Latin Pulse: U.S. Security and Latin America

(Latin Pulse: 11, August, 2008) A region long considered neglected by U.S foreign policy. At a time when the region is shifting to the political left, is now the focus of renewed interest from U.S. security officials.

Is this a strategic move or saber rattling to maintain dominance on what's been called "America's back yard?"

Español

Una región por largo tiempo considerada descuidada por la política extranjera del Departamento de Estado de los EEUU.
Actualmente cuando la región esta experimentando un viraje hacia la izquierda, hay un renovado interés de parte de los oficiales de seguridad del departamento de estado.

¿Es esto parte de una estrategia? O simplemente un ardid para mantener la predominio en una región que ha sido llamada "el patio trasero de los Estados Unidos".

Guest Bios

Geoff Thale
Program Director
WOLA, Washington Office on Latin América

Geoff is the Program Director at WOLA (formerly Senior Associate for Central America and Cuba). As Program Director, Mr Thale consults with staff about all of WOLA's programs, from the Southern Cone to Mexico. In addition, he directly oversees the Cuba and Central America teams at WOLA, including the Central America Youth Gangs Program. Thale has followed Central America issues since the mid-1980s, and Cuba issues since the mid-1990s. Before coming to WOLA, he was the founder and Executive Director of the El Salvador Policy Project in Washington, DC. He holds a Masters degree in Industrial Relations from the University of Wisconsin.

Ted Lewis
Director of the Human Rights Program
Global Exchange

Ted Lewis directs the human rights programs of Global Exchange and is a long time democracy and antiwar activist. He recently organized Fair Election International (www.fairelection.us), which invited observers from all five continents to observe the November 2004 election in five key US states. Since 1994, Mr. Lewis has directed the Human Rights and the Mexico Programs of Global Exchange. He has supervised and coordinated multinational human rights teams in Nicaragua and some of the most conflictive states in Mexico and led the largest international team of delegates to observe the Mexican presidential elections in 2000. He visited Iraq in the summer of 2003, helping to launch the Iraq Occupation Watch.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• linktv
• link
• tv
• latin
• pulse
• america
• u.s.
• united
• states
• security
• foreign
• policy
• relations

[omerta926]

neglected by the US?? latin america has never been neglected by the US, it has been pillaged, raped, and exploited heavily by U.S. corporations. the peoples of latin america have been butchered en masse with the backing of the US. to say it has been neglected is a gross understatement and is misleading.

[pirbird14]

Yah, I figured as much; but, I like to spread the "inconvenient truth" about Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, and Martin Luther King as widely as possible.

More info: "War is a Racket" by Major General Smedley Butler for the historic role of the US military as "muscle for big business" and check out his bio on Wikipedia.

Also, Corporate Watch has various reports on businesses hiring private armies to protect their interests in the Third World.

[becij13]

well well well...3 yrs on n where did this great initative get the american government...1.6 billion less in the pocket! how many decades is it guna take before they recognise that military force & attempts to control communities is what caused the problem to begin with..the US gov is most certainly responsible for this mess & they must invest in these areas & understand cultural shifts will take a long time to really set in...maybe generations & must be on the peoples terms not the US govs!!

[LreoSan]

Not really a comment about the video but a recomendation of tools to understand the complex political powers. Read Marx, read Adorno, Horkheimer, Chomsky, Foucault.Read any critical thinking authors, Learn and understand that this is not a fight of nations. Is about freedom, real freedom to be individuals. Socialism is not a evil monster (Lenin and Stalin where monsters) Socialism is a tool (not the only one), but is a necesary tool in order to understand our society. Sorry for my english.

[FerrariandBMW]

Well, what the United States must do, is to put an end to Cuba's Communist regime, so that the US can install another fascist dictator on their country. Or America could just support the Pro-America terrorists in Cuba and if it fails, then all the US gov't has to do, is to deny the involvement like Reagan and Bush did. I think America should create more terrorist groups like they did Al-Qaeda so that we can make the world a better place. USA! USA! USA!

[Nezahualcoyotl7]

@FerrariandBMW

I would say Cuba is a shit hole unlike Mexico and many other countries in South America, like Brazil, Chile, Paraguay or Uruguay.

Cuba is a puppet commie banana enslaved narco-communist regime.- The most direct route to the U.S. is over Cuba. . .

Cuba has a narco-corrupt puppet government serving Floridian corrupt narco-liberals. Both are against Mexico.

[FerrariandBMW]

Ya, since the United States is nothing more than a war machine of the British banking elites, America should keep fighting in South America. And just like the US always has been supporting the dictators and wealthy Capitalists of South America, the U.S. should turn Cuba into an another shithole like they did to South America.

America is such a great military tool, this country would fight any wars in the name of Capitalism.

[Nezahualcoyotl7]

The USA must democratize Cuba and lift the blockade so all those communists who love Communism can go back to their homeland island.

US must intervene in Cuba sending some missiles and troops.

United against Communists and Terrorists.

:)

[thachozn1429]

Jean McCain is full of shit. Everytime I see that loser and the rest of his Republican blowhards on TV I thank God that the American people didnt vote for one of those idiots to run the the Free World. Thank God he aint the US' president

[theincredibletroy]

U.S interference in South+Central America must stop.

[gallapagoseaturtle]

- John Piliger's 'War on Democracy' documantary that's available on YouTube is excellent & provides numerous case studies of the U.S. intervening, de-stabilizing and installing governments/individuals.

- Book: 'Under the Eagle' by Jenny Pearce

- Google Operation Condor of U.S. involvment during the Cold War.