Category Archives: The Cold War in Latin America

The Cold War in Central America – To What Extent Was the US Responsible?

Posted on May 24, 2013 by

I was on the Burt Cohen Show yesterday, discussing the nature of the Cold War in Central America, the annulment of the Rios Montt trial, human rights and justice for ex-dictators, and the complex roles of the US in Latin … Continue reading →

Posted in Guatemala, Guatemala's Civil War, Latin America, Legal Issues in Latin America, The Cold War in Latin America, United States, Violence in the Americas, War in Latin America

History vs. Fiction? Gael vs. Chile? Memory Struggles over the Film “No”

Posted on February 10, 2013 by

As an historian, I’m never all that surprised when fictional films don’t live up to historical reality. So I wasn’t shocked when the film No, which tells a story about the media side of the No campaign in the 1988 … Continue reading →

Posted in Augusto Pinochet, Chile, Coups in Latin America, Human Rights Issues, Latin American Cultures, Memory Struggles, Military Dictatorships, Social Movements, South America, The "Left" in Latin America, The Cold War in Latin America | Tagged , , , , ,

On This Date in Latin America – July 14, 1969: The El Salvador-Honduras War (A.K.A., the “Football War”) Begins

Posted on July 14, 2012 by

Forty-three years ago today, El Salvador and Honduras began a war that lasted 100 hours and would come to be known as the “Football War.” Although the war’s name comes from the nationalist conflicts between the two countries as embodied on … Continue reading →

Posted in El Salvador, El Salvador's Civil War (1980-1992), Honduras, Latin American Militaries, On This Date in Latin America, Sports in Latin America, The Cold War in Latin America, War in Latin America

Around Latin America

Posted on June 29, 2012 by

-The latest polls suggest that on Sunday, barring some extreme occurrence, Enrique Peña Nieto will indeed become the next president of Mexico, marking the return of the PRI to power 12 years after Vicente Fox broke the party’s 70+ year … Continue reading →

Posted in Argentina, Argentina's Military Dictatorship (1976-1983), Around Latin America, Augusto Pinochet, Bolivia, Brazil, Brazil's Military Dictatorship, Catholicism in the Americas, Chile, Development in Latin America, Drugs and the Drug Trade in the Americas, Ecuador, Education in the Americas, Educational Reforms, Haiti, Honduras, Human Rights Violations, Indigenous Peoples, Labor in Latin America, Latin American Economic Relations, Latin American Foreign Relations, Latin American-U.S. Relations, Legal Issues in Latin America, Memory Struggles, Mexico, Police in the Americas, Protests in Latin America, São Paulo, South America, Strikes, Student Movements, The "Disappeared", The Amazon, The Cold War in Latin America, Torture, United States

On Human Rights, Memory, and Finding a Disappeared Prime Minister in Grenada

Posted on June 27, 2012 by

The 1983 US invasion of the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada has to be considered one of the most quixotic examples of imperialism and global politics during the Cold War. While the invasion was brief, hundreds were wounded or killed … Continue reading →

Posted in Grenada, Human Rights Violations, Memory Struggles, The "Disappeared", The Cold War in Latin America

On the United Fruit Company in Central America (and Terrible Book Reviews)

Posted on May 30, 2012 by

Non-fiction writer Rich Cohen has a new book coming out on Samuel Zemurray, the man who made the United Fruit Company, the previous incarnation of what we today call Chiquita. Under Zemurray’s watch, United Fruit, or “UFCO,” wound up supporting … Continue reading →

Posted in Central America, Environmental Issues in the Americas, Food, Guatemala, Guatemala's Civil War, Honduras, Inequalities in the Americas, Labor in Latin America, Latin American-U.S. Relations, The Cold War in Latin America, United States

On Human Rights Violations and Memory Struggles in Peru

Posted on May 29, 2012 by

The New York Times recently ran an excellent story discussing the challenges facing Peruvian society, culture, and politics as the country continues to try to confront the past of a civil war that tore the world’s 20th-largest country apart in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Alberto Fujimori, Alfredo Stroessner, Argentina, Argentina's Military Dictatorship (1976-1983), Augusto Pinochet, Brazil, Brazil's Military Dictatorship, Chile, Civil Conflict in the Americas, Colombia, Drugs and the Drug Trade in the Americas, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionárias de Colombia (FARC), Guerrilla Movements in Latin America, Human Rights Issues, Human Rights Violations, Impunity, Memory Struggles, Military Dictatorships, Multinational Corporations in the Americas, Paraguay, Paramilitary Groups, Peru, Peru's Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path), Police Violence, The "Disappeared", The "Left" in Latin America, The "Right" in Latin America, The Cold War in Latin America, Torture, Uruguay, Uruguay's Military Dictatorship (1973-1985), Violence in the Americas