History of Washington's Attacks Against Its Own People and the Peoples of the World

– Pablo Moctezuma Barragán –

Getting to know our northern neighbour thoroughly is very important for Mexico and its people. Historical memory is essential for current and future decision-making. Therefore, we will take a journey through the history of the actions of the United States government to confirm its nature and understand what we can expect from them. This is necessary in order to defend our interests and build a sovereign future for the country, as well as to forge true bonds of friendship between our nations, which share common interests and a common enemy.

Hegemony and Expansionism Since Its Origins

On July 4, 1776, the colonies of the United States declared their independence, breaking away from English colonialism. From its inception, the ruling classes of the new country sought to expand their territory at the expense of their neighbours and the peoples who had occupied and enjoyed their lands for centuries, gradually being dispossessed.

From 1778 to 1871, more than 187 treaties were signed to take land from Indigenous nations, the original nations of the United States and the true owners of the territory before European invasion. Subsequently, each and every one of these treaties has been violated by the Washington government, to the detriment of Indigenous peoples.

Starting in 1783, the year the United States achieved its independence, the territorial expansion process began, occupying the area located between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River, which had been inhabited by various indigenous populations for millennia. Since then, the U.S. government has consistently repressed both workers and native communities, both within its own territory and abroad, against the peoples of the world. Today, there is a movement of Americans themselves demanding that their government refrain from aggression against other nations. They reject this government policy, saying: Not in our name.

Increasingly, the population of our neighbour wants their own country to change the role it plays in the world and cease to be an aggressive power.

U.S. expansionism intensified in the first half of the 19th century. In 1803, they acquired Louisiana; in 1810, they took possession of West Florida, and nine years later, they seized East Florida. The following territories they appropriated were Texas in 1845, Oregon in 1847, and New Mexico, California and Arizona in 1848.

After invading Mexico, the United States seized 2,263,866 square kilometres of our country, which represents more than half of the territory and is greater in size than Mexico at present. This expanded their holdings to more than triple the size they had in 1783, when they had 888,811 square miles. By the end of the 19th century, they had grown to 3,022,387 square miles.

The Monroe Doctrine and Manifest Destiny form the basis of American expansionism. The Monroe Doctrine proclaimed that any European powers' intervention in the independent countries of the American continent would be considered a threat to the security of the United States. It declared that America would not be open to colonization and conquest by European powers in the future. Thus, the United States reserved the exclusive right to intervene in the American continent when it deemed its interests affected. Manifest Destiny promoted the belief that the United States was "the chosen people by Providence" to take possession of the American continent, and that Americans had been chosen by divine will to cultivate and utilize all the lands. And that's what happened:

1801: A group of American adventurers, led by Philip Nolan, invaded northern territories of New Spain (named so by the Spanish).

1806: American troops, commanded by Captain Z.M. Pike, penetrated the headwaters of the Rio Grande but were repelled.

1811: The Iroquois Tecumseh united the native nations of Wisconsin in Florida to defend their people. Later, they were defeated by William Henry Harrison. Unfortunately, Tecumseh was treacherously killed on November 5, 1813.

1812-1813: American settlers invaded Mexican territory and forcefully occupied all of West Florida.

1817-1819: A contingent of American troops invaded and occupied West Florida during the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

1823: President James Monroe announced his "doctrine," summed up in four words: "America for the Americans," which served as the basis for U.S. expansion, intervention, control and dominance over other American nations.

1828: Ambassador William Henry Harrison organized an assassination attempt on Simón Bolívar in Bogotá, Colombia, because Harrison believed Bolívar aimed to establish a South American Spanish Empire. The timely intervention of Manuela Sáenz saved the liberator's life.

1830: President Jackson implemented the Indian Removal Act, following a suggestion from President Jefferson. This act served as a tool for the military to forcibly expel 100,000 Indigenous people, the original inhabitants of their lands, who were relocated to reservations in Oklahoma. In response, Chief Black Hawk led the resistance, but his warriors were annihilated in the Battle of Bad Axe.

1830-1839: The Cherokees were expelled from their lands, with 16,000 of them forced to migrate without clothing or food, and many were afflicted by cholera.

1831: American ships attempted to seize the Falkland Islands, which were also claimed by the British. However, they were blocked on the shores of Argentina.

1832: American slaveholders established connections with their counterparts in Jamaica to maintain slavery on the island and attempted to annex its territory with the support of the oligarchy, but the annexation attempt failed.

1833: Under the pretext of "protecting U.S. interests," American troops landed in the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, occupying them for two long weeks.

1835: A similar situation occurred in Peru, where U.S. naval infantry occupied the areas of Lima and Callao, much to the outrage of the local population.

1844: Expansion at the expense of Mexico, their southern neighbour, began. On April 12, the United States annexed Texas, which had previously belonged to the state of Coahuila. One year later, this act was officially recognized.

1846: On May 13, the United States declared war on Mexico.

1847: In Nicaragua, U.S. Marine infantry occupied the port of San Juan del Norte, where the inter-oceanic canal project was supposed to emerge.

1847: In New Mexico, the native Taos nation rebelled, and after their defeat, many of their members were sentenced to death and hanged by the U.S. army.

1847: In Mexico, invading forces captured Chapultepec Castle, where the Military College was located. Gloriously defending the castle were the "Niños Héroes" (Heroic Children) and members of the San Blas Battalion led by Colonel Santiago Xicotencatl. By September 15, the invaders had raised the stars and stripes flag in Mexico City's iconic Zócalo. U.S. forces also hanged 34 Irish soldiers from the San Patricio Battalion, who had initially come with the invaders but chose to support the Mexican people's cause when they understood the true situation.

1848: Stripped of more than half of its territory, Mexico's landowners and conservative oligarchy yielded to Washington and signed the infamous Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, through which Mexico lost Texas, New Mexico and Upper California.

1849: More than 50,000 Indigenous people are exterminated during the "Gold Rush" in California.

1850: The U.S. Army initiates a war against the Cayuse in Oregon.

1850-1874: From the Rio Grande to Kansas, the Utes, Navajos and Apaches are gradually dispossessed of their lands.

1852: Once again, the U.S. Marine infantry lands in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

1853: The extermination of the Roque River Indians in southern Oregon begins. Through the Treaty of Mesilla, the U.S. government purchases over 100,000 square kilometres of national territory from Antonio López de Santa Anna. The Mexican people repudiate this illicit act.

1854: In Nicaragua, for alleged offences against a U.S. diplomat, U.S. Navy ships shell the port of San Juan del Norte.

1855: A U.S. Navy ship attacks Paraguay, forcing its government to open its rivers to "free navigation." In the same year, U.S. troops landed in Uruguay. In Oregon, the U.S. Governor Stevens initiates a three-year war against the Yakama, led by Kamaiakan, who are suppressed in Washington and Idaho. They are attacked by 700 artillery, cavalry and infantry soldiers, and twenty of their leaders are hanged. Chief Kamaiakan was wounded but managed to escape to Canada.

1856: In January, in Nicaragua, the natives of Puget Sound rose against the Yankee colonizers; the Yakama people were joined by the Cayuse, Umatilla and Wallawa. Subsequently, the U.S. army crushed the rebellion in 1858. Supported by U.S. Ambassador John H. Wheeler, the adventurer William Walker proclaimed himself president of Nicaragua. Washington immediately recognized the "new president" and granted him a loan. On September 22, Walker reinstated slavery and declared English as the official language. In the same year, from Fort Laramie in the U.S., Colonel Sumner attacked the Cheyennes, even though in an assembly in 1851, around 10,000 representatives of the Assiniboins, Atsinas, Arikaras, Crows, Shoshonis, Sioux, Cheyennes and Arapahos, among others, had agreed to peace with the U.S. Army.

1859: Paraguay is blockaded by U.S. warships. A squadron of nineteen ships ordered by President James Buchanan is sent to South America to demand, without justification, reparations for alleged "offences" committed by Paraguay and to seize its capital, Asunción. Buchanan carried out this aggression to distract public opinion from his government's internal problems.

The Dispossession of Indigenous Peoples and Other Nations Continues

During the second half of the 19th century, Washington's aggressive policies persisted both within its territory and in foreign lands. Any rebellion against its dictates was brutally suppressed, violating the sovereignty of nations, the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples, and that of the entire world:

1861-1866: The U.S. Army attacked the Apaches in the territory of Arizona. Chiefs Cochise and Mangas Coloradas led the resistance that lasted for years, thanks to their knowledge of the terrain. They were ultimately forced to live on reservations created to take away their lands in favour of miners.

1862: The Dakota people, a Sioux nation, rebelled in an attempt to reclaim their lands in Minnesota; however, they were crushed militarily. 38 Dakota were hanged in Mankato, Minnesota. The struggle was led by Big Eagle, who was captured along with 1,700 men, women and children by Colonel Sibley at Fort Snelling.

1863: General James H. Carleton and Kit Carson attacked the Navajos in Arizona and New Mexico. They subdued them through hunger, forcing them to move 563 kilometres to be confined in a reservation.

1864: The Navajos suffered an invasion of their lands by Kit Carson and 700 U.S. Army soldiers, who destroyed their crops and killed their livestock. As a consequence, a large portion of the Navajos died of starvation and another 7,000 were taken as prisoners to Fort Sumner on the Pecos River.

1865: The Kintpunsh people are dispossessed of their lands and forced by the U.S. Army to settle in the Klamath reservation in Oregon. The government cunningly planned everything so that the two peoples would confront each other there. Then, during the Sand Creek massacre, 600 Cheyennes and Arapahos are killed. Women and children are banished, and 124 more people are killed in Colorado by U.S. troops under Colonel Chivington's command. The U.S. government orders an attack on the Apaches: 216 are killed in a war with the slogan "kill all the men and take all the women and children as prisoners." The Apaches flee to the mountains, so their lands are stolen and their settlements are set on fire to "promote" mining in Arizona.

1866: U.S. troops land in Panama, pretending to protect the properties and lives of their citizens residing in that country. In the same year, in the U.S., General Patrick Connors begins a campaign against the Sioux and Cheyennes.

1867: In New Mexico and Arizona, there were officially 2,000 enslaved Apaches. Children are stolen and raised as slaves, while girls are prostituted. U.S. troops penetrate Mexican territory and provoke border clashes with Mexican forces. They take advantage of the diversion of the Rio Grande to illegally seize the Mexican region of El Chamizal.

1868: The United States purchases Alaska and imposes its laws on the local population, depriving them of their sovereignty. In those years, until 1871, they attempt to annex the Dominican Republic without success. The invading government obtains a lease on Samaná Bay, where it plans to establish a naval base.

1869: Troops attack the Comanches, guided by Chief Quanah Parker, who opposed illegal buffalo hunters. The U.S. army also attacks the Papagos and Pimas, taking their lands and confining them to reservations.

1870: 85 Apaches who had been placed under the protection of the military at Fort Camp Grant in Tucson are massacred. This massacre continued the war to "exterminate" the Apaches, although not completely successful.

1871: The Americans land in Panama once again to impose their interests.

1872: Kiowa chiefs Satanta and Satank are arrested and die in prison. Quanah Parker resists the invasion of Comanche lands in Texas. The defeated are taken to reservations.

1874-1875: The Red River War takes place against the Cheyennes, Comanches and Kiowas from forts located in New Mexico and Texas. In Arizona, General George Crook attacks the Sioux.

1876: Battle of Little Bighorn, in which George Custer, the bloodthirsty lieutenant colonel famous for the massacres he committed, dies. General Crook sends Ronald MacKenzie to attack the village of Little Wolf and Dull Knife; both escape, but 40 Cheyennes are killed.

1877: The Nez Perce are dispossessed of their lands in Oregon, despite Chief Joseph's conciliatory attitude. When they head to the reservation, hundreds of their horses are stolen, provoking a rebellion that is suppressed by General O. Howard. After four months of facing the U.S. Army and traveling a thousand mountainous miles towards Canada, Chief Joseph Nez is defeated by General Howard in Nevada. They are taken, along with the survivors, to a reservation camp in Oklahoma, where they remain confined.

1878: The war against the Bannock Indians in Idaho breaks out.

1879: War against the Utes in Colorado and against the Sheepeater Indians in Idaho.

1880: Chiricahua Chief Nana, known as Nana, with only 15 men, faces a thousand U.S. Army soldiers. Nana was 80 years old and walked with a cane, but he did not lose his fighting spirit and continued to resist. By this time, almost all the original Indigenous nations had been reduced to "reservations," where they were subjected to alcoholism.

1881: The United States interferes in the War of the Pacific. They are interested in the territories of Chimbóte and Tarapacá in Peru.

1882: U.S. troops land in Panama, using the familiar pretext of protecting U.S. interests and restoring the free transit of goods from that country via the Isthmus railroad.

1883: General Nelson A. Miles, with 5,000 soldiers, captures Geronimo and 24 Chiricahua Apache "renegades." They are deported to Oklahoma and interned in reservations where they languish until death.

1885: Gold is discovered in Colorado, and the Sioux are harassed in order to seize their rich territory.

1886: In South America, U.S. Marine infantry forces land in Buenos Aires, Argentina, "to safeguard the American Consulate and Legation" there. In the same year, in South Dakota, U.S. troops attack Indigenous people. On December 29, Colonel James W. Forsyth carries out the Wounded Knee Massacre, in which 300 Sioux – men, women and children – are killed while practising the Ghost Dance. The famous Chief Sitting Bull is killed on that tragic day, with only 51 women and children surviving, and many of them seriously injured.

1886-1890: The American Federation of Labor, founded in 1881, called for a labour strike in the United States and Canada on May 1st to demand an 8-hour workday. On that day, a general strike erupted, with over 25,000 establishments across the country shutting down. In Chicago, employers like Cyrus McCormick laid off more than a thousand workers and replaced them with strikebreakers. In response, workers initiated a series of mobilizations. On May 4th, they called for another gathering, where a provocateur threw a bomb at the police, leading them to open fire on the crowd, resulting in a terrible massacre. The workers' movement was brutally suppressed by the U.S. government, which, after the massacre, sentenced five of the leading labour organizers to be hanged. On November 11, 1887, August Spies, George Engel, Albert Parsons and Adolph Fischer were executed, even though they were completely innocent. Louis Lingg committed suicide in his cell to deny his executioners the satisfaction. Miguel Schwab, Samuel Bielden and Oscar Neebbe served sentences until 1893 when their cases were reviewed and their innocence was proven. Throughout the trial and in the years that followed, protests grew. Workers at the Constituent Congress of the Second Workers' International in 1889 in Paris, France, decided to hold a major international demonstration in as many countries and cities as possible on May 1, 1890. In the United States, the government strictly prohibited the celebration of this date.

1891: The Sioux and Dakota peoples are "pacified" by the U.S. Army, which completes the theft of all the lands in the Western Hemisphere that belonged to Indigenous peoples. They are sent to concentration camps called "reservations" and provided with ample alcohol to dull their senses and undermine their spirit of resistance. Since 1866, throughout the territory now occupied by the United States, the army has killed thousands of Indigenous people in more than a thousand attacks – always with trivial pretexts and with the goal of depriving them of their immense wealth.

1892: In an attempt to intimidate the government of Haiti into ceding Mole Saint-Nicholas Bay, U.S. Navy ships blockaded its coast. U.S. Marine infantry invaded Chile and fought with nationalist rebels defending their homeland against foreign occupation.

1893: In the United States, army troops suppressed a strike in the silver mines in Idaho. The workers' demands for their rights were forcefully denied. In the same year, U.S. Marine troops intervened and overthrew the independent kingdom of Hawaii, annexing the territory to the U.S., thereby expanding its vast possessions, most of which were acquired through questionable means.

1894: In Chicago, troops prevented a strike by railroad workers, resulting in the death of 34 American workers at the hands of the military.

1894-1896: Marines landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, "to safeguard the trade and navigation of American citizens." They also landed in Panama, which was then a province of Colombia, and occupied the Port of Corinto in Nicaragua, as well as the town of Bluefields for several months. Marines disembarked in China to intervene in the Sino-Japanese War. During the war, the U.S. Navy occupied Seoul, the capital of Korea.

1897: In Minnesota, army troops fought against the Chippewa in Leech Lake.

1898: In East Asia, the Boxer Rebellion in China was fought against by foreign armies, including American forces. The U.S. Navy and the army invaded the Philippines, wresting control from Spain, resulting in the deaths of 600,000 Filipinos.

That same year, the mysterious explosion of the battleship Maine on February 15 in Havana, which appears to have been a self-inflicted act by the U.S., provided the perfect pretext for the U.S. government to unleash the Spanish-American War. They invaded Cuba and seized it from Spain to control it as if it were their protectorate. They still maintain a military base in Guantanamo, where prisoners have been tortured.

On July 25, U.S. Marine troops invaded Puerto Rico and occupied the territory colonized by Spain. This occupation continues to the present day, disguised as a "Commonwealth." Independent Puerto Rican leaders like Pedro Albizu Campos, who fought against the colonization of their country throughout their lives, have been brutally suppressed.

In the same year, Guam in the Western Pacific was taken from Spain and subsequently used as a U.S. military base; the occupation continues to this day.

1899: On November 1, Chicanos rebelled in New Mexico. They were outraged by national and social discrimination and opposed the usurpation of their communal land. The rebels were known as the "White Caps," and for ten years, they were pursued and suppressed by U.S. security forces.

In that year, U.S. Marines landed in Bluefields and San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, where they remained for a month. Once again, the U.S. army occupied the Coeur d'Alene region in Idaho in order to subdue the workers.

In the Pacific, they intervened in Samoa, a country covering the westernmost group of the Samoan archipelago in Polynesia, to participate in the battle for succession to the throne.

1900: From Washington, the Foraker Act was enacted, officially turning the island of Puerto Rico into a colony of the United States.

The 19th century had ended with the formation of U.S. imperialism, which propelled its quest for global hegemony.

New Century, Old Practices

The 20th century is pivotal in the global expansion of the American Empire, a period in which it achieved its hegemony.

1900: From Washington, the Foraker Act was enacted, officially turning the island of Puerto Rico into a colony.

1901: In Oklahoma, the U.S. army combated the Creek Indigenous uprising. In the same year, U.S. sailors intervened in the revolution in Honduras, while ground troops were stationed in the Dominican Republic.

1901-1914: Panama was invaded by the United States, leading to a rupture between the U.S. and Colombia, after which the U.S. annexed the canal zone from 1914 until 1999.

In its quest to seize the Panama Canal, the United States tried to impose a treaty on Colombia. When the Colombian government refused to sign, Washington threatened by mobilizing warships and, through intrigue, achieved the separation of Panama.

1903: The United States imposes a treaty on Cuba, granting rights to establish coal depots and naval bases at strategic points on the island. Through the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903, the United States occupies Guantanamo to set up a U.S. naval base of approximately 117.6 square kilometres and establishes a military prison spanning 28.5 square kilometres.

In the same year, U.S. Marines disembark in Honduras to crush its revolution while simultaneously invading the Dominican Republic, quelling the ongoing revolution there.

Back in the United States, the U.S. army attempts to suppress armed labour strikes in Colorado but fails due to the organization and resistance of workers defending their rights. The struggle of American workers expands over 15 months and culminates in the achievement of an eight-hour workday across the country.

1904: U.S. President Roosevelt, concerning Venezuela's debts, announces his Big Stick policy to impose discipline on the political aspirations of South America. With the Platt Amendment, the United States grants itself the right to intervene in Cuba, effectively controlling and subordinating the island.

1904-1905: U.S. Marine troops land in Korea to openly intervene in the Russo-Japanese War.

1906: Cuba suffers an invasion by U.S. troops who occupy the country for three years, placing it under their military administration and seizing customs duties. They also prevent the country from holding democratic elections for its own leaders.

1906: Invasion of Mexico by 275 soldiers, known as rangers, coming from Arizona in defence of the American Mr. William Cornell Greene, owner of the Cananea copper mine in Sonora. The U.S. soldiers massacred dozens of striking workers and miners' family members.

1907: The United States intervenes in Nicaragua to oust the government of Zelaya. In the same year, as an armed conflict erupts in Honduras and Nicaragua, the U.S. Marines occupy Trujillo, Ceiba, Puerto Cortés, San Pedro and Choloma, all in the name of "safeguarding U.S. interests" and establishing the protectorate of the "Dollar Diplomacy." The U.S. aspires to economic and geopolitical domination in Central America and the Caribbean, considering it their "mare nostrum" as they call it

1908: U.S. Marine troops occupy the Panama Canal Zone and interfere in that nation's electoral campaign. The following year, in 1909, they land in Bluefields and Corinto, Nicaragua, to prevent the consolidation of the victory of the Liberal Party, which was not aligned with their interests. Later, the U.S. Army intervenes in the civil war in Honduras.

1911-1941: In Asia, for 30 years, the U.S. Army violently intervenes in China.

1912: U.S. troops intervene in Panama to oversee presidential elections. They also do so in Puerto Cortés, Honduras, and in Havana, Cuba, to protect their interests. Additionally, in the same year, President Taft orders the invasion of the Dominican Republic with 750 sailors to "supervise" customs collections. They invade again in 1916 and remain there until 1924. On August 16, there was a landing in Nicaragua, a nation that was bombed and militarily occupied for 20 years, preventing the victory of the patriots. The invasion continues until 1933.

1913: On February 9, under the direct command of the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Henry Lane Wilson – instigated by the oil companies to whom Madero had decreed a three-cent tax per barrel of oil – the rebellion of Victoriano Huerta and Félix Díaz – the nephew of Porfirio Díaz – begins to overthrow the legitimate and democratically elected government of Francisco I. Madero. Later, Wilson orders the assassinations of the President and Vice President of Mexico.

1914: The U.S. Army suppressed the strike of coal miners in Colorado, USA. Then, on July 16, they invaded the Dominican Republic.

1914: U.S. troops bombard and land in the port of Veracruz, Mexico, and occupy the city for a year. They aim to prevent the victory of Emiliano Zapata and Francisco Villa in the revolutionary movement led by the Mexican people. On May 10, Lieutenant José Azueta was wounded while fighting the invaders. U.S. Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher sent him a doctor, but Azueta rejected him, saying, "From the invaders not even life!" He died at the age of 19.

1915: After the revolution that overthrew the tyrant General Vilbrun Guillaume Sam, the United States invaded Haiti. The U.S. Army looted the bank in Port-au-Prince, bombed the country and began an occupation that lasted 19 long years. The U.S. was interested in preventing Dr. Rosalvo Bobo, known for his anti-imperialist positions, from rising to the presidency.

1916: U.S. Marines land in the Dominican Republic, attacking it, and the popular resistance is brutally crushed. The Latin nation is occupied by marines for 8 years.

1916: On April 10, a contingent of the U.S. Army, led by General Pershing, invades Mexico in pursuit of the revolutionary Francisco Villa. They enter Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua, and attack the population, leaving 50 victims dead or wounded. They withdraw defeated the following year.

1916: The United States enters World War I, commanded by General Pershing, by declaring war on Germany. 114,000 Americans die in the conflict. By the way, General Pershing, defeated by Villa, whom he could never capture, commanded the U.S. Army in World War I.

1917: The U.S. Navy lands in Cuba to support the pro-American government of Mario García Menocal and defeat the liberal insurrection known as La Chambelona. They establish an economic protectorate, and the military occupation continues until 1933.

1918-1920: Under the pretext of defending U.S. interests, its troops land in Honduras and Guatemala and intervene in Panama through "police activities" to control the elections in their favor.

1918: The U.S. Navy invades Russia to combat the socialist revolution in the USSR, and the American army remains there until 1922 fighting against the Bolsheviks.

1919: U.S. troops intervene in Yugoslavia, supporting Italy against the Serbs in Dalmatia. A new landing takes place in Honduras during the electoral campaign.

1920-1921: The U.S. Army acts against coal miners in West Virginia. On November 21, Ricardo Flores Magón, a brave social activist and precursor of the Mexican Revolution, is assassinated in the Leavenworth prison in Kansas. That year, the U.S. intervenes in Guatemala for two weeks to combat the unionists.

1922: The U.S. army fights against nationalists in Izmir, Turkey. The same year, they deploy troops in China during the nationalist uprising.

1924-1925: The U.S. Army intervenes in the civil war in Honduras to defend the United Fruit Company, invading the country twice during the electoral situation.

1925: Invasion of Panama. The adventurer Richard O. Marsh, former Charge d'Affaires of the United States in Panama, tries to create the so-called "Republic of Tule" there. Months later, U.S. troops occupy several cities in Panama to suppress a labour movement that is turning into a popular insurrection.

1926: U.S. troops land in Nicaragua to prevent the popular rebellion against the pro-American government of Adolfo Díaz. The revolution is led by General Augusto César Sandino, who begins popular resistance against the invaders.

1932: The U.S. Army suppresses a protest by World War I veterans demanding bonuses in Washington D.C.

That year, U.S. warships enter the Salvadoran port of Acajutla to prevent disorders that could affect "American interests," while the dictator Maximiliano Martínez murders thousands of Salvadoran workers and peasants with impunity during the Farabundo Martí revolt.

1933: U.S. ships blockade Cuba, threatening armed intervention.

1941: On December 8, the United States declares war on Japan, and on December 11 of the same month, on Germany and Italy.

1943: The U.S. Army crushes the rebellion of African Americans in Detroit, United States.

1945: On August 1, the United States commits a heinous crime against Japan and all of humanity by dropping the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, causing tens of thousands of deaths and injuries among the civilian population. On August 8 (despite the Japanese government's desire to surrender), in order to experiment with their new atomic weapons, they drop another bomb on Nagasaki, resulting in around 200,000 innocent deaths and the complete destruction of the cities. The aftermath of both nuclear bombs on the civilian population was felt for decades after this horrendous genocide.

1945-1949: The United States intervenes in China with 113,000 troops to prevent the victory of the People's Revolution.

1946-1949: The armies of England and the United States intervene in Greece, supported by their navies and air force, to quell the popular democratic revolution of the anti-fascist forces that had triumphed against the nazi invasion and establish a monarchy.

1946: Nuclear threats against Iran to make the Soviets leave Azerbaijan, and a naval movement against Yugoslavia because they had shot down a U.S. plane.

1947: The U.S. Marine Corps occupies Paraguay to crush the popular uprising and establish a military dictatorship. They use nuclear threats and bombing raids against the country.

1948: With 90,000 men, the United States helps crush the popular insurgency in the Philippines. They intervene in China before the revolutionary movement's victory. Nuclear-capable bombings protect the Berlin Airlift. They use nuclear threats against Germany.

1948-1954: The CIA leads the war against the Huk rebellion in the Philippines.

1950: They crush the independent rebellion in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

1950-1953: The United States invades Korea in a war conducted in the name of the United Nations. They bomb and destroy the entire country, killing thousands of Koreans. To this day, they maintain military bases in South Korea. In the conflict, 33,000 Americans lost their lives, and they were ultimately defeated.

Unbridled Interventionism and Nuclear Threat

1953: The CIA overthrows the democratically elected nationalist government of Mohammad Mosaddegh in Iran to impose the Shah. The U.S. was enraged because Mosaddegh had nationalized the oil industry. On the other hand, in Central America that same year, U.S. troops land in the Port of Corinto, Nicaragua, occupying various areas.

1954: Mercenary intervention against Guatemala, directed by the CIA, to overthrow the democratic government of Jacobo Arbenz, after he nationalized the land of the United Fruit Company. That same year, the Pentagon offers atomic bombs to France for use against Vietnam.

1956: In the Suez Canal conflict, the U.S. 6th Fleet intervenes to evacuate 2,500 Americans living in the area. There was a nuclear threat against Egypt, leading the U.S. Marine Corps to intervene in evacuating foreigners from the area.

1958: The United States carries out various interventions and threats: they invade Lebanon with 14,200 Marines to defeat rebel forces and support the government. There is a nuclear threat against Iraq to prevent it from invading Kuwait. There is also a threat in Panama, where there were protests against the American flag, which was burned by the demonstrators who were violently repressed.

1960: CIA agents explode the La Coubre cargo ship in Havana Bay, resulting in a tragic loss of lives and injuries. Pirated planes from the United States also bomb different parts of the country. In the same year, U.S. troops fire from the Canal Zone at the Panamanian people, who defended their sovereignty by demanding that the Panamanian flag be raised in the U.S.-occupied zone. Also in Central America, U.S. warships dock in Nicaraguan ports to assist the Somoza government in repressing the popular movement.

1961: Mercenaries trained and financed by the CIA invade Cuba, resulting in the first major defeat of U.S. imperialism in the Americas. On April 19, the Cuban people emerge victorious at the Bay of Pigs. In the same year, the United States begins its military intervention in Vietnam, where it would be defeated in 1975. During the invasion, 55,000 Americans and approximately two million Vietnamese died. Between 1968 and 1969, there was a threat of detonating atomic bombs. In Vietnam, the U.S. military used chemical weapons like napalm, which were used to bomb the civilian population. In just the village of My Lai, 500 people were massacred.

1961: During the Berlin Wall crisis in Germany, the United States threatened to use atomic bombs.

1962: U.S. military intervention to support the government of Laos and defeat the rebels.

1964: Panamanian students are attacked and shot by U.S. occupation troops, led by the Southern Command; the brutal aggression leaves 22 dead and hundreds wounded. This bloody attack on the civilian population was due to the protesters demanding the dismantling of U.S. military bases in the country, the withdrawal of troops and the restoration of national sovereignty.

1964: The United States, England and Belgium intervene in the Congo with 10,000 troops and 60 planes. Also in that year, the Americans invade Laos with 50,000 troops.

1965: Invasion of the Dominican Republic to crush the constitutionalist revolution led by Colonel Francisco Caamaño. The Dominican people resist heroically, but the country is occupied by interventionist forces.

1965: The United States commits a crime of enormous proportions: one million people are killed in Indonesia as a result of a military coup supported by the CIA.

1966-1967: The Green Berets, special forces of the U.S. Army, intervene against rebels in Guatemala. On February 9, 1966, in the Dominican Republic, the government (a U.S. puppet) orders the machine-gunning of students who were conducting a demonstration demanding a larger budget, recognition of the University Council and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from educational institutions and the country. This criminal action was met with the condemnation of the people, and students in Latin America and around the world took to the streets demanding that the Americans withdraw their troops from the country.

1967: The U.S. army violently suppresses the black population in Detroit demanding their rights, resulting in 43 deaths. With the CIA's assistance, Commander Ernesto Che Guevara is assassinated in Bolivia. After the Six-Day War, Israel, with U.S. support, invades the Egyptian Sinai, the Syrian Golan Heights and the West Bank.

1968: Following the vile assassination of Martin Luther King, more than 21,000 soldiers take to the streets in U.S. cities. In Vietnam, the revolutionary Tet offensive begins, leading to the expulsion of the American invaders and the victory of the Vietnamese people.

1970-1975: The U.S. invades Cambodia with over 70,000 military personnel. Nearly two million people die in a decade of bombings, hunger and chaos. In 1970, the United States directs the invasion of Oman, in an operation by Iranian marines.

1971-1973: With direct participation from the CIA, military coups take place in Bolivia and El Salvador, imposing cruel dictatorships. In an operation on commission, the United States directs the invasion of Laos, bombards rural areas and Vietnamese forces fall under its control. Meanwhile, in the Middle East, it threatens a nuclear attack.

1973: In Chile, the CIA orchestrates a fascist coup on September 11 against the Popular Unity government. President Salvador Allende is overthrown and killed; he had nationalized copper mines. Following this coup, the implementation of neoliberalism in Chile begins, later spreading worldwide. In the same year, the U.S. army besieges the Lakota people at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.

1975: The U.S. intervenes with troops in Cambodia. They bomb a gas ship, resulting in 28 deaths.

1976-1992: In Angola, the CIA aids counter-revolutionaries, supported by the racist regime of South Africa.

1976: After the popular victory against the U.S. invasion, North and South Vietnam reunify on July 2.

1979: Following the triumph of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, which ended the Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua, the Reagan administration initiates a blockade, interference and sabotage against the Sandinista revolution.

1980: Nuclear threats against Iran following the revolution against the Shah. The intervention in Iran fails when U.S. Navy helicopters collide, resulting in the death of eight soldiers.

1981: In Libya, two jets are shot down during U.S. military manoeuvres.

1981-1990: In Nicaragua, U.S. Marines and the CIA lead the "Contra" invasion, mine the ports and actively support the fight against the Sandinista government.

1981-1992: Troops, advisors and air flights assist the U.S.-backed government of El Salvador in its war against the FMLN (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front).

1982: With nearly two thousand troops, the United States invades Lebanon.

1982-1984: The U.S. Marines expel the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and support the Phalangists in Lebanon. They bomb Syrian positions in Lebanon after accusing Damascus of an attack on the U.S. Embassy that killed 239 soldiers.

1983: The U.S. Navy helps build bases on the borders of Honduras. Additionally, two thousand soldiers, including Rangers and Marines, invade the Caribbean island of Grenada after the overthrow and execution of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, leader of the New Jewel popular movement.

1984: The United States shoots down two Iranian jets over the Persian Gulf.

1986: In an effort to overthrow Lebanon's nationalist government, the United States bombs the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi. U.S. Army troops make incursions into the coca-producing region in support of Bolivia's government.

1987-1989: U.S. Navy and Air Force intervention to bomb Iran, supporting Iraq in the war. The goal is to halt the Iranian revolution.

1987: On January 9, it is discovered in the United States that President Reagan ordered funding for the downfall of the Iranian government and concealed it from Congress.

1989: The U.S. Navy shoots down two Libyan jets. Troops intervene during the black riots in St. Croix. Jet aircraft provide air support to the Philippine government. On November 20, the U.S. invades Panama, overthrowing the Noriega government, killing seven thousand residents of the El Chorrillo neighbourhood and detaining 27 thousand Panamanians.

1989: While the U.S. increases military spending, social programs in education, health and housing are cut. In a country with 25 million poor people, 3 million homeless, a 40% functional illiteracy rate, a deteriorating healthcare system and a growing prevalence of infectious diseases, infant mortality ranks twentieth, below that of Cuba. In 1988, the number of babies born with syphilis increased sevenfold, with 800 municipalities lacking clinics.

1990: U.S. troops intervene in Liberia.

1990: 57 Mexicans are murdered on the Mexico-United States border, victimized by racist groups or the Border Patrol. In just the first two weeks of May, 10 Mexicans were killed at the border, including 12-year-old Herminio Jiménez and 26-year-old José Eleazar López, who was shot eight times. The crimes remain unpunished and are encouraged by racist U.S. authorities.

1990: "Death Squads," paramilitary organizations advised by the CIA, killed 1,582 people in Guatemala, kidnapped and disappeared 381, and injured and tortured 504, the majority of whom were women and young people. In just a year and a half, 40,000 refugees fled to Mexico, mostly indigenous Quichés, Mames, Tzutuhiles, Pocomames, Cakchiqueles, Kekchíes and Kanjobales.

1990-1991: U.S. troops and aircraft are sent to Saudi Arabia to combat Iraq following its invasion of Kuwait. George Bush Sr. initiates the war against Iraq, unleashing the so-called Gulf War. There were bombings of Iraq, naval blockades against Iraq and Jordan, and more than 200,000 deaths during the conflict. Over 500,000 U.S. soldiers were involved. Since 1993, Americans and British have been selectively bombing oil-rich Iraq.

1991: During his term as Texas governor, George W. Bush executed 152 prisoners, imposing the death penalty. The Navy bombs Kuwait. The royal family returns to the throne with U.S. support.

1992: After 12 years of war, peace is signed in El Salvador. Throughout this time, the U.S. granted $40 billion to repressive governments, trained Salvadoran military personnel at Fort Bragg and Fort Benning, resulting in the deaths of 75,000 Salvadorans, including six Jesuit priests, six leaders of the Democratic Revolutionary Front and six nuns who were tortured, raped and executed. Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero, who promoted peace and urged soldiers to disobey orders to kill, was assassinated during mass. The following day, dozens of people attending his funeral were massacred in retaliation. This priest's message caused the emigration of over one million residents out of the 5.5 million living in El Salvador.

1992: Army and Marine Corps troops intervened in Los Angeles, California, during a popular uprising against police brutality. The wave of violence resulted in 58 deaths, 2,400 injuries, 18,000 arrests and the destruction of 5,000 properties.

1992-1994: U.S. troops and the UN occupied Somalia and conducted raids against a faction in Mogadishu.

1993: U.S. troops suffered a defeat and withdrew in March 1994. NATO blockaded Serbia and Montenegro, and then the United States interfered in Yugoslavia.

1993-1995: In Bosnia, the United States intervened with jets and bombings.

1994-1996: Intervention and blockade against Haiti's military government in support of President Aristide in power.

1995: Bombing in Croatia. Serbian airports in Krajina were attacked.

1996: The University of Houston's Center for Immigration Research in Texas revealed that at least 3,200 undocumented immigrants died on the Texas-Mexico border from 1984 to 1994.

1997: The United States sent troops to Liberia and Albania to evacuate foreigners.

1998: In Sudan, the U.S. Air Force launched missiles against a pharmaceutical plant. It also attacked Taliban training camps with missiles in Afghanistan and unleashed four days of airstrikes against Iraq for alleged obstruction.

1999: Bombing and missile strikes against Yugoslavia by NATO.

2000: In Yemen, the U.S. Navy intervened following a suicide attack against the USS Cole destroyer, equipped with the capability to launch guided missiles, which had anchored in the Yemeni port of Aden, a city with a population of about 800,000 inhabitants and the former capital of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen).

The 21st Century Begins, and Washington's Attacks Escalate

2000: In Yemen, the U.S. Navy intervenes following a suicide attack against the USS Cole destroyer.

2001: The U.S. and its allies invade Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, occupying the country for 20 years and causing tens of thousands of deaths.

Fourteen Mexican immigrants die in Arizona. From 1995 to 2001 alone, over 1,600 people died while crossing the border. A wall has been erected there, and the area has been militarized.

2002: In Venezuela, from April 11 to 13, there is a coup attempt supported by Washington against President Hugo Chávez, which fails due to widespread popular mobilization.

Starting this year, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia are targeted with drone attacks, affecting the civilian population and opposed by the UN.

The U.S. intervenes in the Philippines under the pretext of the "War on Terror."

The U.S. Supreme Court denies undocumented immigrants labour rights, violating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights promulgated by the UN in 1948.

2003: The U.S. and its allies invade Iraq under the pretext of alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction, which was later proven false. Civilian casualties number in the hundreds of thousands.

2007: Pakistan suffers drone strikes by the U.S. Additionally, Somalia is subjected to bombings against Somali militias.

2008: Without UN authorization, Obama escalates attacks in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, resulting in many casualties.

2009: The U.S. resumes missile strikes on the Pakistan border and bombs Yemen. The U.S. continues the military integration of Mexico through the Merida Initiative and the participation of the Mexican Navy in Mayport, Florida, in UNITAS 5009 from April 15 to May 5.

Honduras experiences a military coup against President Manuel Zelaya, who sought to hold a plebiscite to implement a Constituent Assembly.

2010: On September 30, in Ecuador, the police mutiny and President Rafael Correa denounces it as an attempted coup.

2011: NATO forces led by the U.S. bomb Libya, targeting the country's water network and infrastructure. In October, President Gaddafi is assassinated.

With armed forces in Pakistan, without informing the country's government, the U.S. carries out an attack and kills people. They claim to have killed Bin Laden (a former CIA operative whose family has business ties with the Bush family). They do not show the corpse and dispose of it at sea. Additionally, Yemen, Pakistan and Somalia suffer targeted drone strikes.

In the U.S., resistance by workers and their unions against harsh anti-labour laws and demands for more concessions to U.S. monopolies intensifies. The strike by Verizon workers and mass actions in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and New York develop.

2011: Defying opposition from the U.S. and Israel, the Palestinians requested that the United Nations accept them as a member state and recognize them as the 194th country, in addition to respecting the pre-1967 borders. Obama vetoed it in the UN Security Council.

2012: Barack Obama, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, retained Guantanamo, bombed Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, etc.

The U.S. government set a record in arms sales. In 2011, it sold $30 billion worth of arms, and in 2012, it sold $50 billion worth.

There was a strike in Chicago, USA, with 26,000 teachers affiliated with the CTU (Chicago Teachers Union) and school support staff fighting against teacher evaluations and dismissals.

In July, the U.S. intensified its interventions in Syria and across the Asian front.

South Korea and the U.S. conducted massive military manoeuvres in the Yellow Sea, near the Chinese border, also provoking the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

In Paraguay, the first parliamentary coup under the concept of "lawfare" was carried out against Fernando Lugo, who was impeached in an irregular political trial driven by the Paraguayan right and supported by the U.S.

2013: In Yemen, two U.S. drones bombed the Maarib province in the north of the capital, Sanaa.

In the U.S., there was a large movement of teachers, students and families against the closure of schools, as seen in Chicago and Philadelphia, aimed at privatizing them as "charter schools." This year saw 140 actions in 40 U.S. cities demanding an end to deportations and migration legislation that defends the rights of all workers and migrants. On October 5, the March for Dignity and Respect for Migrants took place.

In March, the U.S. deployed bombers and nuclear submarines on the Korean Peninsula, along the border between North and South Korea, with the aim of gaining control over the Asia-Pacific region and targeting the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, known as North Korea. Misinformation was used to blame North Korea.

In Venezuela, the U.S. promoted economic warfare and sabotage against the government of Nicolás Maduro.

2014: The U.S. bombed Erbil in northern Iraq.

Starting in 2014, the U.S. and its allies conducted over 11,000 airstrikes against Syria.

In Venezuela, the U.S. supported opposition to the government that promoted violent actions called "guarimbas," which resulted in the deaths of 43 people.

On March 3, the police arrested hundreds of people who had chained themselves to the White House fence to protest the Keystone XL pipeline project.

2015: The U.S. supports the Saudi Arabian military intervention in Yemen, called Operation Decisive Storm.

2016: Brazil experiences a coup against President Dilma Rousseff by the parliament.

2017: In Venezuela, to overthrow the government, the U.S. encourages the resumption of violent actions. Venezuela suffers over 120 deaths. The attempted coup fails.

In North Dakota, USA, the police suppress protests against the construction of an oil pipeline, leaving 167 protesters injured.

2018: On August 4, an attack targeted President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, on Bolívar Avenue in Caracas during an event of the Bolivarian National Guard.

2019: The U.S. promotes international non-recognition of President Maduro, supporting Juan Guaidó.

Through the OAS, the U.S. foments a coup in Bolivia against President Evo Morales. Jeanine Añez (who is now in prison) self-proclaimed herself president of the country, and her de facto government caused at least 37 civilian deaths at the hands of the police and armed forces.

In December, Donald Trump bombed Iraq with F-15 planes. They attacked the Popular Mobilization Forces, which are part of the Iraqi army. Iraqi parliament demanded the expulsion of foreign troops. The U.S. maintains 5,000 troops in Iraq.

2020: Washington bombed and executed General Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, head of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq.

In the U.S., George Floyd was killed. After dozens of violent deaths of African Americans at the hands of the police, a wave of outrage arose. The NGO Mapping Police Violence stated that Black people are nearly three times more likely to be killed by police than white people.

In July, Venezuela denounced the "furtive entry" of the U.S. nuclear missile-armed warship USS Pinckney into its contiguous zone.

In the U.S., the Sioux people rose against the construction of an oil pipeline. In July, a U.S. court ordered the temporary closure of the 1,900-km Dakota Access Pipeline due to its environmental impact, a significant victory for the Sioux indigenous people.

The U.S. bombed two weapons storage facilities in Syria and one in Iraq, which were supported by Iranian militias.

The U.S. admitted to providing support to Saudi Arabia in the massacre of civilians in the Yemeni war.

2021: The 60-year-long blockade against the Cuban people continues. They don't allow food, medicine or equipment to reach Cuba. The U.S. maliciously attacks Cuba, pays mercenaries to protest and spreads fake news with thousands of bots on social media.

On February 26, U.S. forces launched an airstrike in Syria and also bombed Iraq. That week, Biden beat the drums of war. With complete disregard for Syria's sovereignty and the rights of its people, the U.S. bombed the territory of another country, violated rights, killed and wounded people, all while trying to intimidate and maintain its declining hegemony. Will they give him the Nobel Prize?

The U.S. sends weapons to Taiwan, seeking control of the Taiwan Strait. China considers it part of its territory. The U.S. aims to separate it from China.

U.S. invading troops, defeated, withdraw from Afghanistan.

Israeli airstrikes against Palestinians continue. Their violations of international laws are blatant; they violate UN resolutions but are backed by the U.S.

In November, the United Nations General Assembly condemned the U.S. blockade against Cuba for the thirtieth time, with 185 votes in favour, while the U.S. and Israel voted against.

The U.S. continues to maintain the occupation of Guantanamo and its prison in that Cuban territory.

2022: In August, attacks in Syria targeted groups settled in the area supported by Iran.

Since the beginning of the war between Russia and Ukraine, the value of the top 15 arms companies in the world, of which 9 are from the U.S. and are publicly traded, has skyrocketed by around $81.5 billion.

The U.S. averted a strike by railroad workers with a law that was passed in just two days.

The largest academic strike in the U.S. erupted, with 50,000 workers from the University of California going on strike due to low wages and a lack of rights.

The U.S. has 1.3 million troops, 13,200 aircraft, 6,600 tanks and 484 warships, including 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, dozens of destroyers, and submarines to maintain its global hegemony.

The United States is the only nation in the world with more civilian-owned firearms than people, with 120 of these instruments for every 100 inhabitants. According to the Small Arms Survey (SAS) organization, Americans possess 393 million of the 857 million civilian firearms in the world.

In Peru, on December 7, President Pedro Castillo was removed from office by the Congress of the Republic and detained. Dina Boluarte assumed power, and in response to protests, a repression was unleashed that resulted in over 55 deaths in a few weeks.

The U.S. allocates $45 billion to Ukraine in the 2023 budget and increases the military budget by 4% for 2023, bringing the total military budget to $813 billion.

In the U.S., the labour and union movement is growing and gaining prestige. Over the past year and a half, workers' struggle has intensified like never before in decades. Around 140 Starbucks locations have organized unions. Workers at Amazon succeeded in their union election. For the first time, an Apple Store has won a union election. More than 100,000 people have participated in labour strikes, with notable strikes at Kellogg's and John Deere.

Throughout its history, Washington has demonstrated its anti-popular and imperialistic nature. Its aggressive character remains unchanged, as does its ambition for global domination. It will be the peoples of the U.S. and the world who will reclaim their sovereignty and put an end to these abuses.

García Luna and the United States

Twenty-one attorney generals from various states in the neighbouring country to the north have called on President Joe Biden to declare Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. This is very dangerous because if they do so, it would give them a pretext to go as far as invade Mexico to take action against these "terrorists," trampling on our national sovereignty. These attorney generals, all Republicans, made this request on February 8 to the federal government, urging it to "exercise the power conferred by Congress to take swift and decisive measures to combat this deadly scourge." This is a threat. Let's not forget that in February 2017, Trump suggested sending troops to our territory to "assist" Mexico in fighting the "bad hombres," and it's clear that this is just a pretext for intervening in our country, as they have done repeatedly.

In the 19th century, the U.S. stole more than half of our territory, including what are now the states of California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah, as well as parts of Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming. After invading Mexico, the United States seized 2,263,866 square kilometres of our country, which represents more than half of its territory and more than Mexico's current land area. They expanded their territories to more than three times their size in 1783 when they had 888,811 square miles, ultimately reaching 3,022,387 square miles by the end of the 19th century.

The northern neighbour has been an invader and plunderer of foreign territories and resources since 1776. Mexico has been dispossessed, and the historical memory of Mexicans remains alive, which is why there is so much resistance to the plans of the northern neighbour. In the 20th century, in 1906, hundreds of soldiers invaded Mexico. These troops, called rangers, came from Arizona to defend the American Mr. William Cornell Greene, the owner of the Cananea copper mine in Sonora. The American soldiers massacred dozens of striking workers and their families. It's worth mentioning that in 2007, the Cananea strike erupted again and has not been resolved in 15 years.

Today, they blame Mexico for causing drug addiction in their country when drug distribution in the United States began there following the large youth mobilizations in 1968. Nixon started a war on drugs in 1971, which began as a cover for distributing weapons. The neighbouring government has only managed to increase drug availability in their country and provide more pretexts for invading other countries and expanding their military bases worldwide. Last year, over 100,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, including fentanyl and others, but it is there where they distribute drugs, launder money and sell arms to the cartels. They should solve their problems at home and not threaten Mexico. It is documented that the CIA and the DEA have collaborated with cartels and with García Luna and Calderón. And Washington is the one who should control drug sales in its own country.

Mexicans must be vigilant because, as part of their plans for global hegemony, at a time when the United States is weakening, they count on being able to operate openly in our country, putting our population at risk. They want to hide their involvement in the drug trafficking scheme. This explains why the trial of Genaro García Luna concluded hastily in just one month, while it will take seven long months to deliver a verdict. The United States presents him as the sole responsible party for the crimes of the war on drugs. Only criminal drug traffickers who are protected witnesses testified against him, such as Sergio Villarreal, alias "El Grande," and the "Rey Zambada," who claimed to have given $5 million to García Luna, among others. They excluded two-thirds of the witnesses, as they only presented 26 out of the 71 they had considered, without calling any witnesses from the CIA, DEA or ATF, with whom the accused worked closely. Not only that, in the U.S., they showered García Luna with awards and accolades, recognizing the work of someone who always worked shoulder to shoulder with them. Did the police agencies have nothing to do with him and his criminal activity? It's clear that the U.S. Department of Justice wants to erase traces of "the hand that rocks the cradle." It's no coincidence that the day after Felipe Calderón's name was exposed, they decided to conclude the presentation of witnesses.

García Luna was not tried in Mexico, as it should have been; instead, it is becoming normal for justice to be administered in the United States, as if there were no laws or enforcement authorities in Mexico. What is the status of the Attorney General's Office and the judicial system in our country? In the United States, they made a spectacle in front of their population, trying to show Mexicans, both criminals and authorities, as guilty of the deaths of thousands of Americans due to fentanyl and other drugs. But what role did the U.S. government and its agencies play? What did Felipe Calderón and his government have to do with it? And how much did both governments know about García Luna's activities?

Why does Felipe Calderón claim he didn't know about García Luna's escapades? It is known that he was warned several times, including by the Undersecretary of National Defence, General Tomás Angeles Dauahare, in 2007, about García Luna's role. What Calderón did was imprison him; General Tomás Angeles was in prison during Calderón's government and was exonerated in 2013. The same happened to Commander Javier Herrera Valles of the Federal Preventive Police, who warned about the issue on February 14, 2008, and also ended up in prison. Felipe Calderón did know, but was it just him? There is much talk about Calderón's war on drug trafficking and how García Luna was his operator. However, for years, it has been emphasized that it is not Calderón's war; it is Washington's war. In fact, on January 26, 2010, the newspaper El Universal reported that there was a meeting in Cuernavaca in October before Calderón's inauguration, attended by the head of the DEA, Karen Tandy, along with Eduardo Medina Mora and García Luna, where the decision to launch the war on drugs was made.

But U.S. officials act as if they have nothing to do with it. When García Luna left the Secretariat of Public Security in 2013, James Clapper, the top intelligence official in the Obama administration, stated that Mexico had been elevated to the highest category as a potential threat to the United States.

Two years earlier, on February 8, 2011, Joseph Westphal, the U.S. Undersecretary of the Army, declared that in Mexico, there is a form of "insurgency" led by drug cartels that could take over the government, leading to a direct U.S. military invasion of Mexican territory. The next day, on February 9, Janet Napolitano, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security (2009-2013), speculated in the U.S. Congress about a possible alliance between the Zetas and Al Qaeda and warned of a very vigorous response, although she stated that she was working closely with Felipe Calderón on this issue. So, this policy of branding us as the bad guys, the savages who need to be controlled, has a long history. The real question should be: What role do they play? Has the United States been aware of everything?

They have had resources, let's remember that, during Felipe Calderón's time, the binational intelligence office was opened in Mexico at Reforma 265, where all U.S. intelligence agencies operated on Mexican territory. Also, around that time, a police training academy was established. The U.S. ambassador inaugurated it in Salvador Chachapa, Puebla, to train Mexicans. Genaro García Luna was the first director of the Federal Investigation Agency (AFI), which was modelled after the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). On September 1, 2001, during President Vicente Fox Quesada's First Government Report, he highlighted the FBI's support, which provided methodological, technical and training support, as well as collaborating in promoting "a new concept of the Mexican police to other U.S. institutions."

The intelligence agencies of the United States and Mexico have always been closely linked. García Luna worked for decades at CISEN (Centre for Research and National Security), and it is known that CISEN was in close cooperation with the CIA. Let's remember that interior ministers like Gustavo Díaz Ordaz and Luis Echeverría were CIA agents. Díaz Ordaz had the codename (LITEMPO-2), and Luis Echeverría's codename was (LITEMPO-8). Fernando Gutiérrez Barrios, the Secretary of the Interior during Salinas de Gortari's presidency, was also an agent with the codename (LITEMPO-4); he headed the Federal Security Directorate, which would later become CISEN. All intelligence agencies in both countries have strong ties.

Calderón did know, but did the United States not know? Did Obama not know? In 2013, when García Luna left the secretary position, according to The Washington Post, the black budget for espionage was $52.6 billion, and the CIA budget was $14.7 billion. It is also known that the largest CIA station is located in Mexico. With these resources, did the U.S. not know? If they had the binational intelligence office in Mexico at Reforma 265, did they know nothing?

It is very strange that in García Luna's trial, the witnesses are the criminals, the drug lords, who accuse him of bribery, and he is convicted as if this were an individual crime. Why was the trial closed so abruptly? Why was it closed the day after Calderón's name was mentioned? And above all, why did no one from the CIA, FBI, DEA or ATF testify? These are organizations García Luna worked closely with for years. They must have had a lot to say, but they were not called to testify.

It is clear that they are only showing Mexican criminals and hiding all the networks that exist at the highest levels of the governments of Mexico and the United States. García Luna is not an isolated individual criminal; he is part of a system that has been operating for decades on both sides of the border.

It's important to consider that the United States is in a position of growing weakness and is fighting for global hegemony against Russia and China. The U.S. views Mexico as part of its strategic space and included Mexico in the Northern Command in 2002. The Northern Command's mission is for the Pentagon to control territory from southern Mexico, from Chiapas, to northern Alaska. Mexico is in what the U.S. considers its security territory, which they must have perfectly under control. Even with the governments of Vicente Fox, Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto, a military integration began, following the economic integration that was initiated by Salinas de Gortari. They have already carried out direct U.S. military manoeuvres in Mexico, such as last year in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, and naval manoeuvres in Chetumal, and two years ago in Puerto Chiapas. So, this integration is growing, and it is very dangerous. Apparently, it is for coordination in security situations.

The United States has invaded 60 countries, so another invasion cannot be ruled out. In Mexico, there is an anti-imperialist sentiment, and it wouldn't be easy for them, but at some point, for reasons of national security, they can clearly do it, and they have themselves mentioned it. Trump said it, Joseph Westphal said it, Napolitano hinted at it and James Clapper mentioned it.

Mexico is being blamed for drug trafficking when $600 billion from drug trafficking is laundered in the United States. Drugs are sold and distributed across a country five times larger than Mexico. They don't talk about any cartels in the United States; they sell weapons to the cartels and even provide them, as we remember from "Fast and Furious." The issue of drug trafficking and the root problem is in the United States, not Mexico. However, they use the issue of drug trafficking to intervene in other countries, as in Colombia, and the results of their actions are evident. They had the same plan for Mexico, even calling it Plan Mexico, which created controversy because it was equated with Plan Colombia, so they ended up naming it the Mérida Initiative.

The United States is a hegemonic country that wants global control at all costs, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean. For the U.S., Mexico is strategic, and they want to control us one way or another. Therefore, we must be very vigilant about the dangers this entails and defend our sovereignty.

Danger of Military Intervention in Mexico

In recent weeks, the topic of a possible U.S. intervention in Mexico under the pretext of combatting drug cartels in our country has been at the forefront, particularly in light of the Genaro García Luna trial and his related revelations. On Monday, March 6, some Republican lawmakers in the United States proposed that their country's military combat nine drug cartels operating in Mexico. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador described this proposal as "propagandistic and interventionist."

On the same day, due to the tragic events in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar arrived at the National Palace for an urgent meeting with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to express concerns over the kidnapping of four American citizens. The Texan-hatted diplomat spent two long hours with the president. Unfortunately, despite swift action, only two of the kidnapped individuals could be rescued, as the other two were already deceased.

The neighbouring government responded immediately. On Tuesday, March 7, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby issued a warning: "The United States considers the kidnapping of four Americans in Mexico, two of whom were found dead, ‘unacceptable,' and wants justice to be served." In Mexico, Ambassador Salazar stated that Tamaulipas "represents a risk due to high levels of criminality and violence."

These murders are deeply regrettable, and Mexican justice, the government and society must take effective measures to reinforce security. However, it is noteworthy how the United States demonizes Mexico over these acts of violence and portrays an image of an ungovernable country in need of "help." It is as if the issue of violence is exclusive to our country, and they are not the ones contributing to violence by selling arms to the cartels, buying drugs from them, laundering drug money and allowing drug distribution across their territory, which is five times larger. They see the speck in our eye but not the beam in their own.

The most aggressive and violent country is our neighbour. It is worth considering that in just the first two months of 2023, there have been over 70 shootings and mass killings in the United States, resulting in the deaths of many Mexicans. Is the Mexican army going to invade its neighbour to "help them"? Last year, there were 692 mass shootings, with 28 of these criminal acts having four or more fatal victims each, according to the New York Times on November 23, 2022.

According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 1,500 Mexicans have died in the United States since 2014 due to drowning, lack of water, food, or shelter, violence or traveling in inhumane conditions. This situation is extremely violent and inhumane, resulting from policies that criminalize those who are simply seeking work and opportunities for their families.

Violence against Mexicans is ongoing. We cannot forget the massacre in which 19 children and two teachers were killed at a primary school in the predominantly Mexican-origin community of Uvalde, Texas, on May 24 last year.

In August 2019, twenty-three people, including Mexican citizens and individuals of Mexican descent, were killed inside a Wal-Mart in El Paso. The perpetrator, 24-year-old Patrick Crusius, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, February 8, to federal hate crime and weapons charges in the racially motivated attack. According to prosecutors, the attack was preceded by a diatribe posted online by the assailant in which he warned of an "Hispanic invasion" of Texas. It's worth noting that Mexicans are often referred to as "Hispanics" in the U.S. to erase our identity. Crusius confessed that the attack was aimed at Mexicans, making it one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history. Clearly, each nation must address its own issues at home. This is a matter of respect and sovereignty that should prevail at the international level. It is evident that our neighbouring country has many problems to address on its own territory and within its own society, without continuing to intervene in Mexico and other countries.

However, our neighbours are not letting up. U.S. Congressman Dan Crenshaw, along with Republican Michael Waltz, introduced a bill in February to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorists. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, from North Carolina – where the victims' vehicle plates were from – called for Mexican drug cartels to be included on the list of terrorists through his proposal called "Plan Mexico." He simultaneously criticized Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's administration and suggested taking a "tough" stance on Mexico. Furthermore, according to former U.S. Attorney General William Barr, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is the "chief facilitator of Mexican drug cartels," and he believes that U.S. intervention in Mexico is required due to the government's inaction. In an article published in The Wall Street Journal on March 2, Barr stated that "given the Mexican government's inaction in combatting drug cartels, it is time for the United States to intervene in Mexico" and he suggested nothing less than the intervention of the U.S. military to combat Mexican drug cartels and address the fentanyl crisis.

Additionally, current U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, in an attempt to discredit Mexico before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 1, stated, "There is no doubt that the epidemic is purposefully caused by criminal organizations operating in Mexico with the aim of undermining the social integrity of Americans, and the AMLO administration is not helping."

In another context but within the same campaign to discredit Mexico and its authorities for interventionist purposes, the U.S. Department of State, led by Antony Blinken, interfered in matters unrelated to defend the National Electoral Institute (INE). They declared on Twitter that democracy is not respected in Mexico and that the United States supports independent and well-funded electoral institutions that strengthen democratic processes and the rule of law. This disqualifies the current government and endorses the lavish spending of resources by Lorenzo Córdova and Ciro Murayama.

Before the multiple gatherings in defence of the INE, the U.S. newspaper The New York Times published an article, authored by journalist Natalie Kitroeff, in which it was suggested that the approval of Plan B could constitute a "blow to the institution overseeing elections that, two decades ago, helped remove the country from a one-party regime." In reality, the Plan B law only aims to prevent extravagances and does not seek to shut down this institution, as it allocates a substantial amount of 25 billion pesos to the INE. The reform to the electoral law is quite limited and not comprehensive because political parties and the well-compensated bureaucracy at the INE blocked a genuine electoral reform. Nevertheless, Washington defends the institution that has served its interests, as well as that of the oligarchy, by imposing its model of "democracy" in Mexico, ensuring alternation between the PRI and PAN parties. Thus, a reform that aims to save money and prevent abuses and privileges is used in the U.S. to question the state of democracy in Mexico.

It is as if the INE and its wasteful spending should remain untouched. As an example, Lorenzo Córdova has a net salary of 169,125.4 pesos. Additionally, he has a vehicle paid for by the institute, a bonus of up to 4,000 pesos to cover personal mobile phone costs, 720,000 pesos for advisors, 266,000 pesos in monthly benefits and spends 140,000 pesos on food. Now that he's leaving, he wants a 12 million pesos severance bonus. But according to Blinken, challenging their privileges is an attack on democracy.

The discrediting of Mexico, Mexicans and their institutions is done with the clear intention of intervening in our country, with the ultimate goal of integrating Mexico into their military plans. Such an intervention "to combat terrorism" would open the door for them to control our national territory, which they consider their "backyard" for military purposes. This is not just an issue in the current U.S. electoral contest; it is a plan they've developed for decades. They seek to turn Mexico into a manoeuvring and containment zone in the North American region, a corridor for transporting goods, military supplies and weapons. To achieve this, they intend to control ports, railways, highways and build intermodal transport corridors to flow our resources to the United States and their goods to Europe and Asia. Privatizations and the plan to sell beaches and borders to foreigners have brought us to this point. They want to turn the port of Lázaro Cárdenas-Las Truchas and other Mexican ports into gateways to access China and eventually confront it militarily.

By integrating us into what they call the North American region, they want us to be part of the conflicts of the United States, which, in addition to open wars, unleashes secret attacks by its Special Operations Forces in 134 countries, drone strikes, open or covert warfare on multiple fronts, not only Ukraine but also Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Syria, Mali, Sudan, not to mention provocations against North Korea and China, where they intervene provocatively in Taiwan. Let's not forget the campaigns of destabilization against Cuba and Venezuela, and the U.S.-NATO proxy war with Russia, using the Ukrainian people as cannon fodder and seriously affecting Europe and the world. Even more serious is that now they want Mexicans to become cannon fodder for their wars. They are not satisfied with the thousands of Mexicans recruited in the United States to fight in other parts of the world, where they lose their lives or, if they return, are not granted U.S. citizenship as promised. Through military integration, they intend for Mexican soldiers to collaborate in the Pentagon's adventures, just as sadly our "partner" Canada has always collaborated with the Pentagon by joining the neighbour in its aggressions and sending young Canadians as cannon fodder for Washington's plans and actions aimed at defending its hegemony. Our neighbours have their eyes on Mexico; let's be vigilant and ready to defend our sovereignty and to be a factor for peace and stability in the world.

First edition, 2023
Copyright © Pablo Moctezuma Barragán
Copyright © Sísifo Ediciones
ISBN: 978-607-99911-3-5
Printed and made in Mexico

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