Seventy Years of Intervention: US Foreign Policy in Latin America Under Scrutiny
A history of military interventions, coups, and support for dictatorships in Latin America continues to shape the region’s relationship with the United States, as evidenced by recent actions toward Venezuela.
The United States, which announced a large-scale operation against Venezuela on Saturday, January 3rd, has a long and often controversial history of military interventions and support for authoritarian regimes throughout Latin America. Accusations of US involvement in destabilizing attempts, including a brief ousting of President Hugo Chavez in 2002, have repeatedly been leveled by both Chavez and his successor, Nicolas Maduro. This history raises critical questions about the long-term consequences of US foreign policy in the region.
The Cold War’s Shadow: Early Interventions
The roots of US interventionism in Latin America stretch back to the Cold War, fueled by a fear of communist expansion. One of the earliest and most impactful examples occurred in Guatemala in 1954. On June 27th, democratically elected President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman was overthrown by mercenaries trained and financed by Washington, after enacting land reforms that threatened the interests of the powerful United Fruit Corporation (now Chiquita Brands). The US government later acknowledged the CIA’s role in the coup, justifying it as a necessary step in the fight against communism.
Just two years later, in April 1961, the US backed another failed attempt to overthrow a communist government – this time in Cuba. Approximately 1,400 anti-Castro militants, trained and funded by the CIA, launched an invasion at the Bay of Pigs, 250 kilometers from Havana. The operation was a resounding failure, resulting in casualties on both sides – roughly 100 deaths per camp – and further strained relations between the US and Cuba.
Dominican Republic and the “Communist Threat”
The perceived threat of communism continued to drive US policy in the region. In 1965, the US sent Marines and paratroopers to Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, to suppress a popular uprising in favor of Juan Bosch, a left-leaning president who had been overthrown by generals in 1963. This intervention, justified by the need to prevent another Cuba, underscored the US willingness to intervene in the internal affairs of Latin American nations.
Supporting Authoritarianism: The Cone of South America
Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, Washington actively supported numerous military dictatorships in the Southern Cone of South America – Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Brazil – viewing them as bulwarks against leftist movements. This support was particularly evident in Chile in 1973, where the US actively aided the coup led by Augusto Pinochet against the democratically elected, socialist President Salvador Allende.
The extent of US complicity in the human rights abuses committed by these regimes was later revealed through declassified documents. According to these documents, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger encouraged the Argentine junta in 1976 to rapidly conclude its “dirty war,” a period of state-sponsored terrorism that resulted in the disappearance of at least 10,000 Argentinian citizens.
During the 1970s and 1980s, six South American dictatorships collaborated in Operation Condor, a coordinated campaign to eliminate left-wing opposition. This operation, while officially conducted by the dictatorships themselves, benefited from tacit US support.
Central American Conflicts: Nicaragua and El Salvador
The 1980s saw the US heavily involved in the civil wars raging in Nicaragua and El Salvador. Following the 1979 Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua, which ousted the dictator Anastasio Somoza, President Ronald Reagan authorized the CIA to secretly fund the Contras, a counter-revolutionary force seeking to overthrow the Sandinista government. This funding, estimated at $20 million, was partially sourced through the illegal sale of arms to Iran. The Nicaraguan civil war lasted until 1990, claiming an estimated 50,000 lives.
Similarly, Reagan sent military advisors to El Salvador to combat the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a left-wing rebel group. This involvement prolonged the Salvadoran civil war (1980-1992), which resulted in approximately 72,000 deaths.
Direct Intervention: Grenada and Panama
The US also engaged in more direct military interventions. In October 1983, US Marines and Rangers invaded Grenada following the assassination of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop by a leftist junta and concerns over Cuban expansion of the island’s airport. President Reagan launched “Operation Urgent Fury,” ostensibly to protect American citizens, but the intervention was widely condemned by the United Nations General Assembly. The operation concluded on November 3rd, with over 100 fatalities.
In 1989, the US intervened in Panama following a disputed election, leading to the surrender of General Manuel Noriega, a former US intelligence asset indicted on drug trafficking charges. “Operation Just Cause,” involving 27,000 soldiers, resulted in officially 500 deaths, though NGOs estimate the actual toll to be much higher. Noriega would ultimately serve over two decades in US prisons before being extradited to France and then Panama.
Notably, the School of the Americas, founded in Panama in 1946, played a significant role in shaping Latin American militaries. Controlled by the US until 1984, the school trained numerous military personnel who would later become dictators and perpetrators of human rights abuses.
The legacy of these interventions continues to resonate throughout Latin America, shaping political dynamics and fueling anti-American sentiment. The recent actions toward Venezuela serve as a stark reminder of the complex and often fraught relationship between the United States and its southern neighbors.
