National Hispanic American Heritage Month and what we must continue to talk about.
By Burju Perez
National Hispanic American Heritage Month is a time to celebrate the rich culture, history, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans. This month-long celebration, which runs from September 15th to October 15th, is an opportunity to recognize the diverse backgrounds and traditions of Hispanic Americans and to honor their impact on the United States.
Why is it important to talk about these things as a brand?
We are a brand that is committed to diversity and inclusion. We not only celebrate Hispanic heritage and contributions but must also acknowledge the true history and the ongoing impacts it has had on Hispanic communities. The current and past policies of the United States continue to harm people in and from Latin America. We are committed to ensuring that these conversations continue to provide more awareness and help build a more diverse and inclusive society.
Now it's time for a little history lesson...
The U.S. and Its Forced Influence in Latin America
On Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, the U.S. military bombed a boat carrying 11 people in the Caribbean. The excuse given was that it was a drug trafficking vessel used by Tren De Arugua. This is seen as an act of war to anyone remotely familiar with U.S. intervention in Central America. This is because, while usually disguised as anti-communist sentiment or a war on drugs, the motivation has always been imperialistic economic strategy, especially now with a president who has promised to pursue manifest destiny. In other words, it is and has always been about regional dominance and the protection of U.S. corporate interests.
The legacy of U.S. intervention in Latin America has contributed to political instability, the rise of authoritarian regimes, human rights abuses, and a legacy of distrust towards the U.S. that continues to shape diplomatic relations across the region. Its interference in Latin America can be analyzed through looking at the roles it has played in Panama, Guatemala, Brazil, Chile, and Nicaragua. There are more instances of abusive intervention at the hands of the U.S., but we’re going to focus on these five countries.
1903- Panama’s separation from Colombia
The U.S. had negotiated a treaty with Colombia, The Hay Herran Treaty for land rights to build a canal across the isthmus of Central America. It was rejected by the Colombian senate because they wanted more money. In response, President Theodore Roosevelt threw his support behind a Panamanian faction seeking independence from Colombia. The U.S. used its military to ensure the revolution’s success. After Panama declared its independence on November 3, 1903, the U.S. immediately recognized the country and signed the Hay Bunau Varilla treaty 15 days later. It granted the U.S. exclusive rights to build and control the canal along with a permanent lease on a 10 mile wide strip of land across the isthmus (the Canal Zone).
86 years later, in 1989 the U.S. again intervened in Panama. This time, General Manuel Noriega was the target of “operation just cause”. Noriega, a former U.S. intelligence asset, had become a corrupt drug trafficker. In the end, he was captured and brought to the U.S. to face drug charges. A democratically elected government was then installed, and Panama’s military was abolished.
1954- Guatemala’s Coup d’Etat
President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman was democratically elected in Guatemala in 1950. He initiated agrarian land reform focused on redistributing large, unused plantations to Guatemala’s poor and working class. The Boston based United Fruit Company (UFCO), now known as Chiquita Brands International, was the largest landowner in Guatemala and had connections within the Eisenhower administration. At their request, the CIA with authorization from President Eisenhower launched Operation PBSUCCESS to unseat President Arbenz. The operation was a combination of psychological warfare and covert military action. Led by propaganda pro, Edward Bernays, UFCO initiated a plan to portray Arbenz as a communist dictator and sway U.S. government and public opinion against him. At the same time, the CIA bombed fuel tanks and military bases, creating the impression of a mounting crisis and a powerful rebel force.
The military component of the operation involved arming, training, and funding a force of 480 men led by the exiled Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas, who was on the CIA's payroll. The CIA's strategy was not for this small force to conquer Guatemala, but to "stimulate the Guatemalan armed forces to demand a change of government". The plan was successful. The Guatemalan military was either paid off by the CIA or convinced by the psychological warfare to turn on Árbenz. On June 27, 1954, Árbenz resigned, and the U.S. backed military dictatorship of Castillo Armas was installed. The new government swiftly returned all of UFCO's confiscated land and granted the company preferential treatment. The coup set a dangerous precedent for future U.S. interventions and plunged Guatemala into decades of political instability and a brutal civil war that led to widespread human rights abuses and loss of life.
1964- Brazil and Authoritarianism
While primarily a domestic affair, the military coup that overthrew the democratically elected government of Joao Goulart is another example of U.S. interference in Latin America. Goulart's government sought social and economic reforms, limited the profits of multinational corporations, and refused to sever diplomatic ties with Cuba, which raised alarms in Washington.
The U.S. government, under the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, used several instruments to weaken Goulart's government and support the opposition. The U.S. Embassy in Brazil, led by Ambassador Lincoln Gordon, became deeply involved in the country's internal affairs. Economic assistance was strategically redirected from the federal government to "opposition state governments," which were deemed "islands of administrative sanity" by U.S. officials. The U.S. also provided millions of dollars in covert funding to opposition candidates in the 1962 elections, channelled through organizations like the Brazilian Institute for Democratic Action (IBAD).
1970-1973- Chile’s destabilization
President Salvador Allende was a socialist. He was democratically elected by the people of Chile. He faced a comprehensive multi faceted campaign of destabilization. He won the presidency in 1970, which alarmed the Nixon administration. Nixon, fearing Chile would become another Cuba, ordered a multi pronged strategy to prevent Allende from taking office, or to unseat him. This included a state department initiative designed to influence Chilean officials through political warfare to block Allende’s inauguration and a secret CIA operation to find and support Chilean military officers who would stage a coup.
The U.S. backed military coup ended on September 11, 1973, with Allende's death and the installation of a 17-year military dictatorship under General Augusto Pinochet. This brutal regime was responsible for severe human rights abuses, including torture and political disappearances. The Pinochet government, which included members known as the "Chicago Boys" who were trained in the U.S. under Milton Friedman, dismantled Allende's socialist programs and transformed Chile into a "laboratory for neoliberalism," a key motivation for the intervention beyond just anti-communism.
1980’s- Nicaragua and proxy war
In the 1980s, the U.S. government engaged in a proxy war in Nicaragua against the leftist Sandinista government, which had come to power in 1979. The Reagan administration viewed the Sandinistas as a threat to U.S. economic interests and national security, accusing them of being a "communist beachhead" and aiding leftist guerrillas in El Salvador. Despite the Sandinistas having won a fair election, the U.S. sought to destabilize and overthrow the regime. President Ronald Reagan authorized the CIA to "recruit and support the Contras," a right-wing rebel group organized from remnants of the U.S. backed Somoza dictatorship. The CIA took charge of the operation, which became "the agency's most ambitious paramilitary and political action operation in nearly a decade," focused on "arming, clothing, feeding, and supervising" the Contras. The Contras' campaign was marked by terrorism and human rights violations against civilians.
The U.S. Congress attempted to curb this intervention by passing the Boland Amendment, which restricted or outlawed U.S. aid to the Contras. However, the Reagan administration got around this restriction through a series of illegal covert actions. The most notorious of these was the Iran-Contra affair, in which profits from an unauthorized arms deal with Iran were illegally diverted to fund the Contras. This secret and illegal funding was managed by members of the National Security Council and involved a private "Enterprise" that operated outside of congressional oversight.
The scandal, which came to light in 1986, led to televised congressional hearings, multiple indictments, and a significant drop in President Reagan's approval rating. It also tarnished America's image, demonstrating the lengths to which the U.S. would go to pursue its interests, even if it meant breaking domestic law and further destabilizing the region. The proxy war contributed to civilian deaths and years of instability in Nicaragua.
Economic Warfare
The U.S. has consistently used economic measures as a primary tool of political coercion. This approach is rooted in capitalism and the belief that financial and trade policy can be weaponized to create instability and force a change in a targeted regime. A key tactic is the imposition of comprehensive sanctions and embargoes, which are "economic restrictions imposed by one country to express disapproval of another nation's actions". The U.S. embargo on Cuba, is a prime example of this strategy. It is intended to isolate the country economically in protest of its governance. The evidence suggests these sanctions, while targeting a regime, will often have the unintended consequence of causing significant harm to the civilian population, restricting the delivery of humanitarian aid and leading to widespread shortages of essential goods. This deliberate creation of hardship is a catalyst for political change, as economic suffering can lead to internal unrest or create conditions favorable for a coup.
In addition to sanctions, the U.S. also utilized the redirection of economic aid and financial support to exert its influence. In Brazil, U.S. foreign aid was redirected from the Goulart federal government to opposition led state governments, a policy intended to financially starve the central administration while bolstering its rivals. In Chile, the Nixon administration cut off most foreign aid to "make the economy scream" and pressure Allende's government into collapse. These strategies highlight that U.S. economic policy in Latin America was often not about trade or development, but about leveraging financial power to achieve political ends.
2025- Venezuela
It’s no secret that Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserve in the world. The U.S. bombing a boat with 11 people on it, with no due process saying it was carrying drugs is a war crime! The U.S. government's interference in Latin America was not, is not, and will never be a series of isolated incidents, but rather a systemic and repeatable process employing a sophisticated toolkit of irregular warfare tactics. A thematic analysis of these methods reveals a consistent pattern of economic coercion, psychological manipulation, and covert action designed to subvert sovereign political movements.
Written by Tamara Rose
Sources:
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https://greydynamics.com/cia-activity-in-south-america-a-brief-history/
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https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/roosevelt-corollary
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https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/short-history/newpolicies
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