US Foreign Policy Impact On Latin America's Cold War

Carolina Recchi
History of the Americas
November 14th 2012

U.S foreign policy impact on Latin America’s Cold War

The mid 20th century was characterized by years of conflict and political tumult in most of Latin America. As countries within this hemisphere were striving to gain independence and global recognition, the U.S and USSR both competed to gain influence in Latin America by engaging in what one could define a “precipitous escalation of superpower competition” (Brands 3). Washington’s effort to prevent the spread of extra-hemispheric penetration in Latin America indeed resulted in their attempt to concretize their ideals of modernization and democracy by “remaking the region in their own images”. (Brands 38) The U.S’s implementation
Castro’s revolt in Cuba was the ultimate eruption of Cuba’s history of U.S influence and control and “crystallized dissatisfaction with the status quo” (Brands 25). Consequently, Castro’s spread of the “foco” was partially a response to the anti-imperialism and “yankeephobia” that characterized Catro’s public discourse. The ideals that pervaded Cuba rapidly spread to Cuba’s neighboring countries, eventually making of Cuba an example for Latin America: “we Costa Rican campesinos also want a Revolution like Cuba’s”. (Brands 25) Castro and Guevara’s visits to Latin American universities in 1959 and 1960 also resulted in a successful spread of the revolution amongst the rising student class, influencing university students in both Argentina and Mexico. Cuba’s revolution also played a crucial role in fractioning regional politics of several countries including Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. Whilst both right and left parties were present in such countries, political parties in decline or marginalized by the main local ideologies were now tempted by the uprising “foco” that Cuba was promoting. (Brands
Kennedy and Johnson indeed made sure to rapidly increase American training and supply programs and encouraging Latin American officers to graduate from institutions like the School of the Americas. U.S funding was also donated to U.S friendly parties such as El Salvador’s National Democratic Organization (ORDEN). (Brands 59) As both these strategies seemed to create little positive response in the region, Washington at times had to adopt more direct forms of intervention; an example was the defeat of the pro-Bosch population in the Dominican Republic. When Trujillo was indeed murdered in the May of 1961, and Bosch came to power, the U.S was surprised in Bosch friendlier attitude towards the left. Consequently, fearing Bosch’s return in 1961, Johnson sent in 23,000 troops to help defeat pro-Bosch forces performing what Johnson defined “a very good job”. (Brands 58) In Cuba the U.S further sponsored sabotage and espionage programs launched by the CIA (Operation Mongoose) in order to sabotage and create a general disorder, which was supposed to overthrow the regime and eventually murder Castro. (Brands