitarians, who wanted to organize the country as a unitary state centered on Buenos Aires, and the federals, who preferred a federation of provinces. San Martín had good relations with the federal "caudillos" Juan Bautista Bustos, Estanislao López and Facundo Quiroga, and a personal feud with the unitarian leader Bernardino Rivadavia. However, he tried to stay neutral in the conflict. López offered him his military support to depose the government of Buenos Aires, so that San Martín would rule instead, but he declined the offer. Aware of San Martín's influence, the government of Buenos Aires kept him under surveillance, intercepted his mail, and urged him to leave the country.