The United States’ Wars Against Latin America.

Between 1890 and 2011 the United States have staged a total of 146 (q.l.) worldwide military interventions. (vide: Zoltán Grossman, Ph. D. ‘From Wounded Knee to Libya: A Century of U.S. Military Interventions’). Their near neighbours south of the Rio Grande (Bravo del Norte); and the Caribbean were no exception. In the 114-year period between 1890 and 2004 they have either intervened or invaded these countries on 53 occasions (q.l.); for example: President William McKinley’s invasion of Cuba on 25th January 1898 whilst Cuba was still a possession of the Spanish Empire (Imperio Español) since 1511 until the Treaty of Paris (10 December, 1898); 10-months after the invasion. Seven years later (1905) Theodore Roosevelt sent his marines to invade and occupy the República de Honduras. In 1912 William Taft invaded the República de Nicaragua.

Between 1914 and 1918, Woodrow Wilson odered the occupation of the Estados Unidos Méxicanos, the República Dominicana, sent his troops into the República de Panamá, République d’Haïti; and Cuba. Between 1924 and 1926, Calvin Coolidge authorised the invasion of the República de Nicaragua and the República de Honduras. Dwight Eisenhower overthrew the government of the República de Guatemala; in 1954. Seven years later (17-19 April, 1961) John F. Kennedy sent troops to invade Cuba’s Bahía de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) in an attempt to overthrow Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz. Lyndon Johnson’s invasion of the República Dominicana in 1965. Richard Nixon orchestrated a coup d’état to overthrow the elected government of Chili in 1973. In 1981 Ronald Reagan, clandestinely organized a war against the República de Nicaragua, and an invasion of Grenada from 25 October to 15 December 1983. (vide: Mark Becker, Ph.D. ‘History of United States Interventions in Latin America’).

The United States have, at opportune times, given patronage in the form of economic and military aid to despotic rulers, in South America; to protect its commercial interests. These rulers were committing horrific crimes against their own citizens who disagreed with United States commercial exploitation of their country. Whilst these atrocities were occurring the U.S. turned a convenient blind eye.

“Muchos de ellos, por complacer a tiranos, por un puñado de monedas, o por cohecho o soborno, están derramando la sangre de sus hermanos”.

“Many of them, so as to curry favour with tyrants, for a fistful of coins, or through bribery or corruption, are shedding the blood of their brothers”.

Emiliano Zapata, ‘Plan de Ayala’ 1911.

Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, dictator of the República Dominicana for 31-years. He slaughtered an estimated 17,000 or 35,000 (q.v.) innocent civilians – men, women and children – in a 5-day period (2 – 8 October, 1937). Bullets extracted from the corpses were fired from Krag-Jørgensen rifles which were only available to the Trujillo’s soldiers.

Generalissimo Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, President of República de El Salvador, and an ardent fascist, who conducted a coup d’état to oust President Arturo Araujo from government on 2 December 1931 (q.l.), during which time United States warships were at anchor nearby, to secure his hold on centre of power, which lasted for 13-years (1944); 40,000 people were slaughtered, particularly in February 1932 of La Matanza (The Massacre) during the Salvadoran peasant uprising.

François “Papa Doc” Duvalier and his son Jean-Claude “Bébé Doc” Duvalier were cruel, ruthless and tyrannical rulers of the Républiqiue d’Ayiti (Republic of Haiti) from 1957-1971, and 1971-1986 respectively. The Duvalier’s iron grip control of Haiti was secured in 1950 by the establishment of the dreaded machete and gun carrying Tonton Macoutes . In 1970 it changed its name to Milice de Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale (Militia of National Security Volunteers, MVSN). During the tenure of the Duvaliers, it is alleged that between 20,000 and 50,000 Haitians were murdered, and the nation’s coffers plundered.

The “Good Neighbor” [sic].

President Roosevelt introduced the ‘Good Neighbor Policy’ in 1933. An initiative to supposedly cease interfering in Latin America’s internal affairs, and to promote reciprocal trade relationships.

“In the field of world policy I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbor, the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others, the neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements in and with a world of neighbors”.

President Franklin Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, Washington DC. 3 March, 1933.

“No country has the right to intervene in the internal or external affairs of another”.

Cordell Hull, Secretary of State, Montevideo, December 1933.

“The definite policy of the United States from now on is one opposed to armed intervention”.

President Franklin Roosevelt, December, 1933.

The 12-year period from 1933 to 1945 was only an interlude prior to the “good neighbor” [sic] attacking: 15 Latin American neighbours south of the Rio Grande: Uruguay (1947), Puerto Rico (1950), Guatemmala (1954, and 1966-67), Panama (1958 and 1964), Cuba (1961 and 1962), Dominican Republic (1965-66), Chili (1973), El Salvadore (1981-1992), Nicaragula (1981-90), Grenada (1983-84), Honduras (1983-89), Bolivia (1986), Panama (1989), Haiti (1994 and 2004-05); and Colombia (2003).

During the ideological rivalry and power struggles in the ‘cold war’ period (1947-1991 (q.v.)), particularly between the ‘super powers’ i.e., the United States and the Soviet Socialist Republics; loyalties waxed and waned. ‘Proxy wars’ were fought, in Latin America as well as elsewhere (e.g.,Vietnam, Korea, Afghãnistãn, and the Middle East). Despotic rulers, once supported by the U.S., and were no longer useful to U.S’s interests, were surreptitiously overthrown; e.g., Jean-Claude “Bébé Doc” Duvalier (7 February, 1986), Jean Bertrand Aristide (5-29 February, 2004), and Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina (assassinated 30 May, 1961).

United States Wars Against Against The Middle East.

On 19 August 1953 the UK and U.S. surreptitiously staged a coup d’état to ousted Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, or Mosaddeq (1882-1967). They replaced him with the 21-year old authoritarian monarch H.I.M Shah Mohammad Rezã Pah Lavî (1919-1980). The US et al., secured control over Iranian oil with the support of the totalitarian rule of the Shah until the Iranian Revolution (1 February 1979). During the Shah’s 25-year (q.l.) despotic reign, the US observed a silence of convenience regarding breaches of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms.

President Bush’s propaganda – in his State of the Union address – alleged that al-ʿIrāq’s president Saddam Hussein had used ‘the world’s most dangerous weapons against his own people’, viz., cyanide-based gas, and cluster bombs. Bush was referring to an event, int. al. that took place at Halabjah, a town with a population of 70,000 (q.v.), north-east of Baġdād, nine miles from the Iranian border. On the 16th and 17th March 1988, which resulted in an estimated loss of 5,000 (q.v.) lives; including women, children and the elderly.

Bush’s address was without foundation, and was a shameless and presumptuous tissue of deception. He wittingly disseminated this disinformation, with the intent to manipulate his U.K., aide-de-camp Tony Blair, and the obsequious John Howard of Australia. To wage war against the innocent people of al-ʿIrāq; even though al-ʿIrāq’s forces were a threat to no one. Whilst Blair and Howard were giving Bush the obliging “yes”, the populace in the U.S., U.K., Australia, et al., were communicating an unequivocal “no”.

The facts that Bush omitted from his address were, not making a clear distinction between the numerous innocent noncontiguous civilian Kurds, who were unfortunately caught in between the battle between al-ʿIrāq’s forces, and the Kurdish guerrilla confederates; commiserate with the combatant Iranian Revolutionary Militia.

Immediately following the Halabjah incident, a report was prepared, and distributed to Bush and his inner circle, by the United States Defence Intelligence Agency (U.S.D.I.A.). The report indicated that the cyanide-based gas weapons, used to kill the Kurds, were not from al-ʿIrāqi arsenals. Professor Stephen C. Pelletiere, former senior political analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.), said: “But the truth is, all we know for certain is that Kurds were bombarded with poison gas that day at Halabja. We cannot say with any certainty that al-ʿIrāqi chemical weapons killed the Kurds” (New York Times, Friday, January 31, 2003).

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16