Under The Eagle: U.S. Intervention in Central America and the Caribbean PDF
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America Intervention in Central -S. and the Caribbean SOUTH END PRESS UNDER THE EAGLE JennyPearce ForewordbyRichardGott U.S. bitervention inCentral America and tlie Caribbean South End Press First published in Great Britain in 1981 Updated edition published in Great Britain in 1982 by: Latin America Bureau (Research and Action) Ltd Amwell Street 1 London ECIR lUL Published with the assistanceof: Trocaire, the CatholicAgency for World Development, Dublin. WOW Campaigns Ltd, London LatinAmerican Working Group, (LAWG), Toronto. First U.S. edition published in 1982 by: South End Press 302 Columbus Avenue MA Boston 02116 ISBN 0-89608-152-4(paper) ISBN 0-89608-153-2 (cloth) © Copyright Latin America Bureau (Research and Action) Ltd, 1981, 1982. Written byJenny Pearce Design byJan Brown Designs Maps by Michael Green Cover illustration after a design by Chris Welch n)) Contents Foreword v Preface vii Map ix Statistical Profile x Introduction 1 — Part 1 The Eagle Rises (1823-1962) 5 — Part II —The Eagle Rampant (1961-1976) 39 Part III— The Eagle Retrenches {1973-1979) 99 Part IV —The Eagle Reborn (1979-1981) 129 Part V El Salvador: The Eagle's Reckoning? 205 Conclusion 251 — Update March 1982 257 Bibliography 279 List ofUseful Addresses 285 List ofAbbreviations 288 Index 290 Fbreword In the late 1970s an area of the world whose struggles had previously passed unnoticed and unsung suddenly brought itselfforciblyto inter- national attention. The tenacious battles of the people of Nicaragua, led by the Sandinistas, brought about the overthrow of the Somoza dynasty and set in motion a tidal wave of revolt throughout the Cen- tral American isthmus. For nearly fifty years the United States had relied on the Nicaraguan regime to keep the area safe for the Americans. Anastasio Somoza, father and son, had acted like a God- father to the evil satrapies of the region. Stiffened with American military aid and training, the Central American armies (far from any international enemy) concentrated on their self-appointed task of keeping rebellious peoples in check. And the world firmly looked the other way. For decades Central America was terra incognita. No international newsagency bothered to keep reporters even in the capital cities. Few foreign journalists made the trip. Repression and struggle went vir- tually unrecorded. The splendid histories of the individual republics were igno—red or forgotten. Past and present were reduced to the level ofajoke the capital ofHonduras described as Tegucigoipeto mark yet another militarycoup, the war between Honduras and El Salvador dismissively referred to as 'the football war*, thecountries collectively and contemptuously called 'banana republics'. From this historical oubhette, the area was rescued by the San- dinistas. Their victory gave new meaning and new vigour to the strug- gles elsewhere. For the first time in living memory there were signs of hope and a beliefthat changewas possible. Ripplesofrebellion spread westward. Within months the revolutionary embers in El Salvador and Guatemala had sprung into flame. Before long theentire area was awash with journalists, cameramen, and instant pundits. Suddenly Central America was front page news. The Americans started to panic. Meanwhile, to the east, the hitherto quiescent Caribbean was begin- ning to rumble. The Cuban Revolution of 1959 had never been repeated elsewhere, though not for want of trying. For twenty years the slow process of decolonization took place in the Caribbean lake under the watchful eye—ofAmerican gunboats. But in spite ofadegree of surface prosperity a patina of tourist-induced wealth for the — benefit of an elite the islands large and small were vulnerable to every economic ill-wind that blew through the region. And with the end ofthe colonial era the countries began to be open and receptive to an entirely fresh set of ideas. The islands began to discover what they had in common. The most advanced pohtical thinkers and activists soon realised that the most significant common denominator was that the Americans were marching in to the vacuum left by the departing European powers. Ifdecolonization was to have any meaning, dissent and rebellion were on the agenda. It is important not to underestimate the difficulties facing the in- habitants of Central America and the Caribbean as they begin to tackle their immense historical legacy of n—eglect and exploitation. An astonishingly varied amalgam ofpeoples the descendants ofAztecs and Mayas, the Indians of thejungle, the children and grandchildren of slaves brought from Africa, the heirs to—the settlers and planters from Spain, France, England and Holland they have all to over- come immense problems of history, culture and language in order to embark on a joint successful struggle. And their battles are taking place in the shadow ofthe most power- ful nation in the world. Not for them the easier option of rebellion against a distant imperial power the other side of the world, with friendly neighbours to lend assistance. The peoples of Central America and the Caribbean are isolated, atomised and alone. For this reason, this book is extraordinari—ly important and timely. As the battles grow in size and significance and in El Sa—lvador and Guatemala the guerrilla struggle is already far advanced it will be vital to have an informed and sympathetic public opinion in Britain, Europe and the United States, capable of refuting the stream of of- ficiallies with which theAmerican government (and much ofitspress) seeks to cloak itsactivities. This book sets into context themost recent developments, andrescues from oblivion thehistoryandorigins ofthe epic struggles that are gradually and necessarily impinging on the con- sciousness of the western world. Richard Gott Richard Gott was for many years the Latin America correspondent of the Guardian and is now its features editor. Preface Our intention in publishing this book is to provide an analysis of and background to the present crisis in Central America and the Carib- bean and especially of the part played by the United States in creating and perpetuating this crisis. It iswritten forhuman rights and solidari- ty organizations, trade unionists, church groups, teachers, students and others concerned with both broad development issues as well as the specific problems of the Caribbean basin. Above all our aim has been to present as clear and coherent a picture as possible of this im- portant and complex subject. While much painstaking research has gone into this book, we have tried to avoid making it too detailed or academic. Nevertheless, some will no doubt feel that they would like to know more about certain events or aspects and for this reason we have included an annotated bibliography of major sources and further reading. This bibliography also lists the most important sources used for the book; we have therefore not included footnotes which, we feel, would have burdened the text. In focusing on the role of the United States in the region we are not unaware of the p—art played by other external and internal forces in shaping events e.g. Spanish, French, Dutch and British im- perialism, as well as national class structures and dynamics. But, for reasons of space and the dominant role played by the United States in the region today, we have only touched on these in passing. For the purposes ofthis book we have looked in particular at US in- volvement in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama in Central America and, in the Caribbean, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Guyana, St Lucia, Grenada, St Vincent, Dominica, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba. A word of apology is due to all those Americans, North, South and Central, who may justifiably object to our treating the word *America* as a synonym for the United States. We reluctantly chose to do this for stylistic reasons and beg their indulgence. Finally, we extend our grateful thanks to the organizations and in- dividuals, too numerous to list individually, in Central America, the Caribbean, Britain and the United States who gave us invaluable in- formation and advice. LatinAmericaBureau September198J vii
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