Editor,
USA/CIA actions in Central and South America: 1954 Guatemalan coup, 1961 Cuba Bay of Pigs, 1964 Brazil coup, 1965 Dominican Republic invasion, 1973 Chile coup, 1976 Argentina coup, 1983 Granada invasion,1989 Panama invasion, 1994 Haiti invasion, 2002 Venezuela attempted coup, 2009 Honduran coup, 2019 Venezuela attempted coup begins. Those are just the ones in my lifetime.
Which brings to mind a well-known quote: “I spent 33 years and 4 months in active military service, and during that period I spent most of my time as a muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street, and the Bankers. In short, I was a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba safe for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers from 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies.
“War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only racket in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.” – Smedley D. Butler, Marine Corps Major General and two-time recipient of the Medal of Honor, from his book War is a Racket.
Donna Hersey