US 'Affairs' in Latin America: A Century of 'Democracy' by Force
Deutsche Welle's piece on US affairs in Latin America paints a rather benign picture, implying a normal course of international relations. What it neglects to mention is the long, bloody history of those 'affairs'—from the CIA-backed coup in Guatemala in 1954 that overthrew democratically elected President Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán (because he dared to nationalize United Fruit Company land, a company
with deep ties to the US government), to countless other destabilizations across the continent. One might wonder why conversations about US influence so rarely include the 'fruit' of these interventions – decades of instability, authoritarian regimes, and mass migrations. It's almost as if the 'affairs' weren't consensual relationships but rather strategic manipulations designed to safeguard
corporate profits, not promote genuine democracy. How many sovereign governments must be toppled before we call it what it is: empire building?