Number: RL32487
Title: U.S. Foreign Assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean
Authors: Connie Veillette, Clare Ribando, and Mark Sullivan, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division 
Abstract: Trends in U.S. foreign assistance to Latin America generally reflect the trends and rationales for U.S. foreign aid programs globally. U.S. assistance spiked in the 1960s during President Kennedy's Alliance for Progress, reflecting an interest in preventing the spread of Soviet and Cuban influence in the region, and recognizing poverty as one possible root cause of popular discord. In the 1980s, the U.S. focus shifted to the Central American isthmus where leftist insurgencies were challenging friendly governments, and where a leftist movement in Nicaragua had taken control of government through armed combat. Substantial amounts of U.S. assistance were provided to support Central American governments and the U.S.-backed Contras seeking to overthrow the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. In the aftermath of the 1989 U.S. military intervention in Panama, and the 1990 electoral defeat of the Sandinista government in Nicaragua, U.S. assistance to these two countries increased substantially. Central America resolved many of its political problems since then, although it is still one of the least developed areas in the hemisphere. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, U.S. concerns about spreading communist influence lessened, and so too did levels of U.S. assistance. Since 2000, assistance has again increased, largely in the Andean region for counternarcotics programs.
Pages: 31
Date: March 28, 2006