Word: nicaragua
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Monroe Doctrine in 1904, the U.S. has patrolled the Caribbean like a cop on a beat, using its "big stick" to enforce the "primary laws of civilized society." It has aborted revolutions, overthrown unacceptable governments, and sent in troops to restore order in several Caribbean nations, including Haiti, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Today, however, the Caribbean can no longer be considered an "American Lake." Travel ads entice U.S. tourists with the promise of swaying palms and unspoiled vistas of sandy beach. But the nationalistic winds sweeping through the Third World have created a new mood of anti-imperialism...
Indeed, some of those tremors have already been felt: 1) the five-week-long diplomatic wrangle with Moscow over the presence of a 2,600-man Soviet combat brigade in Cuba; 2) the Cuban-supported Sandinista revolution that overthrew Nicaragua's Dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle last summer; 3) the left-wing coup in Grenada last March, which replaced Prime Minister Sir Eric Gairy with a socialist regime that established relations with Havana. There is worry in Washington that the Sandinista revolt could spill over into El Salvador and Guatemala, where repressive military regimes are struggling against leftist dissidents. Grenada...
...Castro has chosen to challenge U.S. hegemony in the Caribbean by picking "targets of opportunity"-places where a minimum of aid can yield high propaganda dividends without directly confronting U.S. might. In Nicaragua, Castro did little more than supply arms and some training for the Sandinistas, who also received assistance from Latin America's remaining handful of democracies. Instead of attempting to foment revolutions, the Cuban leader has launched an aggressive campaign of diplomacy and aid that speaks to the social ills plaguing the Caribbean. Says a British Caribbean specialist: "The Cubans did not create these conditions. They were...
...brigade's purpose remains unclear, the unit does provide a degree of protection for the island while Cubans are busy elsewhere. There are now some 35,000 Cuban troops, technicians and civilian advisers in Africa. In the Caribbean, there are about 450 Cuban advisers in Jamaica, 250 in Nicaragua, 75 in Grenada, 70 in Guyana and 30 in Panama...
...After Nicaragua and the threat of new revolutions elsewhere in Central America, it is encouraging to see Mexico taking a more assertive stance in the defense of democratic interests." That assertiveness, López Portillo has made clear, extends to establishing a new relationship with Mexico's powerful northern neighbor. The prickly encounters between Don Pepe and Jimmy Carter suggest that the relationship will not be an easy one. Yet in the long run, a partnership based on mutual respect, rather than on force majeure, should be as beneficial to the U.S. as to Mexico...