This year marks 200 years since the United States effectively declared all of Latin America and the Caribbean within its sphere of influence. On December 2nd, 1823, President James Monroe outlined what became known as the Monroe Doctrine. He warned other nations to stay out of the Americas, saying, quote, “We should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety,” unquote. Over the past 200 years, the Monroe Doctrine has been repeatedly used to justify scores of invasions, interventions and CIA regime changes in the Americas.
CodePink initiated this and got a group of partners around the country to join with us in recognizing the immense changes that are happening in Latin America, the progressive governments that are coming into power all over the region, the vibrant civil society that exists. And yet, on the other hand, you have the U.S. trying to continue to impose its will on Latin America and the Caribbean, whether it’s through a continued military presence, through brutal economic sanctions that are imposed on Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, or through the U.S. companies that try to continue to exploit the mines, the logging, the lithium, the resources, the oil. And so you have a real disconnect.
And we are saying that it’s time that U.S. policy recognizes that this is not the U.S. backyard. The U.S. is looking at Latin American and saying, “Oh my goodness, China is now becoming the major
— source democracynow.org | Apr 27, 2023