A timeline of CIA operations in Latin America

Over the past 2 centuries, the United States has repeatedly carried retired subject operations successful Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Starting successful the precocious 1800s, each the mode into the aboriginal 20th century, the US conducted the Banana Wars, a bid of subject interventions successful Central America, to support the interests of US corporations successful the region.

In 1934, nether President Franklin D Roosevelt, the US introduced the “Good Neighbor Policy”, pledging not to invade oregon inhabit Latin American countries oregon interfere successful their interior affairs. However, during the Cold War, the US financed respective operations aimed astatine overthrowing elected left-wing leaders successful the region.

Many of these operations person been coordinated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which was founded successful 1947.

As Washington builds a large-scale subject presence adjacent to the seashore of Venezuela and continues aerial strikes connected Venezuelan boats it claims are trafficking drugs successful the Caribbean and the eastbound Pacific, US President Donald Trump says helium has not ruled retired a onshore operation wrong the state itself. Many observers judge that Trump’s allegations that Venezuela is liable for cause trafficking are a screen for his real nonsubjective of authorities change there.

We look astatine immoderate of the US’s past of akin interventions.

1950s successful Guatemala

In 1954, elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman was toppled by section combatant groups backed by the CIA nether US President Dwight Eisenhower.

Arbenz had sought to nationalise a company, stoking fears wrong the US of much socialist policies successful Guatemala.

Under the CIA’s Operation PBSuccess, the bureau trained fighters led by subject serviceman Carlos Castillo Armas, who took powerfulness aft the coup. A civilian warfare raged successful Guatemala from 1960 to 1996 betwixt the Guatemalan authorities and subject connected 1 side, and leftist rebel groups connected the other.

Jacobo Arbenz Guzman (centre), ousted arsenic president of Guatemala successful an anti-communist revolt backed by the CIA, speaks with a radical of French reporters successful Paris successful 1955. He and his woman travelled to Switzerland, wherever helium negotiated with authorities for designation of his Swiss citizenship, based connected the Swiss nationality of his begetter [Bettmann collection/Getty Images]

1960s successful Cuba

In 1959, Cuban communist person Fidel Castro came to powerfulness aft overthrowing dictator Fulgencio Batista.

Under Eisenhower, the CIA devised a program to bid Cuban exiles to invade the state and overthrow Castro. US President John F Kennedy, a Democrat who won the 1960 election, was briefed astir the program during his inauguration.

Castro recovered retired astir the grooming camps done Cuban intelligence. In 1961, Kennedy signed disconnected connected the Bay of Pigs Invasion, a program for the Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro. However, the penetration failed erstwhile the Cuban subject overwhelmed them.

Cuban exiles trained by the US landing astatine the Bay of Pigs, Cuba – and surrendering – successful 1961 [Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images]

1960s successful Brazil

In 1961, Joao Goulart came to bureau arsenic president of Brazil, with a mandate to prosecute societal and economical reforms. He maintained bully relations with socialist countries specified arsenic Cuba and nationalised a subsidiary of the US-owned International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT).

In response, the CIA funded pro-US politicians and supported anti-communist groups. This undermined Goulart’s leadership, culminating successful a subject coup successful 1964, which established a US-friendly dictatorship that would past until 1985.

Troops defender the War Ministry successful Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, done the nighttime connected April 1, 1964, arsenic a rebellion against the left-leaning authorities of President Joao Goulart begins [Bettmann collection/Getty Images]

1960s successful Ecuador

After going done 27 presidents betwixt 1925 and 1947, Ecuador witnessed a uncommon play of stableness successful the 1950s.

It was not to last. By the aboriginal 1960s, the US was disquieted astir the pro-Cuba policies of President Jose Velasco Ibarra and his Vice President Carlos Julio Arosemena, who advocated for person relations with Soviet bloc nations.

The CIA, utilizing US labour organisations arsenic its conduits, financed the dispersed of anti-communist sentiment successful the country.

“In the end, they [the CIA] owned astir everybody who was anybody [in Ecuador],” a CIA cause told expert Roger Morris later, successful a 2004 CIA-approved appraisal of the agency’s activities successful Latin America.

Arosemena archetypal staged a coup against Ibarra, and initially turned further to the left, earlier trying to mean his positions. Then, successful 1963, the subject staged a coup against him, banning the Communist Party and severing ties with Cuba, aligning with US interests.

Student protesters overturn a car successful downtown Guayaquil, Ecuador, connected November 6, 1961, during a objection against the authorities of President Jose Velasco Ibarra [Bettmann collection/Getty Images]

1960s and 70s successful Bolivia

Between 1963 and 1964, the US utilized covert funding, mostly done the CIA, to power Bolivia’s politics.

The backing backed leaders who were affable to the US, and supported a subject coup successful November 1964 led by General Rene Barrientos Ortuno against elected President Victor Paz Estenssoro. The coup was palmy and forced Paz Estenssoro into exile.

But the US was not done interfering successful Bolivia.

By the aboriginal 1970s, Washington had its oculus connected different authorities change. This time, the people was President Juan Jose Torres, who had travel to powerfulness successful 1970 and had nationalised aggregate US companies successful the country.

According to the US State Department’s authoritative history, the US ambassador successful La Paz, successful June 1971, told Washington that it needed to enactment Torres’s opponents. The White House secretly sought, and received, $410,000 ($3.3m successful today’s money) successful what critics wrong the medication described arsenic “coup money” to concern subject leaders and governmental leaders opposed to Torres.

Two months later, elder subject serviceman Hugo Banzer led a palmy coup against Torres. The US continued to money Banzer’s government, which ruled until 1978. Nearly 2 decades later, Banzer would instrumentality to powerfulness erstwhile again, aft really winning an predetermination successful 1997.

Bolivia’s President Hugo Banzer, whom the US supported, wearing a azygous and decorations astatine his table successful April 1978 [Keystone/Getty Images]

1970s successful Chile

The CIA provided backing to assistance extremity the presidency of Salvador Allende, an elected leftist leader. Allende had planned to nationalise Chilean copper companies, galore of which were owned by US interests.

The CIA backing was utilized to backmost Allende’s hostile and dispersed anti-communist sentiment. This spiralled into the 1973 subject coup led by General Augusto Pinochet. Allende changeable himself dormant utilizing an AK-47 firearm earlier helium was captured: Doubts astir the origin of his decease lingered for decades earlier it was confirmed by an autarkic autopsy years later.

The brutal US-backed dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet lasted 17 years.

Edward J Gerrity, a elder vice president for firm relations astatine the US-owned International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT), tells US Senate investigators successful 1973 that helium talked with a CIA cause successful 1970 astir plans designed to make economical chaos successful Chile aft the predetermination of Salvador Allende arsenic president [Bettmann collection/Getty Images]

1970s: Operation Condor successful six countries

In 1975, the CIA supported right-wing subject dictatorships successful six Latin American countries by mounting up a transnational web called Operation Condor. This began during the US presidency of Gerald Ford.

Targeted countries included Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay. The cognition was aimed astatine crushing governmental dissidents, leftists and communist sympathisers. The dictatorships utilized a shared database to show dissidents and their families crossed authorities borders.

They utilized tactics specified arsenic exchanging intelligence, information, prisoners and torture techniques. Under the operation, astatine slightest 97 radical were killed, according to Plan Condor, a associated inaugural by Latin American organisations and the University of Oxford.

1980s successful El Salvador

In December 1981, the Salvadoran military’s elite Atlacatl Battalion conducted a deadly massacre successful the colony of El Mozote, sidesplitting astir 1,000 civilians, including women and children. This was during El Salvador’s civilian warfare of 1980-92.

The battalion was trained and equipped by the US nether its larger Cold War argumentation of suppressing leftist rebellions successful Latin America. The US authorities greatly accrued subject assistance to El Salvador betwixt 1980 and 1982.

1980s successful Grenada

It was a acquainted communicative by now. Maurice Bishop, the premier curate of the tiny Caribbean island, had adopted Marxist-Leninist policies aft seizing powerfulness himself successful 1979 erstwhile the erstwhile premier, Eric Gairy, was retired of the country.

By the aboriginal 1980s, the US was disquieted astir Cuban power successful Grenada. As bloody infighting broke retired wrong Bishop’s enactment implicit a enactment conflict successful October 1983, the US swooped successful an cognition codenamed Operation Urgent Fury, invading the country, capturing Cubans successful Grenada and ensuring that the country’s aboriginal was aligned with US priorities.

US Marines instrumentality a interruption during the US penetration of Grenada successful 1983, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury [Archive Photos/Getty Images]

1980s successful Panama

The US invaded Panama successful 1989 during the US presidency of George HW Bush, a Republican. The penetration was called Operation Just Cause.

The US underplayed the decease toll and justified the invasion, saying it was carried retired to region President Manuel Noriega for alleged cause trafficking.