Throughout the twentieth century, much of Latin America’s political turbulence unfolded under the shadow of U.S. power in the Western Hemisphere. Fearing left-wing takeovers and Soviet influence—especially during the Cold War—Washington backed interventions (covert and overt) and often sided with anti-communist forces, including coups and counterrevolutionary groups. Below are five emblematic episodes that illustrate how U.S. policy intersected with local struggles over power and ideology.
1) Chile, 1973: From Ballot Box to Barracks
Left-leaning Salvador Allende won Chile’s presidency promising a distinctly Chilean path to socialism. He nationalized key industries—notably copper—provoking fierce resistance from business elites and the right. His ties to Fidel Castro amplified U.S. alarm.
On September 11, 1973, the Chilean armed forces bombed La Moneda Palace and overthrew Allende. General Augusto Pinochet emerged as junta leader. The coup unfolded amid an atmosphere shaped by CIA contacts with right-wing conspirators and by the earlier assassination of General René Schneider, who had opposed military interference in politics. Washington quickly recognized the new regime, which launched a long period of authoritarian rule and repression.
Key themes: resource sovereignty vs. foreign and domestic capital; Cold War security logic; the fragility of electoral mandates under military pressure.
2) Victoriano Huerta and the Mexican Revolution (1910–1913)
Mexico’s long-time strongman Porfirio Díaz faced a democratic challenge in 1910 from Francisco I. Madero, a northern landowner who demanded real elections. Díaz fell, Madero became president, but many Porfiristas kept their posts—including General Victoriano Huerta.
Conservative factions courted Huerta in a plot to topple Madero and install Félix Díaz, Porfirio’s nephew. Initially wary, Huerta shifted course after he rose to command the capital’s garrison. In the infamous “Pact of the Embassy,” U.S. Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson brokered an understanding among conspirators. Huerta ultimately betrayed Madero, then seized the presidency for himself rather than seating Díaz. The episode hardened revolutionary polarization and tainted U.S. diplomacy in Mexican eyes for decades.
Key themes: elite realignment during revolution; foreign diplomatic leverage; the perils of “stability first” statecraft.
3) The Bay of Pigs: America’s Failed Invasion of Cuba (1961)
Convinced that the Eisenhower administration had been too soft on communism, President John F. Kennedy authorized a CIA-backed landing by Cuban exiles trained in Guatemala. Rebranded as the Cuban Revolutionary Council, the force landed at Playa Girón in the Bay of Pigs to spark an uprising against Fidel Castro.
The plan misread domestic sentiment: Cubans did not rise up. When images surfaced of U.S. aircraft painted to resemble Cuban planes, international opinion soured, exposing American involvement. The operation collapsed within days. Washington pivoted to Operation Mongoose, a campaign of covert pressure against Cuba that fed directly into the Cuban Missile Crisis’s dangerous escalatory spiral.
Key themes: regime-change wishful thinking; covert action limits; reputational blowback.
4) The Dominican Republic: Assassination, Civil War, and U.S. Occupation (1961–1965)
Right-wing dictator Rafael Trujillo (“El Jefe”) dominated the Dominican Republic for decades until his assassination in 1961, a plot in which the CIA played a role. In 1963, social-democratic reformer Juan Bosch won the presidency but was ousted within seven months by conservative military and clerical forces.
The country spiraled into civil war in 1965, with constitutionalists backing Bosch’s return and the military rallying to block it. Fearing a Cuban-style outcome and alleged Soviet ties among rebels, the United States led Operation Power Pack, an intervention and occupation under the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Peace Force, where U.S. troops formed the majority.
Key themes: post-dictatorship uncertainty; the “no second Cuba” doctrine; multilateral cover for unilateral power.
5) The Contras: Counterrevolution in Nicaragua (1979–1990)
In 1979, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN)—inspired by guerrilla leader Augusto Sandino—overthrew Anastasio Somoza’s dictatorship. Marxist-leaning and anti-imperialist, the Sandinistas alarmed Washington and galvanized right-wing resistance.
A patchwork of insurgent groups, collectively known as the Contras (from contrarrevolucionarios), fought the new government with U.S. support and funding. When Congress passed the Boland Amendments to restrict aid, the Reagan administration pursued covert channels to keep assistance flowing. Both sides were accused of war crimes. In 1990, opposition candidate Violeta Chamorro unexpectedly won national elections, negotiations followed—with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter among mediators—and the Contras disarmed by July.
Key themes: proxy war mechanics; legal constraints vs. executive covert action; negotiated exits from civil conflict.
What These Cases Show
- Security over democracy: U.S. policy repeatedly privileged anti-communist “stability” over electoral outcomes, especially when left-wing movements gained traction.
- Local agency matters: Coups and rebellions were rooted in domestic fractures—elite splits, military politics, social revolts—into which the United States inserted itself, often amplifying violence and polarization.
- Covert action’s limits: From Santiago to Playa Girón, covert operations frequently misjudged public sentiment, triggered international backlash, and produced unintended consequences.
- Legacies that linger: These interventions shaped state institutions, human rights records, and party systems across the region, leaving memory politics that still color U.S.–Latin America relations.
