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US Invasions in Latin America and the Caribbean

Since the 1800s, the United States has invaded countries across Latin America and the Caribbean in an effort to protect both economic and political interests.

This violent, aggressive policy has led to tens of thousands of civilian deaths and decades-long dictatorships.

In commemoration of the U.S. invasion of Haiti, teleSUR remembers the bloody history of U.S. invasions in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Puerto Rico and Cuba, 1898

 

The U.S. invades and takes Puerto Rico and Cuba from Spanish colonists. Cuba wins its independence, but Puerto Rico remains a colony of the U.S. to this day.

Mexico, 1914-1918

 

During the Mexican Revolution,the United States sent troops to fight nationalist, including Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata, who sought to take down the Mexican oligarchy. The U.S. supported the rule of Porfirio Diaz, a dictator who controlled the country for over 30 years and benefited from a close U.S. economic relationship. In the interests of protecting this relationship, the U.S. helped plot the coup against Francisco Madero in 1913 and installed General Victoriano Huerta as president. READ MORE

Haiti, 1915-1934

 

The U.S. military occupied Haiti from 1915-1934. It reinstituted slavery and facilitated the theft of at least 260,000 acres of land by North American companies. Estimates of the numbers of Haitians killed range from 3,000 to 15,000 but some historians say the death toll was much higher. The U.S. left a modernized Haitian army to do its dirty work for several decades after the occupation ended. READ MORE

Guatemala, 1954

 

The invasion of Guatemala was a clear decision to return power to the elites who ruled before the 1944 Guatemala Spring. The CIA coup against progressive, democratically-elected President Jacobo Arbenz restored the country’s normal order that favors the economic and military interest of the dominant sectors of Guatemala and the U.S. It is an order kept in place through corruption, impunity and repression. READ MORE

Cuba, 1961

 

Between April 17-19 of 1961, a force of Cuban mercenaries, led by the U.S. CIA tried to invade the Revolutionary Cuba. Within three days the attempt failed disastrously, with over 100 invaders dead and over 1,000 captured. READ MORE

Dominican Republic, 1965

 

On April 28, the United States government deployed 42,000 troops to occupy the Dominican Republic.The country had recently experienced 30 years of one of the most brutal dictatorships in Latin American history, led by U.S. ally Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. It is estimated that during Trujillo's reign of terror, 25,000 people were killed or disappeared by the state. READ MORE

Nicaragua, 1981-1990

 

After toppling the oppressive U.S.-backed Somoza dictatorship, the Sandinista government soon was faced with a violent, U.S.-sponsored counterrevolution that wreaked havoc in the country, carrying out more than 1,300 terrorist attacks and engaging in widespread human rights violations. READ MORE

Grenada, 1983

 

The objective of the U.S. invasion of Grenada was the consolidation of a pro-U.S. regime after the assassination of the socialist prime minister, Maurice Bishop. Bishop came to power in March 13, 1979 as the head of the New Jewel Movement, which staged a bloodless coup against the U.S.-allied regime of Eric Gairy. Bishop's ability to connect with the Grenadian people has been favorably compared with Fidel Castro's bond with the Cuban people or Hugo Chavez's connection to the Venezuelan masses. READ MORE

Panama, 1989


On Dec. 20, 1989, over 27,000 U.S. soldiers invaded Panama as part of President George H. W. Bush’s “Operation Just Cause.” The invasion allegedly aimed to carry out the arrest on charges of drug-trafficking of Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega, a former U.S. ally and CIA informant. The invasion is widely interpreted as part of U.S. efforts to maintain an allied government in Panama and U.S. hegemony in the region. READ MORE

 
  • title='Journalist Maruja Torres hugs a photographer inside a plane returning the body of the reporter Juan Antonio Rodriguez, killed during the U.S. invasion of Panama.' width="798" height="449">

    Journalist Maruja Torres hugs a photographer inside a plane returning the body of the reporter Juan Antonio Rodriguez, killed during the U.S. invasion of Panama. | Photo EFE

  • title='Civilians in Panama hand over arms to U.S. forces.' width="798" height="449">

    Civilians in Panama hand over arms to U.S. forces. | Photo EFE

  • title='Fidel Castro leads fighters during the U.S. invasion of the Bay of Pigs, 1961.' width="798" height="449">

    Fidel Castro leads fighters during the U.S. invasion of the Bay of Pigs, 1961. | Photo EFE

  • title='A U.S. soldier walks through Panama City after the invasion.' width="798" height="449">

    A U.S. soldier walks through Panama City after the invasion. | Photo EFE

  • title='Two U.S. soldiers guard a street intersection during the invasion of the Dominican Republic.' width="798" height="449">

    Two U.S. soldiers guard a street intersection during the invasion of the Dominican Republic. | Photo EFE

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US Invasions
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