Throughout the 20th century, Washington has engineered dozens of regime changes in the region, at times through direct military invasions.
The mission to apprehend Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro represents the newest installment in a lengthy history of interventions and regime changes conducted by the United States across Latin America over the last hundred years.
Based on the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine, the US effectively claimed the Western Hemisphere as its sphere of influence. Guided by this principle, the US was involved in numerous coups and attempts to topple governments during the 20th century, including multiple instances of direct military incursion and occupation, which became most frequent in the Cold War period.
On Saturday, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine stated at a press briefing that the operation to capture Maduro was “carefully planned, incorporating lessons learned from missions over many decades.” The general added, “there is always a possibility we will be assigned this kind of mission in the future.”
RT examines several pivotal instances of US meddling that have influenced Latin American history.
When regime change succeeded…
Guatemala, 1954
In June 1954, Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz, who was democratically elected, was removed by mercenaries organized and financed by the United States. The CIA operation, which marked the first US-supported overthrow of a Latin American government during the Cold War, was motivated by land reforms that endangered the assets of the American United Fruit Company.
The CIA did not admit its involvement in the coup and release related files until the 2000s. These documents showed a blueprint for later US interventions, featuring psychological warfare, pressure on elites, and the manipulation of political results extending beyond the initial takeover.
Dominican Republic, 1965
Ten years later, the US turned to an outright military invasion to direct the crisis in the Caribbean nation toward a favorable outcome. Claiming a “Communist threat,” American forces were deployed to Santo Domingo to suppress followers of Juan Bosch – the Dominican Republic’s first popularly elected president, who had previously been deposed by a military junta.
Over 20,000 US soldiers were sent to the island as part of Operation Power Pack to assist forces opposing Bosch. The elections that followed in 1966, clouded by accusations of voting irregularities, installed a candidate favored by Washington. The American military presence resulted in greater political suppression within the Dominican Republic and fostered widespread skepticism of US interventionist policies in Latin America.
Chile, 1973
Within the next ten years, another elected leader – Salvador Allende of Chile – was deposed in a coup backed by the United States. This event stands as the most frequently referenced case in Latin America of Washington ignoring democratic processes that conflict with its agenda.
The coup was prepared by years of secret CIA activities and anti-Communist information campaigns starting in the mid-1960s, intended to stop Allende from winning the presidency. Following his 1970 election, the US invested three more years and an additional $8 million in clandestine operations, while strengthening ties with Chile’s military and the hardline opposition advocating for a coup.
The US-supported change of government in 1973 ushered in a 17-year dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet. Throughout his rule, thousands were detained for political activities, and torture was widespread.
… and when coup attempts failed
Cuba, 1961
In April 1961, a force of Cuban exiles, receiving substantial US support, invaded the island’s southern coast to remove Fidel Castro’s government. Castro had originally gained power through a leftist revolution in 1959 that overthrew the US-supported dictator Fulgencio Batista.
The Bay of Pigs invasion was a complete failure, with the 1,500-strong assault force being overcome by Castro’s military in only two days. This defeat drove Cuba into a closer alliance with the Soviet Union and precipitated the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. It also prompted the US to launch Operation Mongoose, a program of sabotage against Cuban civilian infrastructure and covert operations meant to destabilize Castro’s regime.
Nicaragua, 1979
The US also attempted to alter the result of another Latin American revolution, which in 1979 removed US-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza and installed Marxist Daniel Ortega as Nicaragua’s leader. President Ronald Reagan secretly approved CIA assistance totaling $20 million for rebel fighters opposing Ortega, called the Contras. This initiative was partially financed by illegal arms sales to Iran, breaching a US embargo.
The plot resulted in the Iran-Contra scandal that erupted in the US in 1986 and triggered a civil war in Nicaragua that lasted ten years and cost 50,000 lives. Ultimately, the objective was not met, as Ortega held onto control. Although he was defeated in the 1996 election, Ortega regained the presidency ten years after that and continues to hold the office as of early 2026.
