Oil, Influence, and Revolution: America's Covert Operations in Latin America

Since the 1950s, US interventions in Latin American politics have largely been driven by economic interests, particularly oil and agricultural products like bananas. Operations in Venezuela and Guatemala reveal a pattern of exerting influence through military actions and propaganda, often under the guise of combating communism.

As early as the 1950s, the US has intervened in Latin American politics under the banner of fighting ideological threats, while securing major economic interests. Recent actions in Venezuela continue this trend, with US objectives shifting more transparently towards unimpeded access to oil resources.

In 2026, the Trump administration's arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro highlighted this approach, emphasizing oil companies' roles in future interventions. This candor contrasts with past operations, like Guatemala in 1954, where economic motives were concealed under anti-communist rhetoric.

The powerful United Fruit Company, a major player in America's economic agenda, epitomized this method. Its influence, likened to an octopus spreading across Latin America, contributed to political upheavals by portraying democratic and agrarian reforms as communist threats, ultimately leading to a CIA-backed coup in 1954.