Strategic Importance Of Latin America In Cold War And Beyond.

The Cold War, which took place from 1947 to 1991 had eventually altered the Latin America's relationship with the United States profoundly, as the region became a battleground between two different competing ideological systems which was capitalism and communism. Prior to the Cold War, both economic and geopolitical concerns had motivated United States policy toward Latin America. But, after the lowering of the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe, George Kennan, the chief architect of American foreign policy towards the Soviet Union, advocated containment to stop the spreading of communism, not just in Europe, but including the countries all around the world. The result was a bipolar world featuring proxy wars fought throughout the Third World by alternates and clients of the two superpowers. Latin American nations are historically considered to be part of "our backyard," who were not permitted to remain neutral as Washington expected the Latin American countries to ally with the United States, while the Soviet Union sought to gain access to what had been an American sphere of influence and after world war II many Latin American countries such as Cuba faced political, economic and social challenges.

The United States has influenced many nations in the world throughout history. Some of the ways the U.S. has been able to dominate poor countries are with military action and corporate activities that allowed the United States to influence their governments. Since the United States extends its power with the previously mentioned methods, it is recognized as an imperialist nation. The United States has specifically demonstrated imperialistic forces in Latin America. The effects that the United States’ imperialism had on Latin American economies and politics were negative since it brought violence and caused the poor to struggle even more. When the United Sates government did not like policies that Latin American presidents were creating, they would take military actions to force American ideologies into Latin American countries’ governments by installing puppets into their governments. Generally, these countries would have flourished economically without the United States, but since the U.S. became involved with the countries’ policies, their economies have weakened because the U.S. wants the benefits of controlling countries’ resources without being responsible for the people who reside there. This pattern of the United States’ imperialistic behavior has been demonstrated many times in Latin America.

In terms of activity during World War II, many Latin American countries played an active role in the War Effort. Effectively, the war effort also had a large impact on countries in Latin America. Specifically, I will be focusing on the economic, social and political effects that World War II played in Cuba. Cuba’s war involvement was different in terms of the other Latin American countries that were involved. Cuba’s territory at the entrance of the Gulf of Mexico proved to be a valuable area in terms of trading. Cuba also played a vital role in the support of the United States’ Lend-Lease program. Specifically, Cuba played roles in diplomacy, conflict and espionage during World War II.

The progress made in the 20th century is staggering. Advancements in science, medicine and technology alone have brought incalculable benefits to human beings. Yet on the darker side, the 20th century was also the most violent time of human history. Two world wars, the massacres of Stalin, the Holocaust of Hitler, and many other such events killed over hundreds of millions of people and inflicted extreme suffering on hundreds of millions more that will make this period in time and period that will be remembered forever.

US interventionism in Latin America started a long time ago with the Monroe Doctrine, in 1823. A policy which stated that any intervention by external power for example from Europe is the Americas is a hostile act against the US. In simpler words, America is for the Americas. From the 1900’s till the beginning of the Cold War, the United States started the military intervention mostly in the Caribbean and Central American regions. This has started a long history of the United States intervening on Latin America issues.

After the missile crisis both nations abandoned Latin America, leaving it in taters. This created a resentment for the United States in Latin America(lecture 5/21)

“A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death” . This quote was said in 1962 by John F. Kennedy as his description of the Cold War. The Cold War is often described as a state of political tension and military rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1945 to 1991. It is therefore known by many people that the Cold War started and ended in Europe . However one must remember that many other countries around the world were also affected by the Cold War. Consequently instead of examining the argument that the Cold War did not involve countries in the Third World this essay will hence show how the Cold War did in fact involve countries of the ‘Third World’. The word ‘involve’ here means to be part of or included in the Cold War. The term ‘Third World’ came about during the Cold War, to mainly define countries that remained unconnected to either NATO, which included the United States, the Western European countries and their allies representing the First World or the Soviet Bloc, including the Soviet Union, the People’s Republic of China, Cuba and their allies representing the Second World . Therefore, this essay will be divided into three main parts. To further understand the involvement of the Cold War in the Third world this essay will analyse incidents that occurred in three different countries around the world. One must first analyse the impact and the relationship of the Congo Crisis and the Cold War.

American attitudes towards Latin America can be summed up as an extension of larger global directives, and the exclusion of foreign powers in the region. This was highlighted especially during the Cold War as US involvement was essentially in competition with the USSR. Latin America was therefore a mere pawn in the larger context of US-Soviet competition for global dominance. The actions and methods used are also characterized by the lack of an international authority, or an atmosphere of inter-state anarchy, which shaped their calculations in the endeavor to increase their influence over Latin America. When one analyzes the situation, it seems only rational that the United States treated its southern neighbors so, due to the geographical

The United States and the Soviet Union competed against each other during the Cold War in the second half of the 20th Century like a chess game, with the world as their chessboard and countries as pawns in their game. For the Russians, a critical part of the chessboard was Cuba and Latin America. The Russians believed that if they could align themselves with countries in the western hemisphere, America’s “backyard”, it would help the Soviet Union counter the strong political influence and military presence America had in Europe, which made the Russians feel threatened. The Soviet Union tried to align itself politically, militarily, and economically with as many Latin American countries as it could. In

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the United States was the most dominant power in the Western Hemisphere. European nations conceded to the United States their right of any intervention in the Western Hemisphere and allowed the United States to do whatever they wanted. The United States took this newly bestowed power and abused it. The United States intervened in many Latin American countries and imposed their policies on to these countries against their will. A perfect example of this aggression is what occurred in the Dominican Republic in 1904. The United States intervened in this sovereign nation and took control of their economy and custom houses. A memorandum from Francis B. Loomis, the United States Assistant

When looking at the history between the United States and Latin America, you see many interactions between them, all that aided the relationship that they have today. Despite that the United States and Latin America are in the same part of the world, the beliefs in which they govern may differ. This difference has often been seen playing a major role in the disputes that have occurred in past. The United States and Latin America have faced many social, economical and governing barriers in forming a strong and positive relationship in the early twentieth century, this is due to the differences that the two had between cultures and the constant demand for power. However, the two countries have found ways to meet in the middle of their cultural differences, to form an equally fair relationship.

During the Cold War, the US invaded Latin America, Asia, and partly Europe. They used sneaky methods and propaganda to achieve their goals. At this time, in the Cold War, they were very devious and tactical in their mission. The US foreign Policy at that time was all about defeating Communism and keeping the balance of power in it’s favor but most importantly, for US’s own economic interest.

Under the government of the President James Monroe in 1822, U.S opened up relations with Colombia; with a strategical interest for both nations. The agreements were based in expanding commercial relations and strengthen amity. However, U.S relations with Colombia took a different turn as a result of a new era Colombia’s civil war and drug trafficking . The interest of improve the foreign policy and the security of both countries; In order to maintain the U.S relations with Colombia, an analysis of the conflict in Colombia has to be made to protect the U.S national interest.

Since Donald Trump has been elected, world politics are in trouble, free - trade agreements gradually canceled and the objection of immigrants from Mexico. These problems have led the United States are in an alarming condition. The United States will meet many difficulties in controlling these situations inside the country. The relationship between the United States and Mexico have never reconciled because of Mexican Wall. Latin America will not be a priority in the external relations from the White House in the coming period. In fact, to this point of U.S foreign policy with Latin America, Mr. Trump has no idea about it. However, many experts can offer a few comments on the relationship in the future between Mr. Trump and Latin America.

The ideological polarity between the United States and the Soviet Union cemented political and military alignments between countries who became the First World (led by the capitalist United States), and the Second World (led by the communist Soviet Union). As divisions formed and deepened between the First and Second Worlds, the other two-thirds of the planet, which came to be known as the Third World were determining their place both inside and outside of this conflict. The North had a history of imperialism in the countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Although Latin American countries had been officially decolonized in the eighteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries, Asia and Africa continued as colonies until World War II left the colonizers too weak to maintain their colonies. As Asia and Africa were being decolonized, the First and Second Worlds began to perceive the Global South as an empty platform upon which to fight their “cold war” for global hegemony. As Odd Arne Westad points out, the Cold War was hardly cold in the Global South. In many cases it was bloody and violent. In 1947, all of the nations of Latin America signed the Rio Treaty (a military alliance similar to NATO), and were thus formally tied to the United States. Since the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, the subsequent Roosevelt Corollary of 1904, and the signing of the Charter of the