Category: Uncategorized
Assignment 4
Paola Becerra
Throughout our world, border disputes are nothing new. Between Ukraine and Russia, Palestine and Israel and Guyana and Venezuela happening right now alone, We have and have had conflicts over land and border disputes as long as colonization has occurred. Throughout most of human history, Conflicts have been relegated to the region and the people directly involved due to inability to communicate efficiently and quickly with one another, especially across land and sea. However thanks to so many incredible advancements in technology and communication, we have entered the digital age where that is no longer a problem. We are able to communicate effectively and honestly with each other about what is going on in real time. However, this doesn’t mean bias isn’t/ can’t be present. To this, I point to how Latin America/ The Caribbean has been viewed and perceived by news sources within the United States. Oftentimes these countries are often only having the bad be shown with no desire to explain why the bad is occurring. For this project I am choosing the New York Times article “Desperate Haitians Who Fled to the Dominican Republic Are Being Sent Back in Cages” by By Hogla Enecia Pérez and Frances Robles.
While I will give credit that this piece is a more nuanced look, I think it perfectly displays how the US tends to look at LATAM, which is to look down with pity, and (sometimes) sympathy. Within the article, we hear mentions of why Haitians feel they are being persecuted, the Dominican arguments and even a deep-ish analysis as to a “why”, but we don’t hear much about the deeper contributing factors. While I think they do a good job at briefly glossing over why there is so much division amongst Haitians and Dominicans, and even the racial elements at play, I think a deeper view of why is needed. Why cages as the method to ship them back is missing. Why are some people so keen to risk life, limb and precious time away with family just to go to DR is missing. I think that article is a good jumping off point, but like most other views of LATAM it is missing the deeper cultural knowledge that I think is necessary. And in this case, I believe that because it glosses over the deep political uncertainty that is going on in Haiti, in addition to a deeper assessment of all the (literal) bad blood between the countries, it misses the reason why it feels ( and is ) so especially cruel. While the article touches on instability in Haiti with the lines “Since Haiti’s last president was assassinated … the country has been convulsed by gang violence that has left more than 12,000 people dead and forced nearly 800,000 from their homes.” to explain why and “Ms. Florvil, the pregnant woman, said …If we had a president in our country, I don’t think that Luis Abinader would mistreat us the way he is mistreating us today,” she said, referring to the Dominican leader. “He does it because he knows that we don’t have a president who speaks for us.”. I think this article, while again, not being the absolute worst, just feels shallow on a topic that ought to be deeper expanded upon. It feels like an open invitation to pity and look down on Haitians for needed aid and Domicans for being so cruel to their fellow islandmen. Not having a president is not something that just happens, I think things like that are often left out/ not deeply explored just hurts the people involved by giving readers from far away reductive ideas about who they are without proper context. It reminds me of the dollar a day ads. While obviously I understand the sentiment and am happy somebody is willing to help (hopefully help, that is) A lot of these ads do more harm than good. By portraying 3rd world nations as nothing more than disease ridden, desolate wastelands filled with those that cannot help themselves, it becomes a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy, where they cannot help themselves and become dependent on aid and help, and the cycle continues.
Works Cited
Hogla Enecia Pérez, and Frances Robles. “Desperate Haitians Who Fled to the Dominican Republic Are Being Sent Back in Cages.” The New York Times, 9 Dec. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/world/americas/haiti-dominican-republican-cage-trucks.html?searchResultPosition=5.
Categories
The State Department cable highlights several key aspects of the Cold War era, particularly the U.S involvement in Latin America to counteract communist influences. During the Cold War, the United States was deeply concerned about the spread of communism and supported various regimes and military efforts to suppress leftist movements.
It seems like there was quite a stir in the region with reports of bearded armed men spotted by locals during a visit. Even though they weren’t believed to be organized guerrillas, the army was still ordered to investigate by Barrientos. The Estado Mayor and the local commander were skeptical about the reports, but patrols were carried out, only to find a group of smugglers at most.
In this case, General Williams Tope’s assessment of the guerilla situation in Bolivia reflects the broader U.S strategy of providing military aid and training to allied governments. President Barrientos’ concern about the guerrillas being we;;-organized and connected to other countries like Argentina, Venezuela, and Cuba underscores the fear of a regional spread of communism, which was a significant concern for the U.S. during this period. The emphasis on using individuals with counterinsurgency training from the U.S and the support of the Bolivian Army highlights the American strategy of building local capacities to fight insurgencies. This approach aimed to prevent the waste of resources and ensure that U.S assistance was effectively utilized to achieve anti-communist objectives.
The Memorandum of conversation between Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Argentine Foreign Minister Admiral Cesar Guzzetti and State Department Cable both highlight the U.S focus on addressing communist insurgencies in Latin America during the Cold War. In the 1967 cable, the U.S State Department is already concerned about guerilla activities in Bolivia, emphasizing the need for effective counterinsurgency measures and the involvement of U.- trained personnel to handle the situation. This document illustrates the early stages of U.S intervention and the challenges faced by local forces in dealing with well-organized guerrilla groups.By 1976, the conversation between Kissinger and Guzzetti reflects a continued and expanded concern about communist influences, not just in Bolivia but across the region. The memorandum likely discusses broader strategies and the necessity of cooperation between the U.S. and Latin American governments to counteract these threats. This includes sharing intelligence, providing military aid, and ensuring that local forces are adequately trained and equipped to handle insurgencies.Both documents underscore the persistent U.S. strategy of supporting Latin American governments in their efforts to combat communist guerrillas, highlighting the ongoing nature of these efforts and the interconnectedness of U.S. foreign policy objectives in the region.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library: Lyndon B. Johnson Papers: National Security File (hereafter LBJL: LBJP: NSF) : Country File: Latin America, b. 8, f.: “Bolivia v. 4 (1/66-12/68).
Categories
The State Department cable highlights several key aspects of the Cold War era, particularly the U.S involvement in Latin America to counteract communist influences. During the Cold War, the United States was deeply concerned about the spread of communism and supported various regimes and military efforts to suppress leftist movements.
It seems like there was quite a stir in the region with reports of bearded armed men spotted by locals during a visit. Even though they weren’t believed to be organized guerrillas, the army was still ordered to investigate by Barrientos. The Estado Mayor and the local commander were skeptical about the reports, but patrols were carried out, only to find a group of smugglers at most.
In this case, General Williams Tope’s assessment of the guerilla situation in Bolivia reflects the broader U.S strategy of providing military aid and training to allied governments. President Barrientos’ concern about the guerrillas being we;;-organized and connected to other countries like Argentina, Venezuela, and Cuba underscores the fear of a regional spread of communism, which was a significant concern for the U.S. during this period. The emphasis on using individuals with counterinsurgency training from the U.S and the support of the Bolivian Army highlights the American strategy of building local capacities to fight insurgencies. This approach aimed to prevent the waste of resources and ensure that U.S assistance was effectively utilized to achieve anti-communist objectives.
The Memorandum of conversation between Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Argentine Foreign Minister Admiral Cesar Guzzetti and State Department Cable both highlight the U.S focus on addressing communist insurgencies in Latin America during the Cold War. In the 1967 cable, the U.S State Department is already concerned about guerilla activities in Bolivia, emphasizing the need for effective counterinsurgency measures and the involvement of U.- trained personnel to handle the situation. This document illustrates the early stages of U.S intervention and the challenges faced by local forces in dealing with well-organized guerrilla groups.By 1976, the conversation between Kissinger and Guzzetti reflects a continued and expanded concern about communist influences, not just in Bolivia but across the region. The memorandum likely discusses broader strategies and the necessity of cooperation between the U.S. and Latin American governments to counteract these threats. This includes sharing intelligence, providing military aid, and ensuring that local forces are adequately trained and equipped to handle insurgencies.Both documents underscore the persistent U.S. strategy of supporting Latin American governments in their efforts to combat communist guerrillas, highlighting the ongoing nature of these efforts and the interconnectedness of U.S. foreign policy objectives in the region.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library: Lyndon B. Johnson Papers: National Security File (hereafter LBJL: LBJP: NSF) : Country File: Latin America, b. 8, f.: “Bolivia v. 4 (1/66-12/68).
Throughout the Cold War, the fear of communism and the spread of it to the United States was a . When communism broke out in Latin America, places like Chile, Cuba, and El Salvador were major concerns for the United States. With it’s close proximity to the US, it was a top priority for President Ford to contain and protect democracy for Latin America which would ensure the future of the United States.
We can see these specific concerns of carrying out operations of such in Chile through this unclassified document from the National Security Archive. In this document, President Ford and Henry Kissinger are speaking to their peers about funds being appropriated to Chile political parties who are in favor of preserving democratic governance. There were some concerns about how the funds were being distributed and if they were going where they were supposed to in order to make strides towards tearing down the rise of communism in Chile.
Within Chile itself, we know that there were internal concerns that they were dealing with during the uprise of communism. In the reading, “Gender Policing, Homosexuality, and the New Patriarchy of the Cuban Revolution” by Lillian Guerra, it discusses the flaws within communism relating to different groups of people like women, homosexuals, and other groups of people who they saw posed a threat to communism. In the United States, it was actually believed the opposite. For example, people were engaging in things like “lavender marriages” in order to conceal their homosexuality, not only for societal norms but rather it was seen as a direct connection to communism if a family did not fit into this traditional nuclear American family. It was also believed that women were more likely to be communists in America as well. Finding these similarities of concerns but for different reasons between communist and fearful of communist countries shows the internal struggles of either side— Cuba or the United States.
Again, this unclassified document that displays the direct concern over Cuba becoming communist and their careful language around it, acknowledges the underlying aspects of communism both in the Unites states and places like Cuba.
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/Doc6-Chile-CIA-Scandal-40-Committee_0.pdf
