US-Latin
American
Relations
Part II
In the
Cold War
1946-1989
The Cold War was the continuing state of
conflict, tension, and competition that existed
after World War II between the Soviet Union
and its satellites and the powers of the Western
world under the leadership of the United States
from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s.
Throughout this period, the conflict was
expressed through military coalitions,
espionage, weapons development, invasions,
propaganda, and competitive technological
development, which included the space race.
Why the Cold War?
Fear of
Communist
Expansion
US Policy
Containment of Communism
US and Guatemala, 1954
United Fruit
Guatemalan Civil War 1960-1996
Vice
President
Nixon
in Venezuela,
1958
Cuba-The Batista Years
Cuba and Fidel Castro
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Cuban Missile Crisis
Dominican Republic, 1965
Chile and Salvadore Allende, 1970-73
Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger
• "I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go
communist due to the irresponsibility of its own people. The
issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to
decide for themselves." — Henry Kissinger
• "Not a nut or bolt shall reach Chile under Allende. Once
Allende comes to power we shall do all within our power to
condemn Chile and all Chileans to utmost deprivation and
poverty." — Edward M. Korry, U.S. Ambassador to Chile,
upon hearing of Allende's election.
• "Make the economy scream [in Chile to] prevent Allende from
coming to power or to unseat him" — Richard Nixon, orders
to CIA director Richard Helms on September 15, 1970.
This poster responds to the
alliance between U.S.
multinational corporations
and the CIA, which gave the
CIA the opportunity to
manipulate Chilean politics.
The featured corporation is
the International Telephone
and Telegraph Company,
which in 1970 owned 70% of
Chitelco, the Compania de
Telefonos de Chile,
(Telephone Company of
Chile) or about $153 million.
"Class Struggle“
Cesar Olhagaray (1983)
General Augusto Pinochet
Military Coup and the “Disappeared”
Nicaragua and the Sandinista
Revolution
Contra War
Reagan and Contra Leaders
El Salvador’s “Dirty War”
Invasion of Grenada, 1983
US Interventions