 Welcome to the U.S. Naval War College, the Navy's home of thought. NWC Talks features our world-class experts examining national security matters. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Well, good morning. I want to talk to you about a very important part of the world today, a very important part of the world that stretches from the southern borders of the United States all the way to a point 600 miles from the Antarctic. An area of the world that has 46 countries, that's twice as many that are in the European Union. An area of the world, by the way, 46 countries is 25% of the countries in the United Nations. An area of the world with 8.5 million square miles. An area of the world where the United States can fit literally inside the largest country in this region. An area of the world with 700 million people, 40% of which are below the age of 25. A part of the world that's been heavily influenced by colonial powers, Spain and Portugal in particular, it's resource rich, has a great deal of energy and human capital. However, this is a part of the world that essentially has been an afterthought for much of the world, as well as many people in the United States. An afterthought, an area that punches below its weight considering its size and its potential. When Christopher Columbus, there's a hint, landed in this part of the world in 1492, little did he know what he would set in motion on that day. My name is Larry McCabe, Assistant Professor of National Security Affairs at the Naval War College, and this is NWC Talks. I want to emphasize first the importance of history as you're studying any part of the world. History, it's important to understand history because it helps you understand how and why countries and people behave the way they do. When Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas in 1492, he set in motion what would become 300 years of colonial exploitation of this region, exploitation of the Indians, including the Aztec Indians in Mexico and the Inca civilization in Peru, two civilizations that would ultimately basically end during the European colonial occupation. This was a time when the Europeans would introduce many slaves into the region. They would establish a mercantilist economic system, a system that would enrich the treasuries of the royal monarchies in Europe to fund the many wars they were fighting at the time. A period that would introduce the Codillo authoritarian system where one person rule would essentially dominate the government and the people of these regions. This was a history, again, that would introduce the slaves from Africa. And I want to spend just a moment on this because this is very important. This is a stain on not only this region but also North America. 11 million slaves were introduced to this region. Three times the number that were introduced in North America. Certainly they were exploited, they were abused, but the presence of the Africans in this part of the world would create a rich and cultural diversity that continues to impact and benefit the region today. But little did he know that 300 years of colonial exploitation would result in the rise of two very important classes of people that would ultimately lead this region to independence later in the 19th century. These two groups of people were the mestizos. A mestizo is the combination or the mixing of the blood of the European bloodlines with the Indian bloodlines. And the mestizo would become the important middle class of the region. But also, there was the pure European bloodlines that were born in this region. This was a group of people that would include the significant leaders, including San Martín of Argentina, Simone Bolivar of Venezuela, who would eventually lead this region to independence in the 19th century. Most of the independence movements occurring in the early part of the 19th century, between 1810 and 1825. It was after 1825 that the United States became a much more important player in this region. The United States was feeling muscular at that time. The United States adopted two doctrines and policies that would essentially change history and change this region. One was the idea of the Monroe Doctrine by President Monroe in 1823. President Monroe told Europe to stay out of this region. The United States is the power now in the Western Hemisphere, in particular Latin America and the Caribbean. The other important doctrine was something that we call manifest destiny. Manifest destiny was a spiritual religious movement or westward expansion of the United States. And what many don't understand or sometimes forget is that the westward expansion or manifest destiny also included moving south through Central America and down into South America. Now this never happened. But the idea that the United States should be the controlling power in the Western Hemisphere became a very important doctrine that would change this region over the next century or two. That's unfortunately the part about the US intervention and domination in this region led to a large number of US military interventions, but also economic domination of the region in the 19th and early 20th century. Two significant events that you should be aware of are the certainly the Mexican American War of 1848, where the United States acquired from Mexico or took from Mexico as spoils of war. What is now New Mexico, Arizona, California. And it also resolved the Texas issue as Texas would become the United States of the United States. Also, the US intervention, an important US intervention was the Spanish American War of 1898 when the United States went to war with Spain. And the result of that would be the acquisition essentially of Cuba and Puerto Rico, also the Philippines and Guam in the Pacific as well. But it was at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century where the United States was the clear dominant power in this part of the world. Another important part of the history of this region that still impacts politics and attitudes today is the US relationship with this part of the world during the Cold War. Clearly, the United States was very much concerned about the spread of communism into the Western Hemisphere. As such, the United States supported many military dictatorships. That anti-communist military dictatorships that were in charge essentially of many countries in this region. These military dictatorships, unfortunately, were very aggressive in trying to deter communists and this aggressiveness resulted, unfortunately, the death of many who were communists. And unfortunately, many who probably were not. And it was the United States support for the military dictatorships that to this day contributes to some suspicion. And in some cases, anger about the support that the United States provided these dictatorships during the Cold War. This is something that's very important, I think, for all of us to understand as we think about this part of the world, Latin America and the Caribbean and the United States. But what do we have today? Well, what we have today is a fascinating, growing, ambitious region of the world with enormous potential. It's essentially homogeneous in the fact that most are democratic states, although there are some states that are drifting perhaps away from democracy. But also, they all have a similar colonial history, similar language. In terms of religion, most are Catholic. There's no war. There's no nuclear weapons. Most countries agree in the macroeconomic policies that are very much in alignment with the United States. United States is the major trading partner with this region. China is a close second, but the United States still remains the dominant economic power in the region. So what could go wrong? Well, unfortunately, there are a number of things that the region is struggling with. In particular is violence and crime. Eight of the ten countries with the highest murder rates in the world are from this region, eight out of ten. So there's crime, there's criminal gains and criminal networks that operate in some cases with impunity as they smuggle and move guns, people, money through these networks and many cases to fund and support illegal activities, many of which end up in the United States. The example of corruption, which is another problem that we're all very much concerned about, including the leadership and the political leadership in these countries, is this idea of institutional corruption. And a good example of that, and I would encourage you to perhaps read more about this, is the corruption that's been identified in Brazil, because it goes to the very top of the political leadership. It's something called Operation Car Wash, it involves a multinational construction company, Odebrecht, who essentially used the profits from the national oil company Petrobras, and funneled these profits illegally into the pockets of politicians. Or they were into the campaigns for many of the politicians to remain in office. This corruption scandal is arguably the largest corruption scandal, perhaps in modern history. And it is very disappointing, and it is something that the region, I think, woke to and is now struggling in order to correct and eliminate the corruption that unfortunately is corrosive to good governance, economic prosperity, and security. Central America in particular is a concern. Central America has gangs, Central America has extortion, Central America has corruption, it has kidnapping, and it has smuggling, all of which has contributed to an environment where people are fleeing Central America, many of which are coming north to the United States. The region needs to look closely at the problems in Central America and come together to help solve these problems. Hopefully with the United States or in partnership with the United States. But I encourage you to think and look closely at Central America and the problems, because it is impacting the security and the economic prosperity of the entire region. Very important to be aware of that. I would also encourage you to look closely at what we call the Bolivarian Revolution, which was started by Higo Chavez in Venezuela in 1998. The Bolivarian Revolution is an authoritarian socialism where one person controls everything. Unfortunately, the one person in charge implemented a number of dysfunctional policies that have led to Venezuela becoming a failed state, causing millions of Venezuelans to flee to Colombia, to Ecuador, to Peru, and other countries in the region. So the political systems adopted by some of these countries are of no concern. And it's important that the region come together to try to solve these problems. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the natural disasters that affect this region, hurricanes in the Caribbean, volcanoes on the Andean Ridge. Climate change is a huge concern with the coral reefs in the Caribbean, with the massive flooding events that occurred in the last five to ten years throughout the region. Climate change is something that the region is very concerned about, because it feels that it will suffer significantly, particularly the economies if climate change continues as we think it will. This is a fascinating region. I love it. I've traveled extensively there, and I would encourage you all to learn more about it. Many positive trends. It can overcome a dysfunctional colonial history. It can overcome dysfunctional external influence to remain and become a significant influence and power broker in the global system as we move through the next several decades. Globalization has helped. I would like to say that globalization has been the catalyst to help this region raise the bar a bit in terms of good governance and economic policies and political systems. In order to relate and engage with the rest of the world, this region had to change. The good news is they are, and it's happening today as I speak. So I'm optimistic. I think the region is important. I think it will be a power broker over the next several decades. I love it. I would suggest to you that you take a second look at Latin America and the Caribbean, understand it, appreciate it. I think in time you'll be very glad you did. My name is Larry McCabe, and this is NWC Talks. Thank you very much.