Latin America and the Cold War

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Latin America

Social Situation in Latin America "Most Latin Americans have seen their neighbor to the north (the United States) growing richer; they have seen the elite elements in their own societies growing richer – but the man in the street or on the land in Latin America today still lives the hand-to-mouth existence of his great, great grandfather... They are less and less happy with situations in which, to cite one example, 40 percent of the land is owned by 1 percent of the people, and in which, typically, a very thin upper crust lives in grandeur while most others live in squalor.“ —  U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright, in a speech to Congress on United States policy in Latin America

American Goals The United States had two main goals when dealing with Latin America: containment and furthering US economic interests

Truman Doctrine Under the Truman Doctrine, the Western Hemisphere was a part of “the free world” Contrasted with the Eastern bloc countries (communist) The Doctrine allowed for military deployment and economic aid to any country at risk of falling to communism

Rio Treaty of 1947 The US took the Monroe Doctrine and updated it The US defense treaty with Latin America was called the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance Also known as the “Rio Treaty” or the “Hemispheric Defense Treaty” An attack against one member was an attack against all members Member states – dark blue Withdrawn states – light blue

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS) was created in 1948 Led by U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall Member states pledged to fight communism in the Americas 21 nations signed the agreement Still exists today Headquarters in Washington, D.C. 35 nations total

Relationship with Cuba After the Cuban Revolution, the Cuban government began to nationalize all US properties and businesses within Cuba The US set up trade restrictions and economic sanctions against Cuba The US broke off all diplomatic relations with Cuba when Cuba allied itself with the Soviet Union

Relationship with Cuba The US government tried to implement many political, psychological, and military programs to overthrow the Cuban communist government Tried to assassinate Fidel Castro 8 times!

Cuban Missile Crisis In October 1962, JFK learned that the Soviets had established nuclear-tipped missile bases in Cuba JFK established a blockade around Cuba to prevent anything/anyone from entering/leaving Cuba After 13 tense days, eventually the Soviet Union backed off Closest the world has ever come to nuclear war

Relationships with Dictators Under JFK, the US broke off several diplomatic and economic relationships with Latin American dictators Argentina, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru

Post-Cuban Revolution After the Cuban Revolution, the US’s policy was “no more Cubas” The US did not want any more communist revolutions taking over nations Since Latin America is the US’s “backdoor” our entire policy dealt with keeping communists out of and restoring economic/trade benefits with Latin America

President Johnson Under President Johnson, the US sent troops and supported military coups throughout Latin America The policy changed from “no contact” to training Latin American military forces in counter-insurgency tactics Meaning? The United States began supporting (“propping up”) OR overthrowing dictatorships/governments when it suits us

1970s The United States’ involvement in Latin America throughout the 1970s was to wage war against South American “Communist subversives” The US supported Augusto Pinochet’s coup against the Chilean democratically-elected president Salvador Allende in 1973 By 1976, all of South America was controlled by military dictatorships called juntas Augusto Pinochet

Dirty War During the Argentinian “Dirty War” (1974 – 1983), the military and right-wing (conservative) death squads hunted down and killed left-wing (socialist) guerillas, political dissidents, journalists, and students Supported by the US

Los Desaparecidos During the “Dirty War”, the military kidnapped anyone suspected of being a threat to the junta Tens of thousands of people were put into concentration camps Tortured Killed Called “the disappeared” (los desaparecidos) Day of Remembrance

1980s – 1990s (pendulum effect) President Carter backed off of supporting authoritarian regimes President Reagan renewed support for the right-wing regimes When Mikhail Gorbachev took power in the Soviet Union, he implemented perestroika and glasnost policies, so Latin America followed suit Latin American countries started to become more democratic

Iran-Contra Scandal The Iran-Contra Scandal took place during President Reagan’s second term in office Senior administration officials secretly sold weapons to Iran (which was under a weapons embargo) They used the money to fund the Contras (counter-revolutionaries) in Nicaragua Congress had explicitly prohibited this action beforehand They also wanted to negotiate for American hostages being held in Lebanon Oliver North, a member of the National Security Council, destroyed important documents to protect certain individuals (illegal cover up)

War on Drugs The United States started a “war on drugs” under President Nixon in the early 1970s Nancy Reagan started the “Just Say No” campaign in the 1980s Panama had become a center for drug trafficking and money laundering In 1989, President George H.W. Bush sent troops to invade Panama to overthrow the dictator Manuel Noriega (a long-time ally of the US) Since then, it is the policy of the US to try to dismantle drug cartels throughout Latin America

End of the Cold War The end of the Cold War (or did it?) diminished Latin America’s significance in US foreign policy (except for Fidel Castro and the Cuban embargo)

NAFTA To try to increase trade, the Clinton administration created NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) which eliminates tariffs (taxes) between Canada, the United States, and Mexico in 1994 It has not seen much economic impact on Canada, but it has provided a small net profit growth for the US and a large net profit growth for Mexico