In the 1960’s United Sates, economic interests in Chile represented an estimated 90% of the country’s foreign investments. The rise of an ideological Marxist coalition led by Salvador Allende immediately raise concerns among U.S. security advisors, policy makers, and U.S. and multinational private industrial corporations operating in Chile. In an almost instantaneous reaction from the U.S, Covert Actions in Chile begun in 1963 and were carried out thru 1974 under the executive authorization of three U.S. Presidents. Interesting, is that a Congressional investigative committee in 1975 did not find U.S. government directly involved in the Chilean government coup.
For the U.S. policymakers finding the proper balance between the management and the operating command structure was challenging, which poised the question: To what extend did the U.S. engaged in covert actions in Chile, and what if any bearing they have in future re-structuring of the leadership and accountability? What specific covert techniques were used in the operations? To answer those questions an analysis of some of the main U.S. political covert operations covering the leadership, management, and the envisioned result of the actions that consummated between the years of 1963 and 1974 is required.
Rising Communism in Chile
When U.S. covert actions in Chile began, Cuba was the sole communist regime in Latin America. The main strategic objective for operations in Chile was to prevent the emergence of another one. At the time, Chilean public support for their current government was merely moderate, supporting the case for U.S. political involvement in Chile. In addition, convincing the U.S. elites for a military intervention was very difficult speciall...
... middle of paper ...
...f the covert operations at the time, created friction among policymakers and agency representatives that transpire into inefficient oversight mechanisms from the U.S. government specifically the Congress.
Works Cited
David Hundt, Jaechun Kim. “Popular Consent and Foreign Policy Choices: War Against the
Philippines and Covert Action in Chile.” Australian Journal Of International Affairs 66, no. 1: 52-69. 2014.
Gustafson, Kristian. “Hostile Intent: U.S. Covert Operations in Chile, 1964-1974.” Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, 2007.
Peter, Kornbluh. “Declassifying U.S. Intervention in Chile.” NACLA Report On The Americas 6, no. 36 1999.
U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with the respect of intelligence activities. “Covert Action in Chile 1963-1973.” 94th Cong., 1st sess., S. Rep. 1975.
After nearly 40 years, the Bay of Pigs remains the largest mistake made by United States officials. Bibliography The “Bay of Blunders.” Savannah Now. 1998. The. 10 April 2000 Crassweller, Robert D. Cuba and the U.S.:
The U.S.’s relationship with Cuba has been arduous and stained with mutual suspicion and obstinateness, and the repeated U.S. interventions. The Platt agreement and Castro’s rise to power, served to introduce the years of difficulty to come, while, the embargo the U.S. placed on Cuba, enforced the harsh feelings. The two major events that caused the most problems were the Bays of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis.
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.
Prados, John. Safe for Democracy The Secret Wars of the CIA. Chicago, IL: Ivan R Dee, Publisher, 2006.
Sulick, Michael J.. Spying in America espionage from the Revolutionary War to the dawn of the Cold War., Georgetown University Press, 2012
Rabe Stephen. The Killing Zone The United States Wages Cold War in Latin America. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
The CIA’s 50-year history of smuggling drugs into America is generating hatred for the United States throughout the world. Like Pontius Pilate, CIA washes their hands of the human tragedies and the corruption of government offices. They do this by remaining and by refusing to recognize the evidence, supporting corruption. For the past 50 years, the CIA has abused its power by deliberately drugging and corrupting America; and therefore should be prosecuted.
Over the course of the history of the United States, specific foreign policies have affected the methods in which the U.S. involves itself around the globe. Specifically, certain policies have affected U.S. involvement in Latin America. It is the intention of this essay to explain the United States foreign policy behind specific doctrines. In order to realize current objectives, this paper will proceed as follows: Part 1 will define the Monroe Doctrine, Sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 will concurrently explicitly explain the Roosevelt Corollary, Good Neighbor Policy, and the Nixon Doctrine, discuss how each policy resulted in U.S. involvement in Latin American countries, describe how it was justified by the U.S. government, respectively, and finally, will bring this paper to a conclusion.
to collect and analyse information on threats to US security as well. to perform other functions, which was by undermining the enemy by covert means of a. During the Truman presidency the CIA powers were rarely used, but once Eisenhower came to office this attitude changed and the The CIA expanded its operations greatly under the influence of Eisenhower. The biggest success of the CIA is said to have been the overthrow of the left-wing government in Guatemala, 1954 and also the overthrow of the left-wing government of Allende in Chile, 1973.
knowledge of the CIA and who would later would be involved in the clash between the
Nedzi (D-Mich.), Luclen N. “Oversight or Overlook: Congress and the US Intelligence Agency.” A Congressman talk to the CIA senior seminar, November 14, 1979, https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol18no2/pdf/v18i2a02p.pdf (accessed January 7, 2014).
?Espionage.? 2000-2004. The War to End All Wars. Michael Duffy. Original Material. Primary Documents Online.
Klein, throughout various accounts of U.S. involvement overseas, explains that the U.S. commonly engages in a practice of ‘shock therapy.’ The U.S. brings bloodshed and warfare to foreign nations in order to restructure their economies and governments to serve U.S. interests. In the case of Chile, Klein argues that the U.S., in the midst of Cold War paranoia, wanted to maintain its political and economic hegemony in South America. Washington accordingly whipped the Chilean army into an anti-Allende, anti-communist frenzy, bringing about the bloodshed of ‘the Caravan of Death’ as well as the years of tyrannical military dictatorship. Also significant was the fact that the neoliberal economics implemented in Chile were taught to Chilean economists of the junta by Americans at the University of Chicago.
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...
Third world countries became the perfect battleground for cold war proxy battles during the early 1940’s to late 1990’s. United States wanted to flex its political muscle and try to curtail the spread of Soviet Communism in the developing nations. Most of the nations in developed world had already made their political and socio-economic stand regarding the form of governance and leadership pursued. Underdeveloped nations in Asia, Latin America and Africa were still vulnerable and easily influenced in terms of ideologies and political direction. Most nations in Latin America like Chile were recovering from colonialism and thus logistic, economic and political aid from powerful nations to propel their economies which made it easy for Americans and Russians to act as their “saviors’”. The quest for global dominance had intensified between United States and USSR and the shift was focused to developing nations like Chile. Both Americans and Russians used different mechanisms to enhance their propaganda and support the regimes which were friendly to them and used any means necessary to topple hostile regimes. CIA used covert operations in Chile and most of the Latin nations to plant their puppet leaders in order to safeguard their foreign policy interests and maintain dominance. Military coups and social unrests were planned, orchestrated and executed with the assistance of CIA. The research paper tries to critical analyze the impact of the cold war on Chile and influence of United States.