The Cold War – Central and South America

Guatemala For most of the time between 1938 and 1950, Guatemala was ruled by military dictators In 1950, Jacobo Arbenz Guzman won an election Guzman was regarded by the U.S. as: Too left wing An enemy of foreign capitalism (United Fruit Company)

Guatemala President Guzman: Distributed lands to the peasants Supported strikers against foreign companies Legalized the Communist Party Introduced a minimum wage Built new schools and hospitals

Guatemala U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles tried to persuade others countries to condemn Guzman’s government When they didn’t: All U.S. aid was stopped Guerillas were armed by Washington U.S. pressured other states not to sell arms to Guatemala

Guatemala The CIA led invasion in 1953 was successful, and its leader, Colonel Carlos Catilla Armas took over There followed a period of civil war, assassinations, and coups, under a succession of dictators, who fought each other for a share of U.S. “aid” Results: 120,000 were killed in fighting 40,000 political opponents, union leaders, student leaders, etc. died as “death squads” terrorized towns

Nicaragua In 1933, Anastasio Somoza became dictator by assassinating the previous ruler The Somoza family ruled over Nicaragua as hereditary military dictators for almost 50 years As time went on, the rule of the Somozas became increasingly repressive and corrupt

Nicaragua During the 1960s, the Sandinista Liberation Front was formed, and began insurgency After an earthquake in 1972, Nixon sent aid, but it was stolen by the Somozas and the wealthy profited from the rebuilding

Nicaragua In 1979, the Somozas were finally driven out, and the country was governed by a collective leadership by the Marxists They: Nationalized foreign owned enterprises Redistributed land to the poor Conducted a literacy campaign Conducted a public health campaign

Nicaragua The U.S. decided to get rid of the Sandinistas by financing and training the Nicaraguan Defense Force (NGF) or the contras The contras: Destroyed the cotton and coffee crops Demolished roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals Committed atrocities

Nicaragua The contras were not successful: They were unpopular Much of the money they received from the U.S. was for their personal use The U.S.’s actions were unpopular and made Latin American countries resentful

Nicaragua In 1986, Irangate or the Iran Contra Affair broke out President Reagan had secretly sold arms to the Iranians in order to secure the release of the hostages in the U.S. embassy in Teheran The profits had been used, illegally, to finance the contras Most of those responsible, including President Reagan, who said that he did not remember authorizing the deal, escaped punishment

Nicaragua In April 1990, free elections were held The U.S. government poured money into the UNO Party This ensured the defeat of the Sandanista government

Misc. Latin American Countries Costa Rica – President Oscar Arias Sanchez remained neutral and would not support either the Contras or Sandinistas Honduras – Was a safe haven for the Contras, but Cuba also used the country as a conduit for shipping arms to El Salvador El Salvador – A civil war between left and right wing forces began in the late 1970s and lasted until 1992 Panama – Leader Manuel Noriega played off all sides (Contras, Sandanistas, Cubans, and U.S.) to suit his needs. A U.S. force captured him after it was discovered he was involved in drug smuggling

Peru In 1968, Peru's reformist president was ousted by a leftist military coup The new junta instituted social reforms and seized some American-owned businesses, while importing Soviet weapons and advisers In 1974, Peru expelled some U.S. Embassy and Peace Corps personnel, accusing them of spying for the CIA A democratic system of government resumed in 1980 Two insurgent communist groups still threaten the government: The Senderos terrorized both rural and urban areas The Tupac Amaru took hostages at Christmas Party at the Japanese ambassador’s residence in 1996

Paraguay Gen. Alfredo Stroessner, backed by the military and U.S., came to power in Paraguay in 1954 during a military coup and ruled for 35 years He was himself ousted by the military in 1989, replaced by another general -- who allowed a relatively democratic presidential election in 1993

Uruguay Beginning in the 1960s, the Tupamaros, a Marxist guerrilla group, began making headlines with their attacks against government targets The Tupamaros attacks, coupled with growing economic and political unrest, led to the establishment of a repressive military government in 1973 Uruguay's ruling junta worked toward a transition to democracy, which led to presidential elections in 1984

Argentina In 1976, President Isabel Martinez de Peron, widow of dictator Juan Peron, was ousted by the Argentine military The ensuing three-man junta promised to bring the nation's woeful economy under control -- while controlling leftist terrorism Between 1976 and 1981, up to 15,000 persons "disappeared." Recently uncovered documents revealed that many people were secretly executed by the military, some being dropped alive from aircraft into the sea After an unsuccessful war with the British over the Falkland Islands, many questioned the military government Under public pressure, the junta lifted its bans on political parties, paving the way for democratic elections in 1983.

Chile In 1970, Salvador Allende Gossens, a Marxist, won a surprising victory in the national elections His attempt to bring socialism to Chile was met with alarm by the United States -- which ordered the CIA to help destabilize the Allende government Allende's policies -- including nationalization of Chile's copper mines and other key industries -- also contributed to growing economic and political chaos Chile's military seized power in September 1973 Allende died during the coup, allegedly by his own hand A repressive junta, led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet, ruled Chile until 1990 -- when civilian, democratic rule was restored

Brazil The nation's armed forces ousted President Joao Goulart in 1964, replacing him with a military government The regime came under international condemnation several years later for its alleged human rights abuses In turn, Brazil's military charged that its most outspoken critic, the Catholic Church, was involved in communist-oriented work with the poor

Brazil In the mid-1970s, Brazil's continued economic decline brought about a pragmatic decision by the military government: It became the first nation in Central and South America -- besides Cuba -- to recognize the leftist MPLA in Angola's civil war The decision apparently centered on Brazil's need, at the time, to import Angolan coffee and oil Brazil returned to an elected, civilian government in 1985

Columbia Leftist insurgencies began in Colombia in the 1970s and have continued into the 1990s Most communist guerrilla groups ended their rebellions in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union Two Marxist groups, the ELN and FARC, are still in operation and control about 40 percent of Colombian territory Recent attempts at peace talks between the government and the rebels have failed

Venezuela U.S. officials believe that Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez has lend support to these leftists in Columbia Ecuador also harbors leftist camps in their country, which Columbia recently raided Chavez believes that Latin America is in a battle against “North American imperialism” Relations are continually tense today between the U.S. and mainly Venezuela, but also Ecuador as well