"Recent strikes on Venezuelan boats in the Caribbean by the administration of US President Donald Trump are an extension of a long US tradition of interference in the region. Over the past two centuries, the United States has repeatedly carried out military operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean. Starting in the late 1800s, all the way into the early 20th century, the US conducted the Banana Wars, a series of military interventions in Central America,"
"In 1934, under President Franklin D Roosevelt, the US introduced the Good Neighbor Policy, pledging not to invade or occupy Latin American countries or interfere in their internal affairs. However, during the Cold War, the US financed several operations aimed at overthrowing elected left-wing leaders in the region. Many of these operations have been coordinated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which was founded in 1947."
"As Washington builds a large-scale military presence close to the coast of Venezuela and continues air strikes on Venezuelan boats it claims are trafficking drugs in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, US President Donald Trump says he has not ruled out a land operation inside the country itself. Many observers believe that Trump's allegations that Venezuela is responsible for drug trafficking are a cover for his real objective of regime change there."
"In 1954, elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman was toppled by local fighter groups backed by the CIA under US President Dwight Eisenhower. Arbenz had sought to nationalise a company, stoking fears within the US of more socialist policies in Guatemala. Under the CIA's Operation PBSuccess, the agency trained fighters led by military officer Carlos Castillo Armas, who took power after the coup."
Recent US military actions near Venezuela form part of a long pattern of interventions across Central and South America and the Caribbean. The Banana Wars in the late 1800s and early 1900s protected US corporate interests. The 1934 Good Neighbor Policy pledged non-intervention, but Cold War priorities led to CIA-backed operations to overthrow elected left-wing leaders. Washington recently increased its military presence near Venezuela and conducted air strikes on boats accused of drug trafficking while not ruling out a land operation. Historical US deeds, including the 1954 CIA-backed Guatemalan coup, illustrate this continuity of interference.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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