US military intervention

This map shows the number of times the US military has invaded or occupied nations in Latin America and the Caribbean as well as the dates that correspond. The invasions can be understood from a space, time and category interpretation. There are 4 countries who have been invaded once, 3 countries invaded twice, 2 countries invaded 3 times, and 1 invaded 4.

The Mexican American War lasted from 1846 to 1848 directly after the Texan War for Independence. With America shortly winning the war it increased its territory by adding land from Texas to California. In 1914 and 1917 there were two other incidents involving Mexico and the US military but they did not lead to any more territory being added. The next country with a very important history is Cuba. The Spanish American war (1898-1902) served to remove Spain from their Caribbean colonies. With the US removing Spain from Cuba,  the island was dominated by an American military presence and allowed for american interests to take control. The next conflict occurred as a result of an election that the US thought would harm their interests. The US intervened and put in place a government that was very pro- american. The third incident was in 1961 and was a result of Castro forming a communist state and allying Cuba with the Soviet Union. American intervention failed to overthrow Castro and lost all of its business interests on the Island. Another island affected by the Spanish american war was puerto rico. After removing Spain from the island Puerto Rico stayed under American control until it became a territory of the US.

Haiti has been the nation with the most encounters with the US military. From 1915- 1934 marines occupied the country to increase stability. The 1994-1996 and 2004 interventions were focused on removing corrupt governments. In 2010 the military was sent again to provide aid after the disastrous earthquake. The Dominican Republic was invaded in 1916-1924 and in 1965 to protect american business interests in the country and provide stability to the government. Grenada was invaded from 1983-1985 at the end of the cold war. The purpose was to remove the communist government and replace it with a pro american one. The same is true for El Salvador, in 1981 the US military was called in to shut down a leftist movement in the country because of the growing fear of communism.

Honduras and Nicaragua were both exploited by US corporations to grow bananas in the early 1900s. When revolutions occurred in the countries the US was quick to send troops to protect the valuable economic interests. This is wear the term "banana republic" originates from. Panama was occupied from 1908 to 1918 largely to build the canal across the country for economic shipping reasons. The Panama government was a puppet for the US giving it control of the Canal. In 1989 the US invaded again to overthrow dictator Manuel Noriega who no longer supported the US.