To understand the Nicaragua Contra one must understand the Sandinistas, and who the Sandinistas took power from. Nicaragua has been invaded by the United States eight times starting from American adventurer William Walker’s “filibuster” of Nicaragua . Augusto César Sandino was the first revolutionary who used arm forces to drive United States out of Nicaragua . Somoza had Sandino killed and took control of Nicaragua. The Somozas and his sons oppressively ruled and amassed wealth with the support of United States. Because of the Somozas corrupt rule a rebel force would rise up which called themselves Sandinistas after Augusto César Sandino. Latin American countries urged United States to remove Somozas from power or the Sandinistas would take …show more content…
Somoza’s National Guardsmans fled to Honduras including Comandante Bravo who was assassinated by the Sandinistas . Due to Bravo’s assassination other ex-Guardsman sought assistance from other countries such as United States, Honduras, and Argentine . The three countries divided task among them which was known as la tripartita: General Alvarez of Honduras allowed bases to be constructed near Nicaraguan border, Argentina would train Contra in Guerilla tactics, and the United States would provide funding for training and equipment . The Contras had little chance to defeat the Sandinista army, so General Alvarez of Honduras planned to provoke the Sandinistas to attack Honduras, which if Sandinistas invaded Honduras it would give the United States an excuse to send troops into Nicaragua . The United States never agreed to send troops to attack the Sandinistas, and other officers of Honduras feared the United States would abandon the Contra movement as it had done in the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba . Argentina’s main reason for joining the la tripartita was to ingratiate themselves with United States as a new world power, yet when Argentina invaded South Atlantic islands United States did not proved assistance nor did they stay neutral leading to the collapse of the la tripartite . While the la tripartite plan did not work out as originally planned it allowed the Contra to grow to a strong military force to oppose the
When focusing on Nicaragua one will need to pay close attention to the rebel group called the Sandinistas who took over Nicaragua’s previous dictator, Anastasio Somoza in 1979, in which the United States Congress decided it would be best to provide them with aid that lasted till 1981.1 Nicaragua’s geographic location made it a big concern for President Reagan based on his philosophy that surrounded the Reagan Doctrine. At that point, President Reagan ended the aid deal and adamantly advised that support be sent to those who were trying to over throw the new socialized, Sandinista leadership.2 Furthermore, the Nicaraguan’s were dealing with some of the worst warfare ever, by the mass killings that took place, which were at the mercy of death squads.3 This gruesome realization allowed President Reaga...
Even after the strong pressure by US Secretary of State, the Organization of American States resolves to condemn what they believed was communist infiltration in the Americas. Under the control of Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas, he received a strong financial and logistic support from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to prepare his Army in Honduran territory to attack Guatemala. The CIA's involvement had been approved by Eisenhower as a way to stop what they considered a spread of Communism in the Americas. In June, 1954 the troops of Carlos Castillo crossed the Honduran-Guatemalan border and began their attack against Arbenz government. By this time not only was Arbenz internationally isolated but he had also lost much support from his own army and peasant population. Most of the Guatemalans felt they were in a very weak position compared to the invading army, after they heard from an ally radio that reported a larger invading army and the bomber that dropped some bombs around Guatemala City. The demoralized population simply resigned to be defeated by Castillo. Arbenz himself was hard hit when the invasion began. When he realized that any kind of resistance would only bring more deaths and very little success for his movement he decided to do what was best and decided to announce
What importance does this have to Noriega and Panama? On January 1, 1959 Fidel Castro led a successful coup against the government in Cuba which at the time was controlled by Fulgencio Batista. By Castro taking control of the Cuban government, he placed communism within a close range of America. This was important because it was feared by most Americans that this takeover by Castro would lead a domino effect throughout Central America, and third world countries further extending the arm of Communism and the reach of the Soviet Union.
The Civil War in El Salvador lasted from 1980 to 1992, and the El SAlvadoran government was doing their best to minimize the threat of their opposition. Their main opposition, The Frente Farabundo Marti Para La Liberacion Nacional; otherwise known as the FMLN, was a guerrilla group that was organized to fight the corruption in the country. 175). One of the main goals of the organization was to create a new society that is not degrading its citizens and promotes equality. Throughout El Salvador’s history, one organization to the next would run the country through repressive actions and social injustice. One of the main reasons that the FMLN fought the acting government were due to these social restraints on the lower- class citizens in El Salvador.
America had begun to indulge in the unilateral environment afforded to it during the Cold War. As the Soviet Union began to collapse in the 1980s, the United States was on its way to becoming a solo super power. This acquisition of complete power would inevitably lead the country into new problems, including those foreign and domestic. One of the main issues that came around in the 1980s for the Unites States was the Iran-Contra Affair, which involved the Reagan Administration. With the United States readily inserting influence across the globe, the Iran-Contra Affair proved how foreign intervention can lead to scandal and disgrace in the modern world. Along with detrimental scandals, the Iran-Contra Affair showed how America’s imperialistic behavior in South America was beginning to catch up. In order to remain a dominant influence in South America, the United States had no choice but to topple governments that did not align with American ideology. Using guerillas like the Contras insinuates America’s cornerstone of doing what is necessary in order to satisfy foreign interest.
This essay will study the Central Intelligence Agency’s intervention in Guatemala, and how they assisted Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas in the coup d’état against Jacobo Arbenz. It will describe the reasons of the intervention, the United States’ interest in Guatemala, and how it affected Guatemalans. Such events help explain much about the role that the United States has in their own migration. The paper argues that the United States’ political interest in Guatemala played a fundamental role in the migration of Guatemalans to its borders. As a result of this intervention, Guatemala suffered one of its worse political periods in their history. Guatemala experienced a period of political instability that led the country into social chaos, where many Guatemalans opted to migrate to the United States.
Under the Bush administration, Noreiga’s orders to organize drug trafficking and support the Nicaraguan Sandinista rebels ensured ...
Within five weeks, the operation to topple Arbenz quickly fizzled when representatives loyal to the president uncovered the plot and took steps to solidify their power. Works Cited Immerman, R. H. Guatemala as Cold War History. i>Political Science Quarterly/i>, 629. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from https://learn.uconn.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-762624-dt-content-rid-2584240_1/courses/1143-UCONN-LAMS-1190W-SECZ81-24116/guatemala%20cold%20war%281%29.pdf. Burns, E. B., & Charlip, J. A. (2007).
The Central American country of Guatemala fought a bloody civil war for over 36 years. The internal conflict began in November of 1960 and did not end until December of 1996. The key players that fought where the Guatemalan government and the ethnic Mayan indigenous people that where extremely leftist compared to the Guatemalan government. The indigenous persons where joined by other non-government forces known as the Ladino peasantry and other rural poor. This civil conflict would escalate to a bloody series of events that inevitably would see the Guatemalan government regime held responsible for acts of genocide and other human rights violations.
Background. In 1979, a political coalition called the Sandinistas led a revolution in Nicaragua and took control of the government. After United States President Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, he claimed the Sandinistas had set up a Communist dictatorship. He directed the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to begin aiding the contras, Nicaraguan rebels who were fighting to overthrow the Sandinistas. In 1983, however, Congress voted to limit the CIA support. In October 1984, Congress voted to cut off all aid to the contras.
During the next 20 years, although not always president, Somoza maintained control of Nicaragua. Nicaragua declared war on the Axis powers on December 9, 1941. In June 1945 it became a charter member of the United Nations. Nicaragua joined the Organization of American States in 1948 and the Organization of Central American States, created to solve common Central American problems, in 1951. In 1956 Anastasio Somoza, who had resumed the presidency, was assassinated.
.... Somoza also limited freedom of speech by putting anyone who spoke out against the government in jail or in exile. People wanted to see change and in retaliation formed the FSLN party and fought against the National Guard which was under control of Somoza. Although Nicaraguan Revolution was devastating it was not a true revolution because it did not specifically follow the steps of a revolution due to it going against its original goals. There were also only one main group that was controlling Niangua at the time and not many competing for power. Also the revolution did not benefit everyone in the country because Niangua was still dealing with inequality and limited civil rights after the war was over. The Nicaraguan Revolution was not a true revolution but overall achieved their goals at the end of bringing the country together and with fairness in the government.
However, this does not necessarily mean colonizing Latin America, but rather having it allied and influenced by the United States' mentality and agenda. The book describes the tactics used by the United States to align these countries' policies and politics with its own. The book effectively portrays the role of the United States in the political affairs of Latin American countries. Higgins examines the Eisenhower administration's invasion of Guatemala, which resulted in a revolt to remove the leftist President Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán. The Arbenz administration posed a threat to the dominance of American companies in Guatemala, particularly the United Fruit Company.
The rebellion against Nicaraguan leader Anastasio Somoza Debayle was supported by virtually all sectors of Nicaraguan society. The FSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front) spearheaded the revolt through the support of the poor, the working class, students, businessmen, professionals, the Roman Catholic Church and various oppositional political parties. Somoza had alienated all of society including, “the upper class with his disastrous economic policies which threatened the economic well-being of the propertied and entrepreneurial class.” (Booth, 125) He also alienated t...
The tropical island of Cuba had been an object of empire for the United States. Before the Missile Crisis, the relationship between Castro and the US were strained by the Bay of Pigs occurrence in 1961. This was where counterrevolutionary Cubans were American funded and tried to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro. However, the counterrevolutionaries failed. Castro then found an alliance with the Soviet Union and an increase of distrust that Castro had on the US. On January 18, 1962, the United States’ Operation Mongoose was learned. The objective would be “to help the Cubans overthrow the Communist regime” so that the US could live in peace. Consequently, Castro informed the Soviet Union that they were worried about a direct invasion on Cuba, thus longed for protection against th...