Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Is The Era of U.S. Coups in Latin America Over?

Pundits love to declare that it is. The "end of history" thesis is a perennial favorite of those who seek to divert attention from their historical criminality. Consider the following coups, all sponsored or indirectly supported by Washington:

2002 - Venezuela. Unsuccessful U.S. coup against Hugo Chavez, a harsh critic of U.S. imperial interventions.

2004 - Haiti. Successful U.S. coup against President Jean Bertrand Aristide, who was hustled out of the country in his pajamas by U.S. Marines. Aristide's constituency was the poor, whose need for democratic representation conflicted with the desires of U.S. investors. The main architect of the reign of terror that followed (Emmanuel Constant) was allowed to live unmolested in New York.

2008 - Bolivia. Unsuccessful U.S. coup against President Evo Morales, another strong critic of U.S. imperialism.

2009 - Honduras. Successful coup against Manuel Zelaya. Coup plotters were trained by the U.S. at Fort Benning, which is known in Latin America as "the school of coups" thanks to the achievements of its graduating classes all over the hemisphere.

2010 - Ecuador. Unsuccessful U.S. coup against socialist President Rafael Correa, an immensely popular (in Ecuador) critic of Washington.

2012 - Paraguay. Successful U.S. coup against Fernando Lugo, whose fondness for liberation theology's "preferential option for the poor" was an affront to U.S. investors.

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