Juan Guaidó declared himself the true president of Venezuela, disregarding incumbent Nicolás Maduro, on January 23rd. The Trump administration recognized him as the legitimate president, which escalated tensions in the entire world. The United States has a long history of foreign interventions, but more often than not, their best humanitarian intentions just don’t quite cut it. Here’s a list of times a US intervention has made things worse for the very same people the US claims to be defending.
Cuba, 1961
On April 17th, 1961, two years after the Cuban revolution, President John F. Kennedy was determined to overthrow Fidel Castro’s regime (never mind that Castro had done away with Fulgencio Batista, the US puppet president). His plan involved sending an army of Cuban exiles “secretly” trained by the CIA to the Bay of Pigs. However, as US involvement became more apparent, Kennedy decided against using the full force of this improvised Cuban army, nor would he send air or naval support.
@limesonlineAs a result, the counter-revolutionary forces capitulated three days later, Castro became a national hero, and the whole episode pushed Cuba further into the Soviet Union’s influence. Perhaps this did not make things worse for Cubans, but it certainly backfired for the United States and made them look like total chumps before the world.
Iraq, 2003
On March 20th, 2003, the United States invaded Iraq, claiming it had ties to terrorism and was hiding weapons of mass destruction. President George W. Bush claimed the United States was liberating Iraq from its evil dictator, Saddam Hussein. This conflict officially lasted 8 years and 8 months, and left a body count of over 100,000 civilians plus 10,000 military deaths. In the aftermath of the invasion, a newly-elected Prime Minister enacted policies that further worsened sectarian tensions. After the destabilization of the region, a fundamentalist extremist group called the Islamic State was born.
@entre_guerrasAnd, in 2014, they launched an offensive all over the Middle East, specifically as one of the forces in the Syrian civil war. Thanks to the internet, ISIS also encouraged spontaneous terrorist attacks in European cities. Nice going, genius!
Mexico, 1913
Mexico underwent a Revolution of its own in 1910. By early 1913, believing the newly-elected Francisco I. Madero would drive social change against American interests, US Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson organized a coup along with reactionary forces. Wilson ordered Madero to resign, gave his consent for a military rebellion to take place, and even presided over press conferences by rebel general Victoriano Huerta. Twice! In a matter of ten days, they forced Madero to resign and took him prisoner. Without the Ambassador’s consent and support, this revolt would either not have taken place or would have failed miserably.
@donporfirio
Since Wilson was a diplomat, this is obviously a conflicting attitude towards the constitutional president at the time. Soon afterwards, in the chaos surrounding a power vacuum, the most violent period of the Revolution began, and it would not have been possible without Wilson’s contribution. Thanks for nothing, jerk!
Chile, 1973
In 1973, US-backed Chilean General Augusto Pinochet committed treason, locked up democratically-elected socialist president Salvador Allende and executed him. As part of the Operation Condor, whose mission was to persecute left-wing leaders and activists in Latin America, the CIA killed as many as 60,000 people. In Chile, specifically, they participated in fabricating a conspiracy against Allende, enacted a “covert” blockade to destabilize its economy, and portrayed Allende as a dangerous loose cannon and Pinochet as a moderate.
@_sophiegalvez
After Pinochet rose to power, he established a dictatorship responsible for widespread human rights violations like forced disappearances, murder, and torture. Some of the people who fled Chile were followed and killed by DINA, Chile’s secret police. Pinochet eventually resigned, but the scars left on Chileans are yet to heal. Meanwhile, the US acts as if it had said: “There, we fixed it.”
El Salvador, 1981
El Salvador’s FLMN leftist forces wished to carry out a revolution against the official government. The US reacted by providing support for the right wing government and army, even training a fearsome battalion called Atlácatl. At one point, this battalion rounded up an entire village with no strategic value, and shot every living soul around. When word got out, the US government’s aide to the Salvadorians came under scrutiny. Though Congress denied the massacre even took place at first, even questioning the sources that had leaked it, years later it was clear the US had been backing a bloodthirsty regime for years in order to combat communism in Central America.
Libya, 2011
If you think Barack Obama is any different from other presidents, here’s a little reminder. Back in 2011, he thought it was a great a idea to bomb Libya and promote the overthrowing of its dictator, Moammar Gaddafi. Gaddafi was brutal to his own citizens, that much is true, but something nobody in Washington asked was what would happen after they got rid of his regime.
@noorimagesIf any of the past points in this article gives you any clue, it would have been obvious that chaos, terror, civil war, or all of the above would break out if Gaddafi were suddenly removed. Well, not only is that exactly what happened, but also, weapons looted from Gaddafi’s arsenals and ended up in the hands of terrorists in Africa. Obama claimed to have intervened in Libya to save lives, but because this is almost always a bad idea, and the US intervention killed more lives than it saved. Facepalm.
Whatever you may think of Nicolás Maduro, it’s highly suspicious that Juan Guaidó is claiming the presidency now, and more so that the US recognized him as the legitimate executive leader within hours of his declaration. It’s even more suspicious that a heavy unrest in Venezuela is happening while Trump, notorious for his use of racist rhetoric, is at his lowest point in popularity, and that his administration is forcing every country to align with either Guaidó or Maduro (Cold War style). Is this the perfect storm for a US invasion?
Cover by @venezuelaaldia2
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