Since it became the sole hegemonic power in the Americas, much of the regions affairs have been carried out with the approval or despite the objection of the United States. During the 20th century in particular, when revolutionary regimes sprang up throughout much of Latin America and the Caribbean, the US was keen on demonstrating its might. In many cases, feeling threatened by the spread of leftist governments and the potential rise in Soviet influence, the US-backed efforts to interfere in or even topple sovereign regimes throughout Latin America.1. The 1973 Chilean Coup Against Socialist President Salvador AllendePhotograph of the attack on La Moneda in Chile, 1973. Photo by Enrique Aracena. Source: Al JazeeraThough not a counterrevolution in the strict sense, the 1973 Chilean coup exemplifies much of what happened behind the scenes of the average American intervention in Latin America during this period. Socialist Chilean politician Salvador Allende had been elected president in a narrow win some years earlier, promising socialism in the Chilean way. Yet his honeymoon in power quickly vanished. Allende faced great opposition from business elites and right-wing elements in the country. Allende nationalized key sectors, like the copper industry, which angered Chilean business elites and discomfited the Americans. Allende was too left-wing for the US, and his closeness to Cubas Fidel Castro was also seen as a threat.In 1973, an attack on La Moneda, Chiles presidential palace, resulted in all branches of the Chilean armed forces turning against the democratically elected president. They were led by General Augusto Pinochet, a Chilean military man who had risen to influence thanks to his relationship with General Carlos Prats and the assassination of Rene Schneider. Schneider had been picked by Allende as Commander in Chief of the Army, yet he was murdered days before assuming office in a far-right kidnapping attempt gone awry. The responsible group was linked to the CIA, and the kidnapping was intended to stop Allende from taking office. After Schneiders death, Prats became Commander in Chief and Pinochet second in command.When a failed coup was suppressed by Prats, Allende named him Minister of Defense, but many in the army did not support his appointment. Prats resigned and recommended Pinochet, who assumed the role days later. Internally, officials in the army were already planning on ousting Allende and acted knowingly and with the support of the CIA and Nixons government. The coup was successful, and the US promptly recognized Pinochets government.2. Victoriano Huerta and the Mexican RevolutionVictoriano Huerta, 1910s. Source: Memoria Poltica de MxicoIn 1910, Mexico found itself once more mired in bloodshed. The three-decades-long dictatorship of General Porfirio Daz was coming to an endor so he said. Democratic elections were to take place, with Daz stepping away from power for the first time in almost 35 years. Yet, at the last moment, Daz decided to stand as a candidate. His main opponent was Francisco I. Madero, a wealthy hacendado (landowner) from the north of Mexico who agreed with Daz on most issues but saw his refusal to stand down as a major mistake for Mexican democracy.Daz was elected for another term, yet the match had been lit. Madero and his supporters denounced the result and called for an uprising. Madero escaped to San Antonio, Texas, where he planned and began his part in the Revolution. Daz was eventually toppled, escaping to France after Maderos uprising had brought many factions into the fold and made Dazs fall inevitable. Madero became president but failed to remove many of Dazs supporters from the government, including Victoriano Huerta, a Mexican General who fought on Dazs side yet was accepted into Maderos administration.Daz loyalists invited Huerta to participate in a conspiracy to topple Madero and make Dazs nephew, Feliz Daz, the new president. Initially, Huerta was skeptical of the conspiracy, thinking the conspirators would only use him. But when a failed coup resulted in Huertas promotion as the capitals defender, his new position afforded him the confidence to play a major role in the conspiracy. In the infamous Pact of the Embassy, coordinated by the US Ambassador to Mexico Henry Lane Wilson, Huerta agreed to support the conspirators in making Feliz Daz president following Maderos deposition. Huerta betrayed Madero but ultimately refused to give up power, placing himself in the presidency instead of Daz.3. Bay of Pigs Invasion: Americas Obsession with CubaPhotograph of President John F. Kennedy at a press conference following the Bay of Pigs invasion, 1961. Source: Brettman-Corbis, NewsweekAmerican President John F. Kennedy felt that Dwight Eisenhowers administration had been soft on Communism, while he was a staunch believer in containing Communism abroad and reversing its progress in the West. In reality, Eisenhower was not particularly soft on Communism, and in fact, JFK moved ahead with the Bay of Pigs invasion, planned during the Eisenhower administration.The Bay of Pigs invasion was approved by the CIA and backed and funded by the US government. Counterrevolutionaries were trained in Guatemala to eventually lead an invasion of Cuba and topple Castro. The invasion was also supported by anti-Castro Cuban exiles, namely the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front.The organization was transformed into the Cuban Revolutionary Council days before the invasion and was to play a key role in assuming leadership on the island and establishing a provisional government. Yet the invasion was flawed from the start. The organizers assumed that those who opposed Castro in Cuba would rise up against the socialist leader, yet that never happened. Western intelligence later revealed that no mass defections or insurrections took place because the public was entirely on Castros side.Kennedy also sought to hide US involvement, but from the very first day, pictures of US planes painted to look like Cuban planes went public, revealing American involvement. Kennedy canceled a second strike, which proved fatal to the guerilla forces on the ground in dire need of support. The failure of Bay of Pigs led to Operation Mongoose, a renewed effort to destabilize Cuba and bring down the Castro regime, famously including many attempts on Castros life.4. The Dominican Civil War and the CIAPhotograph of a Dominican confronting a US Marine, by Juan Prez Terrero, 1966. Source: EsendomRafael Trujillo, known as El Jefe (the boss), was a right-wing dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic for decades. He first ruled as President but later ruled over figureheads. In 1961, Trujillo was murdered with weapons supplied by the CIA. A 1975 report had CIA officials testify about their involvement in Trujillos assassination. The officials described their role as a faint connection, but a 1973 internal memorandum describes the Agencys participation with the plotters as quite extensive.The CIA celebrated the regime change, though only briefly. Socialist Juan Bosch rose to power in 1963, and though initially supported by the CIA, once in power, Bosch lost US support. Some 7 months after taking office, Bosch was toppled by a right-wing coup following strong opposition from conservatives, the Church, and business elites. Though the US had no involvement in the coup, the subsequent civil war prompted their entrance into the conflict. Supporters of Bosch rejected the military-imposed regime and ousted the installed president in 1965. The army united under the deposed dictator while rebels rallied around the constitution and the call for democratic elections. Yet the rebels were believed to have Communist support, hence American interest in blocking their road to power. Operation Power Pack saw a United States occupation of the Dominican Republic under the Inter-American Peace Force of the Organization of American States, of which the US made up the majority of troops.After the war was over, elections took place, and under the promise of reconciliation, the conservative reformist Joaquin Balaguer won against Bosch, ensuring another American victory in the containment of Communism in Latin America.5. The Contras: A Nicaraguan CounterrevolutionPhotograph of a Nicaraguan guerilla fighter, by Bill Gentile, 1979. Source: Bill Gentile, Daily BeastWhile the Iran-Contra Affair is a beast of its own, the Contras part of the affair is perhaps the prime example of US-backed counterrevolutions in Latin America. In 1979, a revolution in Nicaragua successfully toppled Anastasio Somozas dictatorship. The Frente Sandinista de Liberacin Nacional (Sandinista National Liberation Front), FSLN, was a leftist organization that, much like many other Latin American revolutions of the mid-20th century, rebelled against authoritarianism and denounced US imperialism. The Sandinistas followed the revolutionary principles of Augusto Sandino, a Nicaraguan guerilla fighter who resisted US occupation in the 1930s. The Marxist-Leninist Sandinistas were considered a major threat to US interests in Central America. Similarly, Somoza supporters and prominent right-wing figures opposed the new Sandinista government.The counter-movement that arose wasnt a consolidated force. Instead, it was an insurgency composed of multiple right-wing rebel groups. They were called Contras, short for contrarrevolucionarios, counterrevolutionaries. Many of these groups were not only US-backed but also US-financed. US support for the Contras was eventually outlawed under the Boland Amendment in Congress. However, the Reagan administration secretly continued providing support for the right-wing insurgents. Reagan covertly facilitated arms sales to Iran, which at the time was subject to an arms embargo, hoping to fund the Contras in Nicaragua with this money.Both the Sandinistas and the Contras are believed to have committed war crimes, and the matter remains controversial. In 1990, an election upset gave the opposition candidate 54% of the vote share, winning the presidency. Violeta Chamorro became the first female president of Nicaragua. Negotiations for the end of the civil war began just days after, involving former US President Jimmy Carter. By July, all of the Contras had demobilized and surrendered their weapons.