Transcript Aim: What were the goals of Reagan’s foreign policy in the

Aim: What were the goals of
Reagan’s foreign policy in the
Western Hemisphere?
4. Foreign Policy in the Western
Hemisphere
• President Reagan’s chief foreign policy goal in
the Western Hemisphere was to stop the spread
of communism.
• The United States had long feared that the
communist government of Cuba, led by Fidel
Castro, would establish communist governments
in the Western Hemisphere.
• The United States targeted Central America, an
area with large populations of poor, landless
peasants and small groups of wealthy families.
• America’s aim was to stop any communist threat
in Central America.
Central America
Islands in the Caribbean Sea
4.1 Aid to Stop the Spread of
Communism
• To stop the spread of communism, the United States
gave military and financial aid to certain Central
American groups headed by juntas.
• A junta is a group of military officers who had taken over
the government by revolutionary means.
• By the late 1970s, many of these juntas were opposed
by large numbers of their own people.
• Although there were Communists among these people,
many were members of the middle class or peasants
that demanded social change and land reform.
• To keep power, the juntas kept arresting and executing
large numbers of people.
• Although the United States disliked these
tactics, it did not want to aid the
Communists by weakening the juntas.
• However, it pressured several
governments to make land reforms and
improve living conditions for peasants.
• Some governments did listen, however, a
large majority of peasants remained poor.
Junta Leaders in Brazil
Aurelio de Lira Tavares
Admiral Augusto Gruenwald
Junta Leaders in Chile
Gen. Augusto Pincohet
Salvador Allende
Junta Leaders in Nicaragua
Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Daniel Ortega
Junta Leaders in El Salvador
Carlos Humberto Romero
Jose Napoleon Duarte
4.2 Nicaragua
• From the beginning of his first term, President
Reagan faced problems in Nicaragua.
• In January 1981, the State Department
confirmed that the revolutionary Sandinista
government and Cuba were giving aid to
overthrow the junta in El Salvador.
• The United States cut off aid to Nicaragua and
gave military and economic aid to El Salvador.
• The United States also began to back antiSandinista rebels in Nicaragua called contras.
Flag of the Sandinistas
The Contras
• The goal of the contras’ was to slow the arms
shipments from Nicaragua to El Salvador.
• The contras soon began to attack Sandinista
bases inside Nicaragua.
• The government of Nicaragua soon disliked the
policies of the United States. They went to the
United Nations and stated that the United States
was backing an invasion of their nation.
• Our policy in Nicaragua had a great deal
of opposition.
• In April 1984, the nation learned that our
CIA was involved in the mining of
Nicaraguan harbors.
• The United States Congress condemned
Reagan for his actions, but we continued
to give money to the Contras in the years
that followed.
4.3 El Salvador
• Conditions in El Salvador worsened.
• The government had begun land reform but
progress was slow.
• Many citizens of El Salvador began to turn on
the government and began to back the guerillas.
• The government soon began arresting and
executing those citizens which opposed the
junta.
• In December 1980, American nuns were
murdered by the junta and in March 1981,
Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated by
the junta.
Archbishop Oscar Moreno
• Many Americans insisted that all military and
economic aid to El Salvador be stopped until
conditions improved.
• Reagan continued to assist the government
stating that withholding aid would turn El
Salvador into a communist nation.
• In July 1981, with American support, the
government announced free elections would be
held with the hope of establishing a civil
government.
• The guerillas told the people to boycott the
elections but they still took place.
• The Reagan administration had hoped the
moderate party would win and were
shocked that the people supported rightwing, Communist parties.
• The new government moved to undo the
land reforms and a civil war started soon
after.
• Despite the outcome of the elections, the
United States kept sending military aid.
• At the same time, Reagan and the
government insisted that the government
improve its record on human rights.
• In 1983, both the Congress and Reagan
agreed that this had occurred in El
Salvador.
• In 1984, things improved greatly with the
election of Jose Napoleon Duarte.
• Duarte agreed to make land reforms and
slowly began negotiations with the guerilla
leaders who opposed him.
Jose Napoleon Duarte
4.4 Falkland Crisis
• In the midst of his Central American problems,
Reagan had to deal with the Falkland crisis.
• In April 1982, several thousand troops from
Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands off the
coast of Argentina.
• The government of Argentina claimed the
islands were stolen from them in 1833.
• The prime minister of England, Margaret
Thatcher, stated that she would use force if the
Argentines refused to leave.
Argentina and the Falkland Islands
England’s Prime Minister-Margaret
Thatcher
• The Falkland Crisis put the United States in an
awkward position.
• The military action of England would violate the
Monroe Doctrine while England was a close ally
of our nation.
• To work out a settlement, Reagan dispatched
Alexander Haig to do shuttle diplomacy between
London and Buenos Aires, Argentina for several
weeks.
• The talks broke down and the United States
government, along with several close allies,
backed England and placed sanctions on
Argentina.
• In May of 1982, the British landed troops in the
Falklands and took over Argentine positions.
• In June, the Argentines surrendered and the
British regained control of the islands.
• The war brought bitter feelings between the
United States and Argentina. The government of
Argentina believed they were let because the
United States refused to honor the Monroe
Doctrine.
War in the Falkland Islands
4.5 Grenada
• In 1983, the United States faced a crisis on the
Caribbean island of Grenada.
• Grenada built up its military forces under
Maurice Bishop, a supporter of Fidel Castro.
• There was also growing political unrest which
troubled other political nations in the Caribbean.
• Those nations asked the United States to
intervene.
Map of Grenada
• In October 1983, the US military invaded the
island.
• After a few days of fighting, the Americans
defeated the Grenadan and Cuban forces, which
were using Soviet equipment.
• The Marxist government was overthrown in favor
of a more democratic government.
• Although he was criticized, Reagan was
determined to protect the interests of the US and
its allies.
Invasion of Grenada (1983)
Invasion of Grenada (1983)
Invasion of Grenada (1983)