Historical Study: United States Influence on Latin America

I now divert back to my Latin American appreciation phase in preparation for our family trip to Medellin, Colombia. At the beginning of the summer I made deep dives into Cuba and Mexico and last fall made a deep dive into the Dominican Republic. I have already written about Colombian Culture, but intend to make a deeper historical dive concerning the Medellin Cartel in a separate post. In this blog I want to better understand the American influence (and intervention) of all Latin American countries. So in essence this will be a study of modern Latin American history (not so much regarding their early independence). 

It's no question that the United States has been involved in the affairs of Latin America since these nations broke free from Spain in the early 1800s. Obviously it's a geographical concern for safety and security, but also quite the imperialistic grab to maintain global supremacy. The United States has been involved with nearly every Latin American country in various efforts to sway leftist politics and amass new wealth. They have downright intervened militarily in several countries such as Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Cuba, Bolivia to name a few. I'd like to just run down the list and get a brief understanding of these nation's political history and their relations with the United States. 

Mexico

Starting with America's closest southern neighbor, Mexico has always been at odds with the United States since it's independence in 1821 (see Mexican History). Quite often the disputes have been over territory and the border. The United States actually swallowed up much of Mexico's territory after various disputes in Texas. The Mexican-American War of 1846-1848 settled this dispute which granted the United States the new territory of Texas, California, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. A new line was established along the Rio Grande River. This essentially divided the United States from Latin America. 

Throughout the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1920 the United States first supported the regime then later the rebels. Their role was not very involved despite defending their territories from what they considered bandit raids led by Pancho Villa. They briefly occupied Veracruz in 1914 after several Americans were detained by Mexican rebels. Following the Mexican Revolution, the relations have stayed peaceful. However the border crisis of illegal immigration has become a political hot topic for the past twenty years. Surpisingly however the majority of immigrants aren't Mexians, but rather people from poorer nations such as Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador. 

Cuba

Probably one of the most well known examples of American influence and intervention in Latin America of which I have recently studied, see Cuban History. Cuba actually did not achieve independence until 1902, much thanks to the assistance of the United States during the Spanish-American War of 1898. From that point on Cuba had no longer become a Spanish puppet state but rather an American puppet state. For nearly 50 years it served as an American hotspot for tropical tourism, hotels, and casinos, most notably under General Batista during the 1950s. From 1953-1959 a leftist uprising spread throughout Cuba led by Fidel Castro to successfully overthrow Batista and break free from American influence.

Once Cuba had won it's revolution, political tension with America reached an all time high much due to Cuba's alliance with the Soviet Union. In 1961 the CIA led a failed invasion of Cuban exiles known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion. That same year Cuba became the staging ground of a nuclear standoff with the Soviet Union, known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Despite many other sabotage and assassination attempts Castro maintained a solid grip of his communist regime for nearly 50 years. Since his death in 2008 political restrictions have loosened and the doors for American tourism have once again been opened.     

Dominican Republic

Moving further into the Caribbean, this island that was once a hot spot for Spanish explorers and later became a hot spot for American interest. We visited the island about a year ago and I made a deep dive into their history, see (History of Dominican Republic). The Dominican Republic achieved it's independence from Spain in 1844 however struggled over territory with Haiti for many years to come. The United States first diverted it's attention to Dominican Republic during both World Wars and occupied the island so that their enemy could not use it as a naval base. 

 From 1934-1961 Dominican president Rafael Trujillo had established a powerful right-wing dictatorship which concerned America. The CIA took part in a plot to assassinate the president with intentions to transform the island back into a democratic state. Following his assassination the country broke out into Civil War and the United States once again sent troops to quell the conflict. The American interests were strongly against the Socialist leader Juan Bosch and helped bring a swift end to their rebellion.   

Guatemala

Back into Central America, the once thriving capital of the Mayans, Guatemala gained independence from Spain in 1821. By the early 1900s the nation had become a booming resource for America thru it's United Fruit Company. This dispossessed much land from the ingenious Mayan people in favor to the wealthy which led to the Guatemala Revolution of 1944-1954. By 1951 a new progressive leader was elected, Jacobo Arbenz who worked to restore more rights and land for the Mayans and lower working classes. In response to these new laws that threatened their business, the United States supported a civil war to overthrow Arbenz. The Civil War waged on for many years from 1960-1996, during of which there were terrible massacres and genocides of the Mayan people. By 1996 many of the leftists guerilla organizations transformed into political parties. 

El Salvador

The small Central American nation of El Salvador won it's independence from Spain in 1821. Throughout the 19th and early 20th century the nation found it's economy to thrive around the production of indigo. This ushered in an era of wealthy landowners and oligarchs that controlled the nation for nearly a hundred years. By 1931 a military dictatorship came to power on par with that of the DR. The Fascist leader, Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez ruled from 1935 to 1944 and committed many massacres of the working class peasants. Martinez resigned in 1944 due to a coup attempt and was later killed in 1966 while in exile. He was followed by various other military dictators throughout the 1960s-1970s, with not as much control.  

In 1979 a coup d'etat occurred to restore a totalitarian state, with the support of the United States. Due to this the Salvadorian Civil War broke out waged by a coalition of Leftist Guerilla armies supported by Cuba and the Soviet Union. The assassination of the popular outspoken bishop Oscar Romero, caused further unrest among the working class peasants. President Jose Napoleon Duarte governed El Salvador with the support of America, and committed many massacres and crimes against humanity. The conflict waged on for nearly 12 years and resulted in over 75,000 deaths.    

Honduras

On par with many other nations throughout Central America, Honduras also achieved it's independence in 1821. Throughout it's establishment the nation of Honduras had various disputes with it's neighboring nations of El Salvador and Guatemala in hopes to establish a united Central American state. Of all the Central American states Honduras sought for unity more than any others. By the 1890s the United States began to show economic interest in the territory, primarily in the market of plantations and the banana industry. The Standard Fruit Company was established in 1924 and became one of the largest producing fruit companies next to the United Fruit Company. Throughout the Banana Wars, the United States often had to intervene militarily to protect it's tropical market.     

Nicaragua

The nation of Nicaragua (which I visited in 2009), also achieved it's independence in 1821. Throughout the 1840s-1850s the country underwent civil war between liberals and conservatives. In 1855 the nation was conquered by an American mercenary named William Walker who ruled the country until he was ousted during the Filibuster War in 1857. At the onset of the 19th century the United States began to intervene more frequently in the affairs of Nicaragua. The US military occupied various parts of Nicaragua from 1912-1933 and even considered building it's canal there, before deciding on Panama. 

During the Nicaraguan Civil War of 1926-1927 the United States supported the conservative government against the liberal rebels. Anastasio Somoza Garcia became president and his family established a dictatorship for the next 50 years with the backing of the United States. In 1979 a leftist uprising occurred led by Daniel Ortega and his socialist party known as the Sandinista National Liberation Front. The Nicaraguan Revolution waged for nearly 30 years as yet another proxy battle between the USA and the Soviet Union. This time however the leftist army was able to prevail over the conservative Contras and overthrew the Somoza government. To this day Nicaragua remains a socialist state and I definitely noticed the impoverished state of that nation when I visited.       

Costa Rica

Probably one of the most peaceful nations in the Central American region when it comes to any America dispute or influence. I visited this nation back in 2009 for 3 months and found it to be such a neutral state when it came to political affairs. The nation also achieved it's independence in 1821 and coffee quickly became one of it's major economic exports. In 1855 Costa Rica sided with Nicaragua during the Filibuster War to oust the radically mercenary William Walker who sought to restore slavery. By 1869 they had established a democracy and rarely underwent much civil disputes or entanglements with America. They did however experience a brief civil war in 1948 when Jose Figueres Ferrer overthrew the leftist government, with the support of the United States.  

Panama

This nation has been a vital territory of American influence and occupation up until the 1980s. My dad was actually stationed there in the army for some time when he met my mom in Venezuela. The nation achieved it's independence in 1819 as part of Simon Bolivar's Gran Colombia. Quite interesting that Panama was first associated to South America, before it became a part of Central America. By 1830 Panama briefly broke free from the Republic of Colombia then once again reunited in 1831 to establish the Republic of New Granada. This was essentially the territory of Panama and Colombia from 1831-1858. For most the 19th century Panama was essentially in the shadow of Colombia. 

However in the 20th century after the Spanish-American War, the United States acquired several new territories in Latin America. President Theodore Roosevelt pushed for the construction of a canal in the narrowest strip of land in Central America to expedite sea trade routes. This project led to many political and financial disputes with Colombia, however with the backing of America, Panama was able to become it's own independent nation in 1903. From this point on Panama had become an American puppet state, especially after the completion of the canal in 1914. 

The nation was controlled by American-supported oligarchs throughout most of it's modern era. However by the 1980s the military general Manuel Noriega was able to rise to power and quickly caused new tensions with the United States. At first Noriega worked as an operative of the CIA throughout the 1970s. He provided America information on Cuba and the Sandistas in support of the right-wing Contras. However this relationship came to an abrupt end when Noriega rose to power in Panama thru drug-trafficking with Colombia. In 1989 the United States invaded Panama to oust Noriega whom was declared a criminal and against American business interests.           

Colombia

Now we enter South America, thru the gates of Colombia (my mother's home country). I've dabbled into some Colombian history in the past (see Colombian Culture and Spanish Wars of Independence) but am now more fascinated with it's modern history. Colombia became the center of Simon Bolivar's war of independence against Spain. In 1819 Colombia had achieved it's independence and established the territory known as Gran Colombia consisting of Panama and Venezuela. It later evolved into the Republic of New Granada and the Republic of Colombia. Colombia first came to odds with the United States over the ownership and finances related to the Panama Canal.     

Throughout most of the early 1900s Colombia has been torn by civil war between liberal and conservative coalitions. The Thousand Days War (1899-1902) and La Violencia of 1948-1958. Following this Civil War, Colombia instituted a joint government of Liberals and Conservatives known as the National Front Regime. Despite this collaboration however resistance continued on both ends, notably from leftist guerilla factions such as M-19 and the FARC. Surprisingly however despite all this civil conflict, the United States really did not intervene in Colombian affairs until the rise of the drug lord Pablo Escobar. 

By the late 1970s drug trafficking had emerged as a new booming market for Colombia giving these illegal operations new sway on political affairs. The Medellin Cartel of Pablo Escobar had established the largest global network of cocaine distribution in the world. The amount of wealth being poured into this operation obviously concerned the United States, and thus Ronald Reagan declared a new "War on Drugs" in 1982. Throughout the 1980s Escobar was the most powerful man in Colombia who promoted many economic projects but also oversaw a very bloody and violent operation. During this time the United States put their CIA, FBI, and DEA at work to infiltrate and sabotage this market from within. By 1992 Escobar was captured, arrested and later killed by the Colombian police (much thanks to the intel provided by America).   

Venezuela

My mother's home nation where she grew up, and I myself have visited twice throughout my lifetime. The nation was actually the birth place of the great liberator, Simon Bolivar and thus became the starting grounds for his war of Independence. Venezuela was the first South American nation to achieve it's independence in 1811, although the conflict would wage on until 1823. By 1830 Venezuela became it's own nation free from Gran Colombia. From that point on the nation became a military state that underwent various waves of civil wars. 

The Federal War of 1859-1863 was another bloody conflict between liberals and conservatives over the distribution of land, wealth, and governing administration. After 5 years of war that resulted in the death of approximately 100,000 Venezuela, a new treaty was declared by both sides to establish a new democratic form of government. Nonetheless Venezuela came at odds with Europe over foreign debts and a naval blockade surrounded Venezula from 1902-1903 until the United States interceded. After this the military general Juan Vicente Gomez ruled the nation for nearly 30 years. Although he was considered a typical dictator he also helped establish an infrastructure and economy within Venezuela. Also at this time Venezuela discovered it's oil deposits which ushered in a new economic boom. 

Venezuela underwent various military dictators until 1958 when a stronger democratic constitution was adapted. In the 1960s it established the global oil network of OPEC creating an alliance with other major oil producers such as Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. Despite this booming wealth from it's oil market, the United States hardly intervened much in Venezuela affairs but were quite concerned by the Bolivarian Revolution of 1999. The socialist general Hugo Chavez was elected president in 1998 and for nearly 15 years transformed the nation into a socialist state. This also ushered in a wave of leftist governments throughout Latin America known as the Pink Tide.

The effects of Hugo Chavez's socialist revolution however have taken a sour turn from about 2010 till present leading to inflation, starvation, sickness, and total crisis. In the 2019 presidential election, the United States took it's boldest act yet against Venezuela by threating military intervention if the socialist leader Nicolas Maduro did not stop down. Juan Guaido became the first elected opponent of the Bolivarian Revolution in over twenty years. However despite this American regime change it only lasted four years, and in the 2024 elections Maduro returned to office and thus the crisis continues worse the never in Venezuela.   

    

Ecuador

Ecuador began it's fight for independence in the Quito Revolution (1809-1812) nearly ten years before they joined Simon Bolivar's campaign. It was not until 1822 that they achieved independence from Spain. They then became a member of Gran Colombia from 1822-1830 until becoming their own nation in 1830. Similar to most of Latin America during the 19th century they also underwent civil war between liberals and conservatives as well as territorial disputes with Peru. However all-in-all the conflicts were not quite as bloody and the nation has really never had much influence or intervention from the United States. Since the 1990s however the country has experienced similar economic problems as Venezuela.       

Peru

Known as the home of the Incas, Peru began it's war of independence in 1809 and were finally liberated with the help of Jose de San Martin in 1821 (yet the fighting continued until 1826). The Peruvian Republic was thus established in 1821 (which included Bolivia) but was separate from it's northern neighbor of Gran Colombia (however Peru was involved in military disputes with Colombia, Bolivia, and Ecuador throughout the 1830s. This eventually snowballed into a greater civil conflict known as the War of the Confederation from 1836-1839. Following this conflict Peru and Bolivia became separate states however military disputes continued frequently for Peru such as war with Ecuador (1857), war with Spain (1865), and war with Chile (1879-1883). In the 20th century minor civil conflicts continued for Peru, but never serious enough to get the attention of the United States. 

Bolivia

Bolivia became recognized as an independent state in 1825 named after their heroic liberator Simon Bolivar. It however spent most of the 19th century at war with it's neighboring countries of Peru and Chile, and was later merged with Peru from 1836-1839. In the War of the Pacific in 1879-1883 Bolivia and Peru fought and loss against Chile. As a result of this Bolivia lost access to the Pacific Ocean and became a landlocked country. It continued territorial disputes into the 20th century which led to an eastern conflict with Paraguay in the Chaco War from 1932-1935 (which once again lost Bolivia territory). 

After many years of poverty, Bolivia finally experienced a social upheaval leading to their peaceful National Revolution in 1952. Supported by a leftist/communist push a new constitution was passed that granted more rights and land to the lower classes over the ruling wealthy elite. Although the new state was considered closer to communism, the United States supported this transition and did not intervene (most likely because they did not see Bolivia as a threat). However in 1964 it is believed they did support a coup d'état that established a more conservative military state. In response to this Ernesto Che Guevara left Cuba to lead a guerilla campaign in the mountains of Bolivia. However with the support of the American CIA, Guevara was captured and executed. The US later supported a second conservative coup in 1971 and gave military aid to General Hugo Banzer.  

Chile

The Chilean War of Independence went on from 1812-1827 and was not led by Simon Bolivar but rather the great Argentine leader Jose de San Martin. Once established as a republic the nation underwent a conservative era for nearly 30 years notably under the leadership of General Joaquin Prieto. From 1861-1891 the country then turned to 30 years of liberal leadership during which it achieved victory over Peru and Bolivia in the War of the Pacific to acquire more territory along the western Pacific coastline. In 1891 a brief civil war broke out in Chile, which helped establish a new parliamentary democratic system.     

In 1970 however Chile underwent a major political shift when the socialist leader Salvador Allende was elected president. This suddenly became a major concern of America, who feared there would be significantly land reform that would seize their mines and business operations. The US began to infiltrate and sabotage Allende's administration, who in response turned to the Soviet Union for support. By 1973 with the support of Richard Nixon and the CIA, the military general Augusto Pinochet led a successful coup d'etat which overthrew Allende. Pinochet established a military state (with the support of the United States) for nearly 20 years (and persecuted many political opponents during this time).      

Argentina

During the Spanish Wars of Independence the Argentine liberator Jose de San Martin helped declare independence in 1816 and achieve victory by 1818. An Argentine Confederation was formed by 1830 however was plagued by various civil wars, territory disputes, and social upheavals. Under the leadership of Juan Manuel de Rosa, he waged war against the indigenous tribes, fought against the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, and later joined the Uruguayan Civil War of 1839-1851. This eventually resulted in a naval blockade by France and England in 1845. By 1862 the country finally was unified under the liberal liberal Bartolome Mitre.  However by the 1880s Argentina shifted to a more conservative state as it underwent major industrialization.    

Throughout the 1920s Argentina became a breeding ground for radical leftist, communist, and even anarchist movements. President Hipolito Yrigoyen a member of the Radical Civic Union became president twice during this period and labeled himself as the father of the poor. However by 1930 at the onset of the Great Depression, a military coup forced Yrigoyen from power in what would later lead to the Infamous Decade. In the midst of economic depression a new conservative regime took hold and persecuted many leftist organizations and anarchists. The Infamous Decade came to an abrupt end with the June Revolution of 1943 that brought an end to the military dictatorship.

The popular leader Juan Peron became president in 1946 ushering in a new era of centrist/socialist ideals known as Peronism. His wife Eva "Evita" was also very popular with the people deemed as the Spiritual Leader of the Nation. She fought for labor and women rights and even considered a run for political office herself, until she suddenly got sick from cancer and died. By 1955 the Peron leadership was then overthrown during the bloody Revolucion Libertadora. A conservative military dictatorship once again came to power under President Eduardo Lonardi and Pedro Aramburu. Liberals briefly regained power, but were overthrown a second time during the 1966 Argentine Revolution. 

Surprisingly the United States did not intervene in Argentina until the 1976 election. By the 1970s the left parties had begun to regain strength and Peronism had returned to the forefront. With the support of Cuba and Chile (under Allende's presidency), Juan Peron won his 2nd term as president in 1973. Juan died however a year into his presidency and his wife Isabel assumed the office to become one of the first female heads of state. Despite this however Isabel was inexperienced in politics and the nation quickly fell into chaos which led to the 1976 military coup by General Jorge Rafael Videla (supported by the United States).      

From this point on Argentina underwent a National Reorganization Process to rid the streets of leftist radical organizations. This campaign was heavily supported by Gerald Ford's administration and led to a rather violent ten year period referred to as the Dirty War. Throughout the late 1970s to early 1980s Argentina once again became a military state. In 1981 President Leopoldo Galtieri tried to seize the Falkland Islands from England but failed. By 1983 president Raul Alfonsin helped establish a democratic government that still operates today.  

Uruguay

What was once known as the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata consisted of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil. This region declared independence in the May Revolution of 1810 in Buenos Aires. In 1828 led by the Thirty Three Orientals, Uruguay split from Brazil and Argentina to establish it's own independent nation. However just like every newly established nation it did not take long for civil war to break out between liberals and conservatives. The Uruguay Civil War waged on from 1839-1851 and was won by the liberal party known as the Colorados. However after ten years the conservative faction known as the Blancos regained power of the nation. A second civil war broke out in 1864 in which Brazil and Argentina came to the aid of the liberal Colorado party. Uruguay then joined Brazil and Argentina in the war against Paraguay from 1864-1870.

Throughout the 1870s-1890s Uruguay turned to a militarized state whilst modernizing their nation in the midst of the industrial revolution. During this time waves of European immigrants poured into Uruguay and it's capital of Montevideo became a melting pot of culture. Throughout the 20th century Uruguay has undergone various dictatorships yet all of which were brief and not as tyrannically as some of their neighboring nations. For the most part Uruguay has maintained a peaceful and neutral stance in global affairs and for this the United States has never intervened.        

Paraguay

Paraguay was originally a territory of Argentina during the Spanish wars of independence however broke away from Spain and Argentina in 1811 to declare it's independence. Under the leadership of Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia a military dictatorship was established to create a nationalist state until 1840. His leadership was followed by Francisco Solando Lopez who dragged the nation into a territorial dispute against Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay during the Paraguyan War of 1864-1870. As a result Paraguay lost 40% of it's land and it was one of the most bloody conflicts in South American history costing up to 500,000 deaths. Paraguay did win back some land in the Chaco War of 1932-1935 against Bolivia. From 1954 to 1989 General Alfredo Stroessner established a conservative military dictatorship in a period known as El Stronato. He eventually lost power and to this day Paraguay is a peaceful democracy in which the United States has never intervened.        

Brazil

Latin America took advantage of the Napoleonic Wars to begin their campaigns of independence throughout the early 1800s. During this dispute the Portuguese royal family fled to their colony of Brazil but were later exiled by the ensuing war of independence from 1822-1825. Under the leadership of their liberator Pedro of Braganza, Brazil established an Empire (one of the few American nations to do so aside from Mexico and Haiti). This vast plot of land took up nearly 50% of South America and produced half the world's coffee. The nation also made good fortune in the production of rubber. Pedro II reigned over the empire for 58 years until he was overthrown by a political faction of constitutionalists. This brought an end to the Brazilian Empire replaced by the First Brazilian Republic in 1889 also known as the Old Republic.      

At the start of the 20th century, Brazil was the most wealthy South American nation ahead of Argentina and Chile. The nation was ruled by a network of wealthy oligarchs of coffee plantations who controlled the government thru it's financial influence known as Coronelism. Throughout the 1930s-1940s there were various coup attempts by leftist Communist factions and right factions known as the Brazilian Integralism party. In 1964 the United States got involved in Brazilian affairs by overthrowing Joao Goulart and replacing him with a conservative military dictatorship. Known as Operation Brother Sam, this was considered the most significant grabs of Latin America during the Cold War. This dictatorship under American influence lasted for 20 years committing strict censorship and persecutions. By 1985 the dictatorship folded and was replaced by the present day democratic government.