Transcript The Cold War – Central and South America

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
Colombia
• 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