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Dawn of a new era of US imperialism in Latin America
Dawn of a new era of US imperialism in Latin America
POSTED NOVEMBER 15, 2018
UPDATED NOV 22 (Democracy Now! interviews with Noam Chomsky)
UPDATED JAN 18, 2019 (Democracy Now! interview with Venezuelan Foreign Minister)
Perhaps emboldened by the election of a far-right candidate in Brazil on October 28, National Security Adviser John Bolton gave a speech on November 8 that seems intended to usher in a new era of US relations with Latin America. It portends a massive escalation in US foreign policy: one where America is trying to dictate how three sovereign countries should operate.
Perhaps emboldened by the election of a far-right candidate in Brazil on October 28, National Security Adviser John Bolton gave a speech on November 8 that seems intended to usher in a new era of US relations with Latin America. It portends a massive escalation in US foreign policy: one where America is trying to dictate how three sovereign countries should operate.
His speech was reminiscent of George Bush's "axis of evil" speech in 2002 - a year before neocons like Bolton lied us into the Iraq war. That disastrous war along with other post 9/11 wars set off a series of events that led to the destabilization of the Middle East, the rise of Islamic State, the loss of 480,000 lives due to direct war violence (and several times as many indirectly), and the creation of more than 10 million displaced persons and refugees. So, now instead of living in disgrace (or perhaps a prison) for his role in promoting the illegal war against Iraq, one of the architects* of that war is again in a position of influence.
His speech was reminiscent of George Bush's "axis of evil" speech in 2002 - a year before neocons like Bolton lied us into the Iraq war. That disastrous war along with other post 9/11 wars set off a series of events that led to the destabilization of the Middle East, the rise of Islamic State, the loss of 480,000 lives due to direct war violence (and several times as many indirectly), and the creation of more than 10 million displaced persons and refugees. So, now instead of living in disgrace (or perhaps a prison) for his role in promoting the illegal war against Iraq, one of the architects* of that war is again in a position of influence.
Though the nations that Bolton threatened - Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua - have repressive governments (but lets face it this has nothing to do with freedom vs. repression - the US has no problem with right-wing and far-right wing repressive governments and dictatorships**), the speech is cause for serious concern.
Though the nations that Bolton threatened - Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua - have repressive governments (but lets face it this has nothing to do with freedom vs. repression - the US has no problem with right-wing and far-right wing repressive governments and dictatorships**), the speech is cause for serious concern.
"The first is that it sounds like a renewal of America’s Cold War stance toward Latin America. The US spent decades opposing, and in some cases fighting, communist forces. From Nicaragua to Guatemala to Chile, the US used its power to squash many left-leaning movements in the region mostly because of its opposition to the Soviet Union....
"The first is that it sounds like a renewal of America’s Cold War stance toward Latin America. The US spent decades opposing, and in some cases fighting, communist forces. From Nicaragua to Guatemala to Chile, the US used its power to squash many left-leaning movements in the region mostly because of its opposition to the Soviet Union....
"Second, Bolton just aligned the US with a repressive politician. He called Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right firebrand who won Brazil’s presidential election, a “likeminded leader.” That’s scary. Bolsonaro has expressed fondness for his country’s past military dictatorship and wants to bring back torture to his country as a way to stem rising crime rates. He may not be a dictator, but he could usher in an era of massive repression and imperil human rights in Latin America’s most populous country. To align the US with Bolsonaro implies the goal really isn’t about improving 'freedom,, but about eradicating far-left leadership in Latin America." (Vox, Nov 1)
"Second, Bolton just aligned the US with a repressive politician. He called Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right firebrand who won Brazil’s presidential election, a “likeminded leader.” That’s scary. Bolsonaro has expressed fondness for his country’s past military dictatorship and wants to bring back torture to his country as a way to stem rising crime rates. He may not be a dictator, but he could usher in an era of massive repression and imperil human rights in Latin America’s most populous country. To align the US with Bolsonaro implies the goal really isn’t about improving 'freedom,, but about eradicating far-left leadership in Latin America." (Vox, Nov 1)
US intervention in Latin America is a long sad story. Perhaps not as sad as Vietnam or Iraq or Afghanistan, but appalling for a self-styled champion of democracy. Whether we were assisting directly in the overthrow of elected governments, giving military aid to right-wing military groups and dictators, or training their officers, our concern was less for making the world safe for democracy than for making it safe for capitalism. In doing so, the US is in large parts responsible for the flow of migrants from impoverished nations.
US intervention in Latin America is a long sad story. Perhaps not as sad as Vietnam or Iraq or Afghanistan, but appalling for a self-styled champion of democracy. Whether we were assisting directly in the overthrow of elected governments, giving military aid to right-wing military groups and dictators, or training their officers, our concern was less for making the world safe for democracy than for making it safe for capitalism. In doing so, the US is in large parts responsible for the flow of migrants from impoverished nations.
Below is a brief history of some of the US' more egregious interventions and some information on an organization that is striving "to expose, denounce, and end US militarization, oppressive US policies and other forms of state violence in the Americas."
Below is a brief history of some of the US' more egregious interventions and some information on an organization that is striving "to expose, denounce, and end US militarization, oppressive US policies and other forms of state violence in the Americas."
* As under secretary of state for arms control, during President George W. Bush’s first term in office, Bolton told the BBC the U.S. was “confident that Saddam Hussein has hidden weapons of mass destruction and production facilities in Iraq.” (The Atlantic, March 23)
** In the Middle East the US' closest allies are Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Netanyahu's Israel. Trump has also expressed admiration for the far-right leader of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte - whose "reign of terror"has produced up to 20,000 extra-judicial killings as part of the drug war and has threatened to indict a news site critical of him.
Nicaragua - funding the Contras' war
Nicaragua - funding the Contras' war
A US-backed militia, known as the Contras, was formed in 1981 to overthrow the Sandinista* government and was funded and trained by the US Central Intelligence Agency. In 1984 elections were held and the FSLN won the majority of the votes. The civil war between the Contras and the government continued until 1989.
A US-backed militia, known as the Contras, was formed in 1981 to overthrow the Sandinista* government and was funded and trained by the US Central Intelligence Agency. In 1984 elections were held and the FSLN won the majority of the votes. The civil war between the Contras and the government continued until 1989.
The "Iran-Contra Affair" was a political scandal that occurred during the second term of the Reagan Administration Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, which was the subject of an arms embargo. They hoped, thereby, to fund the Contras while at the same time negotiating the release of several U.S. hostages. Since funding of the Contras had been prohibited by Congress, the Reagan Administration was in violation of the law both on this count and on the count of selling arms to Iran.
The "Iran-Contra Affair" was a political scandal that occurred during the second term of the Reagan Administration Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, which was the subject of an arms embargo. They hoped, thereby, to fund the Contras while at the same time negotiating the release of several U.S. hostages. Since funding of the Contras had been prohibited by Congress, the Reagan Administration was in violation of the law both on this count and on the count of selling arms to Iran.
*The Sandinistas were one of the Nicaraguan groups that overthrew President Anastasio Somoza* Debayle in 1979, ending 46 years of dictatorship by the Somoza family. Prior to the Somoza dictatorships, the United States had occupied Nicaragua for 24 years. The Sandinistas are named after one of the leaders opposing the US occupation. The Sandinistas held power until 1990 and were returned to the government in the elections of 2006.
Overthrow of Chilean President Allende
Overthrow of Chilean President Allende
The 1973 Chilean coup d'état followed a period of social unrest and political tension between the opposition-controlled Congress of Chile and the socialist President Salvador Allende, as well as economic warfare ordered by US President Richard Nixon. Allende was overthrown by the armed forces and national police. The United States government, which had worked to create the conditions for the coup*,promptly recognized the junta government and supported it in consolidating power. The junta government of General Pinochet committed widespread crimes** in the ensuing 17 years, and the ex-dictator was indicted for human rights abuses for the second time in 2004.
The 1973 Chilean coup d'état followed a period of social unrest and political tension between the opposition-controlled Congress of Chile and the socialist President Salvador Allende, as well as economic warfare ordered by US President Richard Nixon. Allende was overthrown by the armed forces and national police. The United States government, which had worked to create the conditions for the coup*,promptly recognized the junta government and supported it in consolidating power. The junta government of General Pinochet committed widespread crimes** in the ensuing 17 years, and the ex-dictator was indicted for human rights abuses for the second time in 2004.
This was not the first time the United States had taken steps to destabilize a democratically-elected socialist. In August 2013, the CIA publicly admitted*** for the first time that it was behind the notorious 1953 coup against Iran's democratically elected prime minister Mohammad Mosaddeq, in documents that also show how the British government tried to block the release of information about its own involvement in his overthrow.
This was not the first time the United States had taken steps to destabilize a democratically-elected socialist. In August 2013, the CIA publicly admitted*** for the first time that it was behind the notorious 1953 coup against Iran's democratically elected prime minister Mohammad Mosaddeq, in documents that also show how the British government tried to block the release of information about its own involvement in his overthrow.
Above: Sandinista fighters man barricades during fighting in the streets of Leon during the civil war. The war, fought between the Sandinista government and US-backed Counter-revolutionaries (Contras), lasted from 1981 to 1989. Alain Dejean/Sygma via Getty Images
Above; The bombing of La Moneda, Chile's presidential residence, on 11 September 1973 by the Chilean Armed Forces
*The CIA paid $6.8–$8 million to right-wing opposition groups to "create pressures, exploit weaknesses, magnify obstacles" and hasten Allende's ouster. A review of recordings of telephone conversations between Nixon and Henry Kissinger by journalist Robert Dallek concluded that both of them used the CIA to actively destabilize the Allende government.
**Before the coup, Chile had been hailed as a beacon of democracy and political stability for decades. The collapse of Chilean democracy ended a streak of democratic governments in Chile, which had held democratic elections since 1932.
***"The military coup that overthrew Mosaddeq and his National Front cabinet was carried out under CIA direction as an act of US foreign policy, conceived and approved at the highest levels of government," reads a previously excised section of an internal CIA history.
The Salvadoran Civil War
The Salvadoran Civil War
“The world of the poor teaches us that liberation will arrive only when the poor are not simply on the receiving end of handouts from government, but when they themselves are the masters and protagonists of their own struggle for liberation.” - Archbishop Óscar Romero, assassinated while saying Mass in El Salvador on March 24, 1980
“The world of the poor teaches us that liberation will arrive only when the poor are not simply on the receiving end of handouts from government, but when they themselves are the masters and protagonists of their own struggle for liberation.” - Archbishop Óscar Romero, assassinated while saying Mass in El Salvador on March 24, 1980
President Carter supported the 1979 junta government of El Salvador, but direct US aid to the military junta greatly expanded under Reagan. By 1984 Reagan would spend nearly $1 billion on economic aid for the Salvadoran government. This, in spite of a series of assassinations, murders and rapes by right-wing death squads. By the end of the 1970s, death squads were killing about 10 people each day. The leftist FMLN had gained hundreds of thousands of supporters and sympathizers.
President Carter supported the 1979 junta government of El Salvador, but direct US aid to the military junta greatly expanded under Reagan. By 1984 Reagan would spend nearly $1 billion on economic aid for the Salvadoran government. This, in spite of a series of assassinations, murders and rapes by right-wing death squads. By the end of the 1970s, death squads were killing about 10 people each day. The leftist FMLN had gained hundreds of thousands of supporters and sympathizers.
Óscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, denounced injustices and massacres committed against civilians by government forces. He was considered "the voice of the voiceless", but he was assassinated by a death squad while saying Mass on 24 March 1980.* Some consider this to be the beginning of the full Salvadoran Civil War, which lasted from 1980 to 1992. An unknown number of people "disappeared" during the conflict, and the UN reports that more than 75,000 were killed. Among other crimes, the Salvadoran Army's US-trained Atlacatl Battalion was responsible for the El Mozote massacre where more than 800 civilians were murdered.
Óscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, denounced injustices and massacres committed against civilians by government forces. He was considered "the voice of the voiceless", but he was assassinated by a death squad while saying Mass on 24 March 1980.* Some consider this to be the beginning of the full Salvadoran Civil War, which lasted from 1980 to 1992. An unknown number of people "disappeared" during the conflict, and the UN reports that more than 75,000 were killed. Among other crimes, the Salvadoran Army's US-trained Atlacatl Battalion was responsible for the El Mozote massacre where more than 800 civilians were murdered.
Photo is from The Hispanic Blog.
An estimated 500,000 people attended Archbishop Romero's funeral when small bombs were hurled into the ground and 40 mourners died while hundreds were seriously wounded.
*Archbishop Romero was not the last of Catholic religious to be killed in El Salvador. Two of the more notorious incidents are related below.
On December 2, 1980, five members of the Salvadoran National Guard raped and murdered four American nuns and a laywoman who had been on a Catholic relief mission providing food, shelter, transport, medical care, and burial to death squad victims. U.S. military aid was briefly cut off in response to the murders but would be renewed within six weeks. In justifying these arms shipments, the Carter administration claimed that the regime had taken "positive steps" to investigate the murder of four American nuns. This was disputed by US Ambassador, Robert E. White, who said that he could find no evidence the junta was "conducting a serious investigation." White was dismissed from the foreign service by the Reagan Administration after he had refused to participate in a coverup of the Salvadoran military's responsibility for the murders at the behest of Secretary of State Alexander Haig.
On 16 November 1989, Salvadoran Army soldiers killed six Jesuits and two others at their residence on the campus of José Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA El Salvador) in San Salvador. The Jesuits were advocates of a negotiated settlement between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), the guerilla organization that had fought the government for a decade. The murders attracted international attention to the Jesuits' efforts and increased international pressure for a cease-fire, representing one of the key turning points that led toward a negotiated settlement to the war.
The 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état and 36 years of civil war
The 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état and 36 years of civil war
The grand-daddy of post-war interventions by the US in Latin America, the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état was a covert operation carried out by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that deposed the democratically elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz. Prior to Árbenz's election in 1950, a handful of U.S. corporations controlled Guatemala's primary electrical utilities, the nation's only railroad, and the banana industry, which was Guatemala's chief agricultural export industry. Land reform was the centerpiece of Árbenz's election campaign - a poular notion in a country where 2% of the population owned 70% of the land. Árbenz governed as a European-style democratic socialist, and took great inspiration from Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. Nevertheless, some of his policies, particularly those involving agrarian reform, would be branded as "communist"* by the upper classes of Guatemala and the United Fruit Company.
The grand-daddy of post-war interventions by the US in Latin America, the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état was a covert operation carried out by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that deposed the democratically elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz. Prior to Árbenz's election in 1950, a handful of U.S. corporations controlled Guatemala's primary electrical utilities, the nation's only railroad, and the banana industry, which was Guatemala's chief agricultural export industry. Land reform was the centerpiece of Árbenz's election campaign - a poular notion in a country where 2% of the population owned 70% of the land. Árbenz governed as a European-style democratic socialist, and took great inspiration from Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. Nevertheless, some of his policies, particularly those involving agrarian reform, would be branded as "communist"* by the upper classes of Guatemala and the United Fruit Company.
The coup d'état, code-named Operation PBSUCCESS, installed the military dictatorship of Carlos Castillo Armas, the first in a series of U.S.-backed authoritarian rulers in Guatemala. In 1960, Guatemala erupted in what was to be a 36 year long civil war.** A variety of factors contributed: social and economic injustice and racial discrimination suffered by the indigenous population, the 1954 coup which reversed reforms, weak civilian control of the military, the United States support of the government, and Cuban support of the insurgents.
The coup d'état, code-named Operation PBSUCCESS, installed the military dictatorship of Carlos Castillo Armas, the first in a series of U.S.-backed authoritarian rulers in Guatemala. In 1960, Guatemala erupted in what was to be a 36 year long civil war.** A variety of factors contributed: social and economic injustice and racial discrimination suffered by the indigenous population, the 1954 coup which reversed reforms, weak civilian control of the military, the United States support of the government, and Cuban support of the insurgents.
People react after former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt was sentenced for genocide charges in the Supreme Court of Guatemala City May 10, 2013. Montt was found guilty on Friday of genocide and crimes against humanity during the bloodiest phase of the country's 36-year civil war and was sentenced to 80 years in prison.
Photo by REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez appeared in Reuters article "Guatemala's Maya finally find justice over civil war crimes" (May 12, 2013
*The domino theory held its toxic sway over US foreign policy for more than four decades. About the same time as the CIA was undermining Guatemala's elected government, the Eisenhower Administration was undercutting the Geneva Accords and working to prevent an election across all Vietnam because of fear of a Ho Chi Minh victory in the elections which the Geneva Accords had scheduled for 1956.
**The government, right-wing paramilitary organizations, and left-wing insurgents were all engaged in the Guatemalan Civil War (1960–96). The Historical Clarification Commission (commonly known as the "Truth Commission") after the war estimated that more than 200,000 people were killed — the vast majority of whom were indigenous civilians. 93% of the human rights abuses reported to the Commission were attributed to the military or other government-supported forces. It also determined that in several instances, the government was responsible for acts of genocide.
The School of the Americas
The School of the Americas
A U.S. army facility critics have labeled a school for dictators, torturers and assassins was "closed" on Dec 15, 2017. On January 17, 2018, it reopened in the same location, to be run by the Defense Department rather than the Army after having been renamed as the “Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation” in 2001.
A U.S. army facility critics have labeled a school for dictators, torturers and assassins was "closed" on Dec 15, 2017. On January 17, 2018, it reopened in the same location, to be run by the Defense Department rather than the Army after having been renamed as the “Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation” in 2001.
The “School of the Americas,” in Fort Benning, Ga., which has for 54 years operated as a training facility for Latin American military personnel, has faced criticism from human rights groups for years.
The “School of the Americas,” in Fort Benning, Ga., which has for 54 years operated as a training facility for Latin American military personnel, has faced criticism from human rights groups for years.
ABC News, Dec 15, 2017: "The list of graduates from the School of the Americas is a who’s who of Latin American despots. Students have included Manuel Noriega and Omar Torrijos of Panama, Leopoldo Galtieri of Argentina, and Hugo Banzer Suarez of Bolivia.
ABC News, Dec 15, 2017: "The list of graduates from the School of the Americas is a who’s who of Latin American despots. Students have included Manuel Noriega and Omar Torrijos of Panama, Leopoldo Galtieri of Argentina, and Hugo Banzer Suarez of Bolivia.
"Other graduates cut a swath through El Salvador during its civil war, being involved in the 1980 assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero, the El Mozote massacre in which 900 peasants were killed, and the 1989 murders of six Jesuit priests."
"Other graduates cut a swath through El Salvador during its civil war, being involved in the 1980 assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero, the El Mozote massacre in which 900 peasants were killed, and the 1989 murders of six Jesuit priests."
New York Times article on the 1996 release of training manuals of SOA
"Americans can now read for themselves some of the noxious lessons the United States Army taught to thousands of Latin American military and police officers at the School of the Americas during the 1980's. A training manual recently released by the Pentagon recommended interrogation techniques like torture, execution, blackmail and arresting the relatives of those being questioned.
"Such practices, which some of the school's graduates enthusiastically applied once they returned home, violate basic human rights and the Army's own rules of procedure. They also defy the professed goals of American foreign policy and foreign military training programs.
"Though the manual was taken out of use in 1991 and the school's curriculum modified to include some instruction in human rights standards, the school does little to advance American interests and should be closed down."
SOA Watch began in 1990 to denounce the 1989 School of the Americas (SOA) graduate-led massacre at the University of Central America (UCA) in El Salvador. The SOA, renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) in 2001, is a US military training school based in Fort Benning, Georgia. The school made headlines in 1996 when the Pentagon released training manuals used at the school that advocated torture, extortion and execution. Despite this admission and hundreds of documented human rights abuses connected to soldiers trained at the school, no independent investigation into the facility has ever taken place.
SOA Watch began in 1990 to denounce the 1989 School of the Americas (SOA) graduate-led massacre at the University of Central America (UCA) in El Salvador. The SOA, renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) in 2001, is a US military training school based in Fort Benning, Georgia. The school made headlines in 1996 when the Pentagon released training manuals used at the school that advocated torture, extortion and execution. Despite this admission and hundreds of documented human rights abuses connected to soldiers trained at the school, no independent investigation into the facility has ever taken place.
Over the past 27 years, SOA Watch has grown to become the largest grassroots Latin America solidarity organization in the United States. In 2016 SOA Watch moved to Nogales Arizona/Sonora to call attention to militarized US foreign policy as a principal root cause of migration, as well as the devastating impact US security and immigration policy has on refugees, asylum seekers and immigrant families all over the continent.
Over the past 27 years, SOA Watch has grown to become the largest grassroots Latin America solidarity organization in the United States. In 2016 SOA Watch moved to Nogales Arizona/Sonora to call attention to militarized US foreign policy as a principal root cause of migration, as well as the devastating impact US security and immigration policy has on refugees, asylum seekers and immigrant families all over the continent.
Update Nov 22: Democracy Now! interview with Noam Chomsky on Jair Bolsanaro's ascension to power in Brazil
Update Nov 22: Democracy Now! interview with Noam Chomsky on Jair Bolsanaro's ascension to power in Brazil
Update Nov 22: Democracy Now! interviews with Noam Chomsky on the US' role in creating the conditions that led to the migrant caravan
Update Nov 22: Democracy Now! interviews with Noam Chomsky on the US' role in creating the conditions that led to the migrant caravan
UPDATE JANUARY 18, 2019
UPDATE JANUARY 18, 2019
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in to a second 6-year term following his victory in last May's election. On August 4 in Caracas, Maduro was the target of an apparent assassination attempt when at least two drones detonated explosives near where he was addressing the Bolivarian National Guard.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in to a second 6-year term following his victory in last May's election. On August 4 in Caracas, Maduro was the target of an apparent assassination attempt when at least two drones detonated explosives near where he was addressing the Bolivarian National Guard.
Venezuela is in a severe economic crisis. Democracy Now! speaks with Jorge Arreaza, the Venezuelan foreign minister. [Link left]
Venezuela is in a severe economic crisis. Democracy Now! speaks with Jorge Arreaza, the Venezuelan foreign minister. [Link left]
Acknowledgements and fair use statement: Wikipedia entries were the source for much of the background on the US interventions. Images and quotes in this post may be subject to copyright. Their inclusion on this site is within the fair use doctrine of copyright law.
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