I was raised in Puerto Rico and was taught Caribbean and Latin American history in grade school. Their fear, distrust, and hatred of us is well deserved, I'm sad to say. Given who's in power, I fear that this could be the first event that leads to a world war. WW I started over small events like this.
Reading this from Guatemala, what stands out isn’t only the coup itself — it’s the template.
First comes the fear story. Then the moral language. Then the “technical” intervention that somehow always serves someone else’s interests. And the people who live here carry the cost for generations.
The speeches change. The justifications change. The mechanism barely does.
Pieces like this matter because they remind us that what gets framed as “geopolitics” is also memory, land, families, and a wound that never fully closes.
Thanks for the historical perspective. US foreign policy in Latin America has been "Send in the Marines" (or the Army or the Navy or the Air Force -- or all of the above -- for well over 100 years. And the rise of Castro, Allende, and other democratic, socialist, and communist leaders throughout Latin America has been the direct result of US military and political intervention.
Has U.S. military intervention in Latin America EVER improved life for the locals? I know little about the history of the Americas and am genuinely curious.
Grew up in Colombia and US was not viewed on favorably. Panama used to be part of Colombia until 1903, I think, and then the US fucked around about the canal. And then again under Bush. We can, have and will do terrible things
"... plenty of Americans see anything that is to the left of hunting the homeless for sport as being commie as fuck."
True, and explains how the MAGA party was able to successfully campaign against Kamala Harris by portraying the former DA and AG as a "socialist/communist".
That's a subject I teach in my history classes, and it's a specific subject that IB students are assessed on. Generally I'd get there later in the school year, but I'm going to have to preview it now.
The other situation this resembles closely is when we and Britain overthrew Mosaddegh in Iran in the '50s, also because he nationalized the oil companies. We made the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the only ruler, and he was a dictator who oppressed anyone who opposed him. The chickens came home to roost in 1979, and I'm sure people here know what happened.
Whoo-boy...you don't have to swear to see the fucking parallel. Suppose this approach could work at the White House?! You know: the new "acceptable" form of diplomacy?
I was raised in Puerto Rico and was taught Caribbean and Latin American history in grade school. Their fear, distrust, and hatred of us is well deserved, I'm sad to say. Given who's in power, I fear that this could be the first event that leads to a world war. WW I started over small events like this.
I sorely hope you are wrong, that the rest of the developed world will hold together and prevent a world war.
I am not in favor of fascism or pedophiles, so I am not in favor of Trump as President.
Rich folks deciding who gets to live or die is bad for the world.
Rich folk are just plainly bad for the world themselves.
Reading this from Guatemala, what stands out isn’t only the coup itself — it’s the template.
First comes the fear story. Then the moral language. Then the “technical” intervention that somehow always serves someone else’s interests. And the people who live here carry the cost for generations.
The speeches change. The justifications change. The mechanism barely does.
Pieces like this matter because they remind us that what gets framed as “geopolitics” is also memory, land, families, and a wound that never fully closes.
Thanks for the historical perspective. US foreign policy in Latin America has been "Send in the Marines" (or the Army or the Navy or the Air Force -- or all of the above -- for well over 100 years. And the rise of Castro, Allende, and other democratic, socialist, and communist leaders throughout Latin America has been the direct result of US military and political intervention.
Did we ever stop being total shit? I will cackle in horror at the next person claiming the US as exceptional.
Oh I dare say it is, just not in the way most would prefer …………
If I hear one person say, "America is the greatest nation ..."
I guess "checkered past" might apply if most of the squares are black or charcoal.
Has U.S. military intervention in Latin America EVER improved life for the locals? I know little about the history of the Americas and am genuinely curious.
Grew up in Colombia and US was not viewed on favorably. Panama used to be part of Colombia until 1903, I think, and then the US fucked around about the canal. And then again under Bush. We can, have and will do terrible things
"... plenty of Americans see anything that is to the left of hunting the homeless for sport as being commie as fuck."
True, and explains how the MAGA party was able to successfully campaign against Kamala Harris by portraying the former DA and AG as a "socialist/communist".
And don't forget Iran in 1953.
But we got cheap bananas so it was a resounding success, right?!?
I hate bananas but love cheap gas like most Americans 😎
Here in New Orleans we all remember the exploits of Sam the Banana Man, president of UFCO.
Funny how a comparable overthrow strategy failed miserably at the Bay of Pigs…
Sounds like that's the next reboot.
They have a perfect MO for Cuba .
Parachute in and kidnap the leader and try him on drug trafficking 🤞🤨
Thanks. I always wondered why my father was in Guatemala after the War.
That's a subject I teach in my history classes, and it's a specific subject that IB students are assessed on. Generally I'd get there later in the school year, but I'm going to have to preview it now.
The other situation this resembles closely is when we and Britain overthrew Mosaddegh in Iran in the '50s, also because he nationalized the oil companies. We made the Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the only ruler, and he was a dictator who oppressed anyone who opposed him. The chickens came home to roost in 1979, and I'm sure people here know what happened.
Whoo-boy...you don't have to swear to see the fucking parallel. Suppose this approach could work at the White House?! You know: the new "acceptable" form of diplomacy?