19 August 2017

The Forces Behind Latin American Unrest

Old patterns are repeated. Anyone familiar with the history of US activities in Latin America will not be surprised by this story. The United States has long sought to influence and manipulate politics south of the border.


The US declared this policy as early as the Monroe Doctrine though it was not able to immediately enforce it. But after the Civil War the United States began a generations long process of consolidation. First the continental empire was secured. Then by the end of the 19th century the US began to earnestly look beyond its shores. A host of Latin American 'interventions' took place in addition to the overtly imperial agenda of the Spanish-American War. Since then the US has intervened literally dozens of times in the overthrowing of governments and the crushing of democratic activity. America has backed dictators and participated in covert operations leading to the deaths of (depending on how one wishes to count) at least 200,000 people in Latin America since the dawn of the 20th century.
One of the mechanisms that has been well documented is to place undesirable regimes under economic stress. Nixon famously ordered the CIA to make the Chilean 'economy scream'. While the CIA's espionage activities are well known, as well as its long history of covert ops in the realms of smuggling, assassination and the backing of paramilitary forces, not as many realise how much time and energy is given to economic activities.
The CIA is heavily involved in monitoring the operations of Wall Street. A literal host of banks, insurance companies, defense contractors, hedge funds, law firms and think-tanks have connections to Langley. In some cases the CIA has placed agents in key places. They gather information and in some cases manipulate it. In certain situations they orchestrate.
US intelligence is also heavily involved in international business espionage. They steal data and technology from abroad and they have engaged in sabotage. Its toolkit is vast and varied. Sometimes the United States can move very aggressively and remove an undesirable leader or regime in a very short time. In other cases there is a protracted battle. The present project to undo the legacy of Hugo Chavez comes to mind. The US backed if not orchestrated an attempt to remove him in 2002. When that failed they began to effect a policy that would break Venezuelan society. This is not to say that Chavez's so-called Bolivarian Revolution was not without its own failings and the 'socialism' he sought to implement was instead a capitalist-dependent paternalism open to corruption and destined to fail. Chavez died with defeat on the horizon and now his successor and the whole Chavez programme is in jeopardy.
At this writing Trump has initiated rhetoric openly calling for Maduro's removal and threatening military 'intervention'. Such overt military attacks have been out of style for awhile, the last significant invasion taking place with Bush's Panama massacre of 1989. The lies and misrepresentation surrounding the US relationship with Panama, Noriega, the conflict and death toll are perfect if not poignant examples of how the American Empire deceives its public and tries to mislead the world.
Latin America all but rose up in reaction to the policies of George W Bush and the economic policies implemented in the 1990s under Bush I and Clinton. The commodities boom allowed nations like Brazil, Venezuela and Chile to attain a degree of economic clout and independence and the public voted in various 'Leftist' governments. Led by Lula in Brazil and Chavez in Venezuela the policies of the United States were openly challenged. For a time it seemed that Colombia was the sole loyal proxy controlled by Washington.
Bush became mired in the lies surrounding his fictitious War on Terror and the quagmire of the sectarian War in Iraq. Latin American independence flourished.
Then came the crash of 2008. Oil prices began to fall. Credit was restricted and markets collapsed. An age of austerity set in and Latin American economies began to falter.
Here's where The Intercept story becomes most pertinent. American interests have sought in every way possible to capitalise on this instability and if anything agitate it and feed it. Through propaganda, funding, direct support for political, corporate and street agitators they have done all they can to facilitate instability and collapse. The NSA has collected information and it has been used. They have planted officials, pulling from a vast pool of American trained and backed assets. In many cases I believe these figures connected to business, politics, the judiciary and military are little more than agents and proxies of Langley.
Using these forces they can break governments and destroy societies. In the age of internet scrutiny 'the sword' must often be wielded in a delicate and subtle way. At least the perception must be thus. Behind the scenes it's a mad slash fest. Not a few people have died under rather mysterious circumstances.
Lula is now facing incarceration and under Trump a military invasion of Venezuela is being threatened. It has taken 10-15 years but at this point the Latin American Leftist movement, the political revolt against the North American Empire now lies in ruins.
And the Empire has built up a significant infrastructure from which it will continue to draw from as it seeks to build up a new bureaucracy.
The game and playbook are the same. It's only the names that change with the times. We've seen this before. In the 1980s it was the Heritage Foundation coupled with the Christian Right that led the charge. Heritage is still a significant player but its name is now so well known that it can't operate in quite the same fashion as it could in the 1980s. But even then it often worked through proxy organisations. The Heritage/Reagan Doctrine episode is most instructive with regard to the overlap of figures from the various sectors of US society. Truly it was a concert of operatives, groups and money from Wall Street, the Pentagon and Langley.
Another task these various organisations rely on is the lobbying of congress (often through law firms) and while they're never able to secure all the Senators, there are certain key or essential figures they rely on. These figures are usually connected to the right committee or represent states hosting significant or pertinent financial institutions and defense contractors.
This is at the very heart of how the empire works.
These events taking place today are but another sequel in a long and tortured tale of American Intervention drama-murder plays.

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