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Since the 19th century, theUnited States government has participated and interfered, both overtly and covertly, in the replacement of many foreign governments. In the latter half of the 19th century, the U.S. government initiated actions forregime change mainly inLatin America and the southwest Pacific, including theSpanish–American andPhilippine–American wars. At the onset of the 20th century, theUnited States shaped or installed governments in many countries around the world, including neighborsHawaii,Panama,Honduras,Nicaragua,Mexico,Haiti, and theDominican Republic.

DuringWorld War II, the U.S. helped overthrow manyNazi German orImperial Japanesepuppet regimes. Examples include regimes in thePhilippines,Korea,East China, and parts ofEurope. United States forces, together with theUnited Kingdom andSoviet Union, were also instrumental in collapsingAdolf Hitler's government in Germany anddeposingBenito Mussolini in Italy.

At the end of World War II, the U.S. government struggled with the Soviet Union for global leadership, influence and security within the context of theCold War. Under theTruman administration, the U.S. government, ostensibly for fear thatcommunism would be spread, sometimes with the assistance of theSoviet's own involvement in regime change, promoted thedomino theory, a precedent which later presidents followed. Subsequently, the U.S. expanded the geographic scope of its actions beyond the traditional area of operations;Central America and theCaribbean. Significant operations included the United States andUnited Kingdom–planned1953 Iranian coup d'état, the 1961Bay of Pigs Invasion targeting Cuba, and support for theoverthrow of Sukarno by GeneralSuharto inIndonesia. In addition, the U.S. hasinterfered in the national elections of countries, includingItaly in 1948,^[1] the Philippines in 1953,Japan in the 1950s and 1960s,^[2][3]Lebanon in 1957,^[4] andRussia in 1996.^[5] According to one study, the U.S. performed at least 81 overt and covert known interventions in foreign elections from 1946 to 2000.^[6] According to another study, the U.S. engaged in 64 covert and six overt attempts at regime change during the Cold War.^[7]

Following thedissolution of the Soviet Union, the United States has led or supported wars to determine the governance of a number of countries. Stated U.S. aims in these conflicts have included fighting theWar on terror, as in theAfghan War, or removing supposedweapons of mass destruction (WMDs), as in theIraq War.

The United States annexed theRepublic of Texas, at the time considered byMexico to be a rebelliousstate of Mexico.^[8] During the war with Mexico that ensued, the United States seizedAlta California fromMexico.^[9]

While theAmerican Civil War was taking place in the United States,France and other countries invaded Mexico to collect debts. France then installedHabsburg princeMaximilian I as theEmperor of Mexico. After the Civil War ended, the United States began supporting theLiberal forces ofBenito Juárez (who had been the interimPresident of Mexico since 1858 under the liberalConstitution of 1857 and then elected as president in 1861 before the French invasion) against the forces of Maximilian. The United States began sending and dropping arms into Mexico and many Americans fought alongside Juárez. Eventually, Juárez and the Liberals took back power and executed Maximillian I.^[10][11][12] The United States opposed Maximilian and had invoked theMonroe Doctrine.William Seward said afterwards "The Monroe Doctrine, which eight years ago was merely a theory, is now an irreversible fact."^[13]

In the 1880s,Samoa was a monarchy with two rival claimants to the throne:Malietoa Laupepa andMata'afa Iosefo. TheSamoan crisis was a confrontation between the United States,Germany and theUnited Kingdom from 1887 to 1889, with the powers backing rival claimants to the throne of theSamoan Islands which became theFirst Samoan Civil War.^[14]

Anti-monarchs, mostly Americans, inHawaii, engineered theoverthrow of theKingdom of Hawaii. On January 17, 1893, the native monarch, QueenLili'uokalani, was overthrown. Hawaii was initiallyreconstituted as an independent republic, but the ultimate goal of the action was the annexation of the islands to the United States, which was finally accomplished with theNewlands Resolution of 1898.^[15]

The successfulPhilippine Revolution saw the defeat of theSpanish Empire and the establishment of theFirst Philippine Republic, ending centuries ofSpanish colonial rule in the archipelago. The U.S., which had allied with the revolutionaries and emerged victorious in the concurrentSpanish–American War, was "granted" the Philippines in theTreaty of Paris. Wishing to establish its own control over the country, the U.S. engaged in thePhilippine–American War, the success of which saw the dissolution of the self-governing Philippine Republic and formation of anInsular Government of the Philippine Islands in 1902. The Philippines became aself-governing Commonwealth in 1935 and was granted full sovereignty by 1946.

In September 1903Manuel Amador Guerrero, leader of the movement for Panamanian independence from Colombia, traveled to New York to determine how the United States might support the movement. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt privately supported the separatist movement, later ordering the warship USS Nashville under commander John Hubbard to proceed first to Jamaica, then to Panama.

In what became known as the "Banana Wars", between the end of theSpanish–American War in 1898 and the inception of theGood Neighbor Policy in 1934, the U.S. staged many military invasions and interventions inCentral America and theCaribbean.^[16] One of these incursions, in 1903, involved regime change rather than regime preservation. TheUnited States Marine Corps, which most often fought these wars, developed a manual calledThe Strategy and Tactics of Small Wars in 1921 based on its experiences. On occasion, theNavy providedgunfire support andArmy troops were also used. TheUnited Fruit Company andStandard Fruit Company dominatedHonduras' keybanana export sector and associated land holdings and railways. The U.S. staged invasions and incursions of US troops in 1903 (supporting a coup byManuel Bonilla), 1907 (supporting Bonilla against a Nicaraguan-backed coup), 1911 and 1912 (defending the regime ofMiguel R. Davila from an uprising), 1919 (peacekeeping during a civil war, and installing the caretaker government ofFrancisco Bográn), 1920 (defending the Bográn regime from a general strike), 1924 (defending the regime ofRafael López Gutiérrez from an uprising) and 1925 (defending the elected government ofMiguel Paz Barahona) to defend US interests.^[17]

After the explosion of theUSSMaine the United States declared war on Spain, starting theSpanish–American War.^[18] The United States invaded and occupiedSpanish-ruled Cuba in 1898. Many in the United States did not want to annex Cuba and passed theTeller Amendment, forbidding annexation. Cuba was occupied by the U.S. and run by military governorLeonard Wood during thefirst occupation from 1898 to 1902, after the end of the war. ThePlatt Amendment was passed later on outliningCuba–United States relations. It said the U.S. could intervene anytime against a government that was not approved, forced Cuba to accept U.S. influence, and limited Cuban abilities to make foreign relations.^[19] The United States forced Cuba to accept the terms of the Platt Amendment, by putting it into their constitution.^[20] After the occupation, Cuba and the U.S. would sign theCuban–American Treaty of Relations in 1903, further agreeing to the terms of the Platt Amendment.^[21]

Tomás Estrada Palma became the firstPresident of Cuba after the U.S. withdrew. He was a member of theRepublican Party of Havana. He was re-elected in 1905 unopposed; however, theLiberals accused him of electoral fraud. Fighting began between the Liberals and Republicans. Due to the tensions he resigned on September 28, 1906, and his government collapsed soon afterwards. U.S. Secretary of StateWilliam Howard Taft invoked the Platt Amendment and the 1903 treaty, under approval of PresidentTheodore Roosevelt, invading the country, and occupying it. The country would be governed byCharles Edward Magoon during the occupation. They oversaw the election ofJosé Miguel Gómez in 1909, and afterwards withdrew from the country.^[22]

GovernorJuan José Estrada, member of theConservative Party, led a revolt against PresidentJosé Santos Zelaya, member of theLiberal Party reelected in 1906. This became what is known as theEstrada rebellion. The United States supported the conservative forces because Zelaya had wanted to work with Germany or Japan to build anew canal through the country. The U.S. controlled thePanama Canal and did not want competition from another country outside of the Americas. Thomas P Moffat, a US council^[23] inBluefields, Nicaragua, would give overt support, in conflict with the US trying to only give covert support. Direct intervention would be pushed by the secretary of statePhilander C. Knox. Two Americans were executed by Zelaya for their participation with the conservatives. Seeing an opportunity the United States became directly involved in the rebellion and sent in troops, which landed on theMosquito Coast. On December 14, 1909, Zelaya was forced to resign under diplomatic pressure from America and fled Nicaragua. Before Zelaya fled, he, along with the liberal assembly, choseJosé Madriz to lead Nicaragua. The U.S. refused to recognize Madriz. The conservatives eventually beat back the liberals and forced Madriz to resign. Estrada then became the president.Thomas Cleland Dawson was sent as a special agent to the country and determined that any election held would bring the liberals into power, so had Estrada set up a constituent assembly to elect him instead. In August 1910 Estrada becamePresident of Nicaragua under U.S. recognition, agreeing to certain conditions from the U.S. After the intervention, the U.S. and Nicaragua signed a treaty on June 6, 1911.^[24][25][26]

TheTaft administration sent troops into Nicaragua and occupied the country. When theWilson administration came into power, they extended the stay and took complete financial and governmental control of the country, leaving a heavily armed legation. U.S. presidentCalvin Coolidge removed troops from the country, leaving a legation and Adolfo Diaz in charge of the country. Rebels ended up capturing the town with the legation and Diaz requested troops came back, which they did a few months after leaving. The U.S. government fought against rebels led byAugusto Cesar Sandino.Franklin D. Roosevelt pulled out because the U.S. could no longer afford to keep troops in the country due to theGreat Depression. The second intervention in Nicaragua would become one of the longest wars in United States history. The United States left theSomoza family in charge, who killed Sandino in 1934.^[27]

Henry Lane Wilson, U.S. ambassador to Mexico underWilliam Howard Taft, actively supported theTen Tragic Days coup which overthrew the democratically elected president,Francisco I. Madero. Soon after taking office, U.S. presidentWoodrow Wilson dismissed the ambassador and refused to recognize the Mexican government ofVictoriano Huerta, who had seized power in the coup. This led to theUnited States occupation of Veracruz in 1914 and continued instability in Mexico.

The U.S.occupiedHaiti from 1915 to 1934. U.S.-based banks had lent money to Haiti and the banks requested U.S. government intervention. In an example of "gunboat diplomacy", the U.S. sent its navy to intimidate to get its way.^[28] Eventually, in 1917, the U.S. installed a new government and dictated the terms of a new Haitianconstitution of 1917 that instituted changes that included an end to the prior ban on land ownership by non-Haitians. TheCacos were originally armed militias of formerly enslaved persons who rebelled and took control of mountainous areas following theHaitian Revolution in 1804. Such groups fought a guerrilla war against the U.S. occupation in what were known as the "Caco Wars."^[29]

U.S. marines invaded theDominican Republic andoccupied it from 1916 to 1924, and this was preceded by US military interventions in 1903, 1904, and 1914. TheUS Navy installed its personnel in all key positions in government and controlled theDominican military and police.^[30] Within a couple of days, PresidentJuan Isidro Jimenes resigned.^[31]

After the release of theZimmermann Telegram the United States joined theFirst World War on April 6, 1917, declaring war on theGerman Empire, amonarchy.^[32] The Wilson Administration made abdication of the Kaiser and the creation of a German Republic a requirement of surrender.Woodrow Wilson had made U.S. policy to "Make the World Safe for Democracy". Germany surrendered November 11, 1918.^[33]Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated on November 28, 1918.^[34] While the United States did not ratify it, theTreaty of Versailles in 1919 had much input from the United States. It mandated for Kaiser Wilhelm II to be removed from the government and tried, though the second part was never carried out.^[35] Germany would then become theWeimar Republic, aliberal democracy. The United States signed theU.S.–German Peace Treaty in 1921, solidifying the agreements made previously to the rest of theEntente with the U.S.^[36]

On December 7, 1917, the United States declared war onAustria-Hungary, amonarchy, as part of World War I.^[37] Austria-Hungary surrendered on November 3, 1918.^[38]Austria became a republic and signedTreaty of Saint Germain in 1919 effectively dissolving Austria-Hungary.^[39] The Treaty disallowed Austria to ever unite with Germany. Even though the United States had much effect on the treaty it did not ratify it and instead signed theU.S.–Austrian Peace Treaty in 1921, solidifying their new borders and government to the United States.^[40] After brief civil strife, theKingdom of Hungary became a monarchy without a monarch, instead governed byMiklós Horthy asRegent. Hungary signed theTreaty of Trianon, in 1920 with the Entente, without the United States.^[41] They signed theU.S.–Hungarian Peace Treaty in 1921 solidifying their status and borders with the United States.^[42]

In 1918, the U.S. military took part in theAllied intervention in the Russian Civil War to support theWhite movement and overthrow theBolsheviks.^[43]President Wilsonagreed to send 5,000United States Army troops in the campaign. This force, which became known as the "American North Russia Expeditionary Force"^[44] (a.k.a. thePolar Bear Expedition) launched theNorth Russia Campaign fromArkhangelsk, while another 8,000 soldiers, organised as theAmerican Expeditionary Force Siberia,^[45] launched theSiberia intervention fromVladivostok.^[46] The forces were withdrawn in 1920.^[47]

In December 1941, the US joined theAllies inwar against theEmpire of Japan, a monarchy. After the Allied victory, Japan was occupied by Allied forces under the command of American generalDouglas MacArthur. In 1946, theJapanese Diet ratified a newConstitution of Japan that followed closely a 'model copy' prepared by MacArthur's command,^[48] and was promulgated as an amendment to the oldPrussian-styleMeiji Constitution. The constitution renounced aggressive war and was accompanied by liberalization of many areas of Japanese life. While liberalizing life for most Japanese, the Alliestried many Japanese war criminals and executed some, while granting amnesty to the family of emperorHirohito.^[49] The occupation was ended by theTreaty of San Francisco.^[49]

Following theUnited States invasion of Okinawa during thePacific War, the U.S. installed theUnited States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands. Pursuant to a treaty with the Japanese government (Message of Emperor), in 1950 theUnited States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands took over and ruledOkinawa and the rest of theRyukyu Islands until 1972. During this "trusteeship rule", the U.S. built numerous military bases, including bases that operatednuclear weapons. U.S. rule was opposed by many local residents, creating theRyukyu independence movement that struggled against U.S. rule.^[50]

In December 1941, the United States joined the Allied campaign againstNazi Germany, afascist dictatorship. The US took part in theAllied occupation andDenazification of theWestern portion ofGermany. FormerNazis were subjected to varying levels of punishment, depending on how the US assessed their levels of guilt. At the end of 1947, for example, the Allies held 90,000 Nazis indetention; another 1,900,000 were forbidden to work as anything but manual laborers.^[51] As Germans took more and more responsibility for Germany, they pushed for an end to thedenazification process, and the Americans allowed this. In 1949, theFederal Republic of Germany, aparliamentary democracy in West Germany was formed.^[52] The main denazification process came to an end with amnesty laws passed in 1951.^[53]

In July–August 1943, the US participated in theAllied invasion of Sicily, spearheaded by theU.S. Seventh Army, underLieutenant GeneralGeorge S. Patton, in which over 2,000 US servicemen were killed,^[54] initiating theItalian Campaign which conquered Italy from the fascist regime ofBenito Mussolini and its Nazi German allies. Mussolini was arrested by order of KingVictor Emmanuel III, provoking acivil war. The king appointedPietro Badoglio as newPrime Minister. Badoglio stripped away the final elements of Fascist rule by banning theNational Fascist Party, then signed anarmistice with the Allied armed forces. TheRoyal Italian Army outside of the peninsula itself collapsed; its occupied and annexed territories fell underGerman control. Italycapitulated to the Allies on 3 September 1943. The northern half of the country was occupied by the Germans with help fromItalian fascists and made acollaborationist puppet state, while the south was governed by monarchist forces, which fought for the Allied cause as theItalian Co-Belligerent Army.^[55]

British, Canadian and United States forces were critical participants inOperation Goodwood andOperation Cobra, leading to a military breakout that ended theNazi occupation of France. The actualLiberation of Paris was accomplished by French forces. The French formed theProvisional Government of the French Republic in 1944, leading to the formation of theFrench Fourth Republic in 1946.^{[citation needed]}

The liberation of France is celebrated regularly up to the present day.^[56][57]

In the wake of the 1940 invasion, Germany established theReichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France to govern Belgium. United States, Canadian, British, and other Allied forces ended theNazi occupation of most of Belgium in September 1944. TheBelgian Government in Exile under Prime MinisterHubert Pierlot returned on 8 September.^[58]

In December, American forces suffered over 80,000 casualties defending Belgium from a German counterattack in theBattle of the Bulge. By February 1945, all of Belgium was in Allied hands.^[59]

The year 1945 was chaotic. Pierlot resigned, andAchille Van Acker of theBelgian Socialist Party formed a new government. There were riots over theRoyal Question—the return of KingLeopold III. Although the war continued, Belgians were again in control of their own country.^[60]

During theNazi occupation, the Netherlands was governed by theReichskommissariat Niederlande, headed byArthur Seyss-Inquart. British, Canadian, and American forces liberated portions of the Netherlands in September 1944. However, after the failure ofOperation Market Garden, the liberation of the largest cities had to wait until the last weeks of theEuropean theatre of World War II. British and American forcescrossed the Rhine on 23 March 1945; Canadian forces in their wake then entered the Netherlands from the east. The remaining German forces in the Netherlands surrendered on 5 May, which is celebrated asLiberation Day in the Netherlands.Queen Wilhelmina returned on 2 May;elections were held in 1946, leading to a new government headed by Prime MinisterLouis Beel.^[61][62]

United States landings in 1944 ended theJapanese occupation of the Philippines.^[63] After the Japanese were defeated and the puppet regime that was controlling theSecond Philippine Republic was overthrown, the United States fulfilled a promise by granting independence to the Philippines.Sergio Osmeña formed the government of the restoredCommonwealth of the Philippines, overseeing democratic transition to the fully sovereignThird Philippine Republic in 1946.^[64]

Austria was annexed to Germany in the 1938Anschluss. As German citizens, many Austrians fought on the side of Germany during World War II. After the Allied victory, the Allies treated Austria as a victim of Nazi aggression, rather than as a perpetrator. The United StatesMarshall Plan provided aid.^[65]

The 1955Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a free, democratic, and sovereign state. It was signed by representatives of the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and France. It provided for the withdrawal of all occupying troops and guaranteed Austrian neutrality in the Cold War.^[66]

TheEmpire of Japan surrendered to the United States in August 1945, ending theJapanese rule of Korea. Under the leadership ofLyuh Woon-HyungPeople's Committees throughoutKorea formed to coordinate transition to Korean independence. On August 28, 1945, these committees formed the temporary national government of Korea, naming it thePeople's Republic of Korea (PRK) a couple of weeks later.^[67][68] On September 8, 1945, the United States government landed forces in Korea and thereafter established theUnited States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGK) to govern Korea south of the38th parallel. The USAMGK outlawed the PRK committees which by that point had been co-opted by the communists.^[69][70]

In May 1948,Syngman Rhee, who had previously lived in the United States, won the1948 South Korean presidential election, which had been boycotted by most other politicians and in which voting was limited to property owners and tax payers or, in smaller towns, to town elders voting for everyone else.^[71][72] Syngman Rhee, backed by the U.S. government, set up authoritarian rule that coordinated closely with the business sector and lasted until Rhee's overthrow in 1961, which led to a similarly authoritarian regime that would last ultimately until the late 1980s.^[73]

Greece had been underAxis occupation since 1941. Itsgovernment-in-exile, unelected and loyal toKing George II, was based inCairo. By the Summer of 1944, communist guerrillas, then known as theGreek People's Liberation Army (ELAS), who had been armed by the Western powers, exploiting the gradual collapse of the Axis, claimed to have liberated nearly all of Greece outside ofAthens from Axis occupation, while also attacking and defeating rival non-Communist partisan groups, forming a rival unelected government, thePolitical Committee of National Liberation. On 12 August 1944, German forces retreated from the Athens area two days ahead of British landings there, ending the occupation.^[74]

TheBritish Armed Forces together withGreek forces under control of the Greek government (now a government of national unity led byKonstantinos Tsaldaris, elected in the1946 Greek legislative election boycotted by theCommunist Party of Greece) then fought for control of the country in theGreek Civil War against the communists, who at that time were self-proclaimed as theDemocratic Army of Greece (DSE). By early 1947, the British government could no longer afford the huge cost of financing the war against DSE, and pursuant to the October 1944Percentages Agreement betweenWinston Churchill andJoseph Stalin, Greece was to remain part of the Westernsphere of influence. Accordingly, the British requested the U.S. government to step in and the U.S. flooded the country with military equipment, military advisers and weapons.^{[75]: 553–554 [76]: 129 [77][78]} With increasedU.S. military aid, by September 1949 the government eventually won, fully restoring theKingdom of Greece.^{[79]: 616–617}

Christian socialist medicRafael Ángel Calderón Guardia of theNational Republican Partywas elected in 1944 and promoted generalsocial reforms.^[80] In the1948 election, the opposition won the presidency but lost the Congress. This prompted the Congress to annul the results of the presidential election but not the results of the congressional election; on the same day as the annulment, the leader of the opposition campaign was assassinated.^[81] These events led to the short-livedCosta Rican Civil War of 1948, in which the US supported the opposition, andSomoza-ran Nicaragua supported Calderón. The war ended Calderón's government and led to the short de facto rule of 18 months byJosé Figueres Ferrer.^[80] However, Figueres also held some left-leaning ideas and continued the process of social reform.^[82] After the war, democracy was quickly restored and atwo-party system encompassed by the parties of theCalderonistas andFigueristas developed in the country for nearly 60 years.^[82]

Albania was in chaos afterWorld War II and the country was not as focused on peacetime conferences in comparison to other European nations, while having suffered high casualties.^[83] It was threatened by its larger neighbors with annexation. AfterYugoslaviadropped out of theEastern Bloc, the small country of Albania was geographically isolated from the rest of the Eastern Bloc. The United States and United Kingdom took advantage of the situation and recruited anti-communist Albanians who had fled after the USSR invaded. The US and UK formed theFree Albania National Committee, made up of many of the emigres. Recruited Albanians were trained by the U.S. and U.K. and infiltrated the country multiple times. Eventually, the operation was found out and many of the agents fled, were executed, or were tried. The operation would become a failure. The operation was declassified in 2006, due to theNazi War Crimes Disclosure Act and is now available in the National Archives.^[84][85]

The government ofShukri al-Quwatli, reelected in 1948, wasoverthrown by a junta led by theSyrian Army chief of staff at the time,Husni al-Za'im, who became President of Syria on April 11, 1949. Za'im had extensive connections to CIA operatives,^[86] and promptly approved the construction of America's TAPLINE oil pipeline in Syria, considered an important Cold War project and blocked by Quwatly's pre-coup government.^[87] The exact nature of U.S. involvement in the coup remains controversial.^[88][89][90]

TheChinese Civil War had recently ended, with thecommunists winning and thenationalists losing. The nationalists retreated to areas such asTaiwan and northBurma.^[91]

Operation Paper began in late 1950^[92] or early 1951 following Chinese involvement in theKorean War.^[93]

Operation Paper entailed CIA plans used by CIA military advisors on the ground in Burma to assist Kuomintang incursions intoWestern China over several years, under the command of GeneralLi Mi, with Kuomintang leadership hoping to eventually retake China, despite opposition from the US State Department.^[93] However, each attempted invasion was repelled by the Chinese army. The Kuomintang took control of large swaths of Burma, while the government of Burma complained repeatedly of the military invasion to theUnited Nations.^[94]

On secret flights fromThailand to Burma, CAT aircraft flown by pilots hired by the CIA brought American weapons and other supplies to the Kuomintang and on return flights the CAT aircraft transportedopium from the Kuomintang toChinese organized crimedrug traffickers inBangkok, Thailand.^[94][95]

In February 1952, following January'sriots in Cairo amid widespreadnationalist discontent over the continuedBritish occupation of theSuez Canal and Egypt's defeat in the1948 Arab–Israeli War, CIA officerKermit Roosevelt Jr. was dispatched by theState Department to meet withFarouk I of theKingdom of Egypt. American policy at that time was to convince Farouk to introduce reforms that would weaken the appeal of Egyptian radicals and stabilize Farouk's grip on power. The U.S. was notified in advance of the successfulJuly coup led by nationalist and anti-communistEgyptian military officers (the "Free Officers") that replaced the Egyptian monarchy with theRepublic of Egypt under the leadership ofMohamed Naguib andGamal Abdel Nasser. CIA officerMiles Copeland Jr. recounted in his memoirs that Roosevelt helped coordinate the coup during three prior meetings with the plotters (including Nasser, the futureEgyptian president); this has not been confirmed by declassified documents but is partially supported by circumstantial evidence. Roosevelt and several of the Egyptians said to have been present in these meetings denied Copeland's account; another U.S. official, William Lakeland, said its veracity is open to question. Hugh Wilford notes that "whether or not the CIA dealt directly with the Free Officersprior to their July 1952 coup, there was extensive secret American-Egyptian contact in the monthsafter the revolution."^[96][97]

Operation PBFortune, also known as Operation Fortune, was an abortedcovert United States operation to overthrowGuatemalan PresidentJacobo Árbenz in 1952. The operation was authorized byU.S. PresidentHarry Truman and planned by theCentral Intelligence Agency. The plan involved providing weapons to the exiled Guatemalan military officerCarlos Castillo Armas, who was to lead an invasion from Nicaragua.^[98]

Since 1941,Iran was a constitutional monarchy ruled by theShahMohammad Reza Pahlavi. From thediscovery of oil in Iran in the late nineteenth century major powers exploited the weakness of the Iranian government to obtain concessions that many believed failed to give Iran a fair share of the profits. During World War II, the UK, the USSR and the US all became involved in Iranian affairs, including the jointAnglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in 1941. Iranian officials began to notice that British taxes were increasing while royalties to Iran declined. By 1948, Britain received substantially more revenue from theAnglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) than Iran. Negotiations to meet this and other Iranian concerns exacerbated rather than eased tensions.^[99]

On March 15, 1951, theMajlis, the Iranian parliament, passed legislation championed by reformist politicianMohammad Mosaddegh to nationalize the AIOC. Fifteen months later, Mosadegh was elected Prime Minister by the Majlis. International business concerns then boycotted oil from the nationalized Iranian oil industry. This contributed to concerns in Britain and the US that Mosadegh might be a communist. He was reportedly supported by the CommunistTudeh Party.^[100][101]

The CIA began supporting^[how?] 18 of their favorite candidates in the1952 Iranian legislative election, which Mosaddegh suspended after urban deputies loyal to him were elected.^[102] The new parliament gave Mosaddegh emergency powers which weakened the power of the Shah, and there was a constitutional struggle over the roles of the Shah and prime minister. Britain strongly backed the Shah, while the US officially remained neutral. However, America's position shifted in late 1952 with the election ofDwight D. Eisenhower as U.S. president. The CIA launchedOperation Ajax, directed byKermit Roosevelt Jr., with help fromNorman Darbyshire, to remove Mosaddegh by persuading the Shah to replace him, using diplomacy and bribery. The1953 Iranian coup d'état (known in Iran as the "28 Mordad coup")^[103] was instigated by the intelligence agencies of the United Kingdom such asMI6 (under the name "Operation Boot") and the United States (under the name "TPAJAX Project").^{[104][105][106][107]}

The coup saw the transition of Pahlavi from aconstitutional monarch to anauthoritarian, who relied heavily on United States government support. That support dissipated during theIranian Revolution of 1979, as his own security forces refused to shoot into non-violent crowds.^[108] In August 2013, the CIA admitted its role in the coup "as an act of U.S. foreign policy."^[109]

In a 1954 CIA operation code namedOperation PBSuccess, the U.S. government executed acoup that successfully overthrew the government of PresidentJacobo Árbenz, elected in 1950, and installedCarlos Castillo Armas, the first of a line of right-wing dictators, in its place.^{[110][111][112]} The American government and CIA were motivated by the ideological aim of containment, and by fear of anti-labor exploitation laws reducing profits to theUnited Fruit Company,^[113] which was well connected to the CIA and the Eisenhower administration.^[114][113] In planning the operation, the CIA would become involved in assisting the new regime in the killing of perceived opponents, and lied to the president of the United States when briefing him regarding the number of casualties.^{[115][116][117]} The perceived success of the operation made it a model for future CIA operations.^[116][113]

In 1956,Operation Straggle was a failed coup plot againstNasserist civilian politicianSabri al-Asali. The CIA made plans for a coup for late October 1956 to topple the Syrian government. The plan entailed takeover by the Syrian military of key cities and border crossings.^{[118][119][120]} The plan was postponed whenIsrael invaded Egypt in October 1956 and U.S. planners thought their operation would be unsuccessful at a time when the Arab world is fighting "Israeli aggression." The operation was uncovered and American plotters had to flee the country.^[121]

In 1957,Operation Wappen was a second coup plan against Syria, planned by the CIA'sKermit Roosevelt Jr. It called for assassination of key senior Syrian officials, staged military incidents on the Syrian border to be blamed on Syria and then to be used as pretext for invasion byIraqi andJordanian troops, an intense U.S. propaganda campaign targeting the Syrian population, and "sabotage, national conspiracies and various strong-arm activities" to be blamed on Damascus.^{[122][123][120][124]} This operation failed when Syrian military officers paid off with millions of dollars in bribes to carry out the coup revealed the plot to Syrian intelligence. The U.S.Department of State denied accusation of a coup attempt and along withUS media accused Syria of being a "satellite" of theUSSR.^{[123][125][126]}

There was also a third plan in 1957, called "The Preferred Plan". Alongside Britain'sMI6, the CIA planned to support and arm several uprisings. However, this plan was never carried out.^[122]

Starting in 1957, Eisenhower ordered the CIA to overthrowSukarno. The CIA supported the failedPermesta Rebellion by rebel Indonesian military officers in February 1958. CIA pilots, such asAllen Lawrence Pope, piloted planes operated by CIAfront organizationCivil Air Transport (CAT) that bombed civilian and military targets in Indonesia. The CIA instructed CAT pilots to target commercial shipping in order to frighten foreign merchant ships away from Indonesian waters, thereby weakening theIndonesian economy and thus destabilizing the government of Indonesia. The CIA aerial bombardment resulted in the sinking of several commercial ships^[127] and the bombing of a marketplace that killed many civilians.^[128] Pope was shot down and captured on 18 May 1958, revealing U.S. involvement, which Eisenhower publicly denied at the time. The rebellion was ultimately defeated by 1961.^[129][130]

Concerned about the influence of theIraqi Communist Party (ICP) in BrigadierAbd al-Karim Qasim's administration, President Eisenhower questioned that "it might be good policy to help [Gamal Abdel Nasser] take over in Iraq," recommending that Nasser be provided with "money and support", thus the U.S. "moved into increasingly close alignment with Egypt with regard to Qasim and Iraq."^[131] After Iraq withdrew from the anti-Soviet alliance—theBaghdad Pact—theUnited States National Security Council (NSC) proposed various contingencies for preventing a communist takeover of the country,^[132] and "soon developed a detailed plan for assisting nationalist elements committed to the overthrow of Qasim."^[131] The U.S. also "approached Nasser to discuss 'parallel measures' that could be taken by the two countries against Iraq."^[133]

During a NSC meeting on September 24, two representatives from theState Department urged a cautious approach, while the other twelve representatives, namely from the CIA and theDepartment of Defense, "strong[ly] pitch[ed] for a more active policy toward Iraq." One CIA representative noted that there is a "small stockpile [of weapons] in the area," and that the CIA "could support elements in Jordan and the UAR to help Iraqis filter back to Iraq."^[133] That same day, the NSC would also prepare a study which called for "covert assistance to Egyptian efforts to topple Qasim," and for "grooming political leadership for a successor government."^[131] Bryan R. Gibson writes that "there is no documentation that ties the United States directly to any of Nasser's many covert attempts to overthrow the Qasim regime."^[134] However, Brandon Wolfe-Hunnicutt states that the U.S. issued its "tacit support for Egyptian efforts to bring [Qasim's government] down,"^[131] and Kenneth Osgood writes that "circumstantial evidence in declassified records suggests that ... [t]he United States was working with Nasser on some level, even if the precise nature of that collaboration is not known."^[133] Contemporary documents pertaining to the CIA's operations in Iraq have remained classified or heavily redacted, thus "allow[ing] for plausible deniability."^[135]

Richard Sale ofUnited Press International (UPI), citing former U.S. diplomat and intelligence officials,Adel Darwish, and other experts, reported that the unsuccessful October 7, 1959 assassination attempt on Qasim involving a youngSaddam Hussein and other Ba'athist conspirators was a collaboration between the CIA andEgyptian intelligence.^[136] Gibson has disputed Sale and Darwish's account, concluding that available declassified records show that "while the United States was aware of several plots against Qasim, it had still adhered to [a] nonintervention policy."^[137] Wolfe-Hunnicutt observes that "[i]t seems more likely that it was October 7 that brought the Ba'ath to the attention of the US government."^[138] On the other hand, Osgood writes that "the circumstantial evidence is such that the possibility of US–UAR collaboration with Ba'ath Party activists cannot be ruled out," concluding that: "Whatever the validity of [Sale's] charges, at the very least currently declassified documents reveal that US officials were actively considering various plots against Qasim and that the CIA was building up assets for covert operations in Iraq."^[133]

The assassins, including Saddam, escaped toCairo, Egypt "where they enjoyed Nasser's protection for the remainder of Qasim's tenure in power."^[139] One of the conspirators involved in the assassination attempt, Hazim Jawad, "received training from the UAR intelligence service in clandestine wireless telegraphy," before returning to Iraq in 1960 to coordinate "clandestine radio operations for the UAR." Wolfe-Hunnicutt writes that in the 1959–1960 period, during the "peak of US-UAR intelligence collaboration ... [i]t is quite possible that Jawad became familiar to US intelligence," as a 1963 State Department cable described him as "one of our boys."^[140] Similarly, it is possible that Saddam visited the U.S. embassy inCairo,^[141] and some evidence suggests that he was "in frequent contact with US officials and intelligence agents."^[133] A former high-ranking U.S. official told Marion Farouk–Sluglett and Peter Sluglett that Iraqi Ba'athists, including Saddam, "had made contact with the American authorities in the late 1950s and early 1960s."^[142]

In 1959 a branch of theWorker's Party of Vietnam was formed in the south of the country and began an insurgency against theRepublic of Vietnam.^[143] They were supplied throughGroup 559, which was formed the same year by North Vietnam to send weapons down theHo Chi Minh Trail.^[144][145] The US supported the RoV against the communists. After the 1960 US election, PresidentJohn F. Kennedy became much more involved with the fight against the insurgency.^[146]

From mid-1963, the Kennedy administration became increasingly frustrated with South Vietnamese PresidentNgo Dinh Diem's corrupt and repressive rule and his persecution of theBuddhist majority. In light of Diem's refusal to adopt reforms, American officials debated whether they should support efforts to replace him. These debates crystallized after theARVN Special Forces, which took their orders directly from the palace,raided Buddhist temples across the country, leaving a death toll estimated in the hundreds, and resulted in the dispatch ofCable 243 on August 24, 1963, which instructedUnited States Ambassador to South Vietnam,Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., to "examine all possible alternative leadership and make detailed plans as to how we might bring about Diem's replacement if this should become necessary". Lodge and his liaison officer,Lucien Conein, contacted discontentedArmy of the Republic of Vietnam officers and gave assurances that the US would not oppose a coup or respond with aid cuts. These efforts culminated ina coup d'état on November 1–2, 1963, during which Diem andhis brother wereassassinated.^[147] By the end of 1963 the Viet Cong switched to a much more aggressive strategy in fighting the Southern government and the US.

ThePentagon Papers concluded that "Beginning in August of 1963 we variously authorized, sanctioned and encouraged the coup efforts of the Vietnamese generals and offered full support for a successor government. In October we cut off aid to Diem in a direct rebuff, giving a green light to the generals. We maintained clandestine contact with them throughout the planning and execution of the coup and sought to review their operational plans and proposed new government."^[148]

Fulgencio Batista was amilitary dictator who seized power inCuba in March 1952 via acoup d'état and was backed by the U.S. government until March 1958. His regime was overthrown on December 31, 1958, thus bringing an end to theCuban Revolution that was led byFidel Castro and his26th of July Movement. Castro became president in February 1959. The CIA backed a force composed of CIA-trainedCuban exiles toinvade Cuba with support and equipment from the US military, in an attempt to overthrowCastro's government. The invasion was launched in April 1961, three months afterJohn F. Kennedy assumed the presidency in the United States, but theCuban armed forces defeated the invading combatants within three days.^[149]

Operation MONGOOSE was a year-long U.S. government effort to overthrow the government of Cuba.^[150] The operation included anembargo against Cuba, "to induce failure of the Communist regime to supply Cuba's economic needs", a diplomatic initiative to isolate Cuba, andpsychological operations "to turn the peoples' resentment increasingly against the regime."^[151] The economic warfare prong of the operation also included the infiltration of CIA operatives to carry out many acts of sabotage against civilian targets, such as arailway bridge, amolasses storage facilities, anelectric power plant, and thesugar harvest, notwithstanding Cuba's repeated requests to the United States government to cease its armed operations.^[152][151] In addition, the CIA planned a number ofassassination attempts against Fidel Castro, head of government of Cuba, including attempts that entailed CIA collaboration with theAmerican mafia.^{[153][154][155]} In April 2021, documents released by theNational Security Archive showed that the CIA was also involved in a plot to assassinateRaúl Castro in 1960.^[156]

In December 1958Ngô Đình Nhu – Ngo Dinh Diem's younger brother and chief adviser – broached the idea ofa coup to overthrow Cambodian leaderNorodom Sihanouk.^[157] Nhu contactedDap Chhuon, Sihanouk'sInterior Minister, who was known for his pro-American sympathies, to prepare for the coup against his boss.^[158] Chhuon received covert financial and military assistance fromThailand,South Vietnam, and the CIA.^[159] In January 1959 Sihanouk learned of the coup plans through intermediaries who were in contact with Chhuon.^[160] The following month, Sihanouk sent the army to capture Chhuon, who was summarily executed as soon as he was captured, effectively ending the coup attempt.^[161] Sihanouk then accused South Vietnam and the U.S. of planning the coup attempt.^[162] Six months later, on 31 August 1959, a small packaged lacquer gift, which was fitted with aparcel bomb, was delivered to the royal palace. An investigation traced the origin of the parcel bomb to an American military base inSaigon.^[163] While Sihanouk publicly accused Ngo Dinh Nhu of masterminding the bomb attack, he secretly suspected that the U.S. was also involved.^[164] The incident deepened his distrust of the U.S.^[165]

Patrice Lumumba was elected the first Prime Minister of theRepublic of the Congo, now theDemocratic Republic of the Congo, in May 1960, and in June 1960, the country achieved full independence fromBelgium.^{[166]: 4, 104–6} In July, theCongo Crisis erupted with a mutiny among army, followed by the regionsKatanga andSouth Kasai seceding with support from Belgium, who wished to keep power over resources in the region.^{[166]: 127, 150–1, 278} Lumumba called in theUnited Nations to help him, but the U.N. force only agreed to keep peace and not stop the separatist movements. Lumumba then agreed to receive help from the USSR in order to stop the separatists, worrying the United States, due to the supply ofuranium in the country. The CIA sent officialSydney Gottlieb with a poison to liaison with an African CIAasset code-named WI/Rogue who was to assassinate Lumumba, but Lumumba went into hiding before the operation was completed.^[167]

After Lumumba was killed, the US began fundingMobutu Sese Seko in order to secure him against the separatists and opposition. Many of Lumumba's supporters went east and formed theFree Republic of the Congo with its capital inStanleyville in opposition to Mobutu's government. Eventually, the government in Stanleyville agreed to rejoin with the Leopoldville government under the latter's rule,^[168][169] however in 1963, Lumumba supporters formed another separate government in the east of the country and launched theSimba rebellion. The rebellion had support from the Soviet Union and many other countries in the Eastern Bloc.^[170] In November 1964, the U.S. and Belgium launchedOperation Dragon Rouge to rescue hostages taken by Simba rebels in Stanleyville. The operation was a success and expelled the Simba rebels from the city, leaving them in disarray. The Simbas were ultimately defeated the following year by the Congolese army.^[171][172]

After the March 1965 elections, Mobutu launched asecond coup in November with the support of the U.S. and other powers. Mobutu Sese Seko claimed democracy would return in five years and he was popular initially.^[173] However, he instead took increasingly authoritarian powers eventually becoming the dictator of the country.^[173]

On August 9, 1960, CaptainKong Le with hisRoyal Lao Armyparatroop battalion seized control of the administrative capital city ofVientiane in a bloodless coup on a "neutralist" platform with the stated aims of ending thecivil war raging inLaos, ending foreign interference in the country, ending the corruption caused by foreign aid, and better treatment for soldiers.^[174][175] With CIA support,Field MarshalSarit Thanarat, thePrime Minister of Thailand, set up a covertRoyal Thai Armed Forces advisory group, called Kaw Taw. Kaw Taw together with the CIA backed aNovember 1960 counter-coup against the new Neutralist government in Vientiane, supplying artillery, artillerymen, and advisers to GeneralPhoumi Nosavan,first cousin of Sarit. It also deployed thePolice Aerial Reinforcement Unit (PARU) to operations within Laos, sponsored by the CIA.^[176] With the help of CIAfront organizationAir America to airlift war supplies and with other U.S. military assistance and covert aid fromThailand, General Phoumi Nosavan's forces capturedVientiane in November 1960.^[174][177]

In May 1961, the ruler of theDominican Republic,Rafael Trujillo was killed with weapons supplied by the United StatesCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA).^[178][179] An internal CIAmemorandum states that a 1973Office of Inspector General investigation into the assassination disclosed "quite extensive Agency involvement with the plotters." The CIA described its role in "changing" the government of theDominican Republic as a 'success' in that it assisted in moving the Dominican Republic from a totalitarian dictatorship to a Western-style democracy."^[180][181]Juan Bosch, an earlier recipient of CIA funding, was elected president of the Dominican Republic in 1962 and was deposed in 1963.^[182]

It has long been suspected that the Ba'ath Party collaborated with the CIA in planning and carrying out its violent coup that overthrew Iraq's leader, BrigadierAbd al-Karim Qasim, on February 8, 1963.^[183] Pertinent contemporary documents relating to the CIA's operations in Iraq have remained classified^{[135][184][185]} and as of 2021, "[s]cholars are only beginning to uncover the extent to which the United States was involved in organizing the coup,"^[186] but are "divided in their interpretations of American foreign policy."^[187] Bryan R. Gibson, writes that although "[i]t is accepted among scholars that the CIA ... assisted the Ba’th Party in its overthrow of [Qasim's] regime," that "barring the release of new information, the preponderance of evidence substantiates the conclusion that the CIA was not behind the February 1963 Ba'thist coup."^[188] Peter Hahn argues that "[d]eclassified U.S. government documents offer no evidence to support" suggestions of direct U.S. involvement.^[189] On the other hand, Brandon Wolfe-Hunnicutt cites "compelling evidence of an American role,"^[187] and that publicly declassified documents "largely substantiate the plausibility" of CIA involvement in the coup.^[190] Eric Jacobsen, citing the testimony of contemporary prominent Ba'athists and U.S. government officials, states that "[t]here is ample evidence that the CIA not only had contacts with the Iraqi Ba'th in the early sixties, but also assisted in the planning of the coup."^[191] Nathan J. Citino writes that "Washington backed the movement by military officers linked to the pan-Arab Ba‘th Party that overthrew Qasim," but that "the extent of U.S. responsibility cannot be fully established on the basis of available documents," and that "[a]lthough the United States did not initiate the 14 Ramadan coup, at best it condoned and at worst it contributed to the violence that followed."^[192]

Ba'athist leaders maintained supportive relationships with U.S. officials before, during, and after the coup.^[193][194] A March 1964 State Department memorandum would state that U.S. "officers assiduously cultivated" a "Baathi student organization, which triggered the revolution of February 8, 1963 by sponsoring a successful student strike at theUniversity of Baghdad,"^[195] and according to Wolfe-Hunnicutt, documents at theKennedy Library suggest that the Kennedy administration viewed two prominent Ba'athist officials as "assets".^[194]

SeniorNational Security Council officialRobert Komer wrote to PresidentJohn F. Kennedy on February 8, 1963, that the Iraqi coup "is almost certainly a net gain for our side ... CIA had excellent reports on the plotting, but I doubt either they or UK should claim much credit for it."^[196][197] The U.S. offered material support to the new Ba'athist government after the coup, amidst an anti-communist purge and Iraqi atrocities againstKurdish rebels and civilians,^[198] and while it is unlikely that the Ba'athists would've needed assistance in identifying Iraqi communists,^[199][200] it is widely believed that the CIA provided the Ba'athist National Guard with lists of communists and other leftists, who were then arrested or killed.^[201] Gibson emphasizes that the Ba'athists compiled their own lists, citingBureau of Intelligence and Research reports.^[202] On the other hand, Citino and Wolfe-Hunnicutt consider the assertions plausible because theU.S. embassy in Iraq had actually compiled such lists, were known to be in contact with the National Guard during the purge, and because National Guard members involved in the purge received training in the U.S.^[200][203] Furthermore, Wolfe-Hunnicutt, citing contemporary U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine, notes that the assertions "would be consistent with American special warfare doctrine" regarding U.S. covert support to anti-communist "Hunter-Killer" teams "seeking the violent overthrow of a communist dominated and supported government",^[204] and draws parallels to other CIA operations in which lists of suspected communists were compiled, such asGuatemala in 1954 andIndonesia in 1965–66.^[205]

According to authorJohn Prados, the CIA conducted a covert political campaign against left-wing Prime MinisterCheddi Jagan due to a fear of the spread of theCuban Revolution across Latin America. The CIA supported trade unions during a strike against Jagan in 1963, and funded rival political parties during the 1964 election, while establishing theJustice Party as a CIA front. Political violence escalated, with nearly 200 murders and the bombing of Jagan'sPeople's Progressive Party (PPP) headquarters.^[206]

Since theCuban Revolution, theUnited States started watchingLatin America to keep any socialist governments out,^{[citation needed]} and in 1961, when the Brazilian presidentJânio Quadros resigned and the vice-presidentJoão Goulart assumed power after the scandal of theLegality Campaign,^[207] the United States started to get worried, as João Goulart had already shown sympathy for socialism, and slowly,the relationship between Brazil and the United States began deteriorating, withWashington getting favorable on inciting acoup d'état to oust him.^{[citation needed]} When João Goulart started talking about anagrarian reform,^{[citation needed]} many groups, especially in themilitary, started conspiring against him, with the idea of a coup d'état to overthrow him appearing and gaining force within the Brazilian population and military.^{[citation needed]} Political chaos would ensue until theMarch of the Family with God for Liberty happened, of which many of those who opposed João Goulart went to the streets to protest against him.^[208] When thecoup d'état broke out on March 31, 1964, the United States sent itsNavy^{[citation needed]} andAir Force^{[citation needed]} to help the military rebels throughOperation Brother Sam. When the coup d'état ended up being successful and João Goulart was overthrown, aright-wingmilitary dictatorship assumed power and ended up running the country until March 1985.

The United States would also go on to support the Brazilian military dictatorship throughOperation Condor.^{[209][210][211]}

Junior army officers and the commander of PresidentSukarno's palace guard accused seniorIndonesian National Armed Forces officers of planning a CIA-backed coup against Sukarno and killed six senior generals on October 1, 1965, in what came to be called the30 September Movement.

The movement failed and subsequently theCommunist Party of Indonesia (PKI) was accused of planning the killing of the six generals^[212] in a propaganda campaign launched by the army. Civilian mobs were incited to attack those believed to be PKI supporters and other political opponents. Indonesian government forces with collaboration of some civilians perpetrated mass killings over many months. Scholars estimate the number of civilians killed range from a half million to over a million.^{[213][214][215]} US AmbassadorMarshall Green encouraged the military leaders to act forcefully against the political opponents.^[216]

In 2017, declassified documents from theU.S. Embassy in Jakarta have confirmed that the US had knowledge of, facilitated and encouraged mass killings for its own geopolitical interests.^{[217][218][219][220]} In 1990, US diplomats admitted to journalistKathy Kadane that they had provided the Indonesian army with thousands of names of alleged PKI supporters and other alleged leftists, and that the U.S. officials then checked off from their lists those who had been killed.^[221][222]

President Sukarno's base of support was largely annihilated or imprisoned and the remainder terrified, enabling him to be forced out of power in 1967, replaced by an authoritarian military regime led by Suharto.^[223][224] HistorianJohn Roosa states that "almost overnight the Indonesian government went from being a fierce voice for cold war neutrality and anti-imperialism to a quiet, compliant partner of the US world order."^[225]: 158 This campaign is considered a major turning point in the Cold War, and was such a success that it served as a model for other U.S.-backed coups andanti-communist extermination campaigns throughout Asia and Latin America.^[220][226]

PrinceNorodom Sihanouk, who came to power by the1955 parliamentary election, had for years kept theKingdom of Cambodia out of theVietnam War by being friendly withChina andNorth Vietnam, and had integrated left wing parties into mainstream politics. However a leftist uprising occurred in 1967 and the communistKhmer Rouge began an insurgency against the prince the following year.^[227] Following the 1968Tet Offensive, Sihanouk became convinced that North Vietnam was going to lose the war so he improvedrelations with the United States.

In March 1970 Sihanouk was deposed by right-wing GeneralLon Nol following a vote of no confidence in Cambodia's National Assembly, and in October 1970, theKhmer Republic was declared by Lon Nol, officially ending the Kingdom and starting a period of military dictatorship. The overthrow followed Cambodia's constitutional process and most accounts emphasize the primacy of Cambodian actors in Sihanouk's removal. Historians are divided about the extent of U.S. involvement in or foreknowledge of the ouster, but an emerging consensus posits some culpability on the part of U.S. military intelligence.^[228] There is evidence that "as early as late 1968" Lon Nol floated the idea of a coup toU.S. military intelligence to obtain U.S. consent and military support for action against Prince Sihanouk and his government.^[229]

The coup further destabilized the country and ushered in years of acivil war that from 1970 onwards, was being fought between Lon Nol's forces and the communist Khmer Rouge. Sihanouk created agovernment in exile calledGRUNK which aligned itself with the Khmer Rouge to fight Lon Nol as a common enemy. To stop the Khmer Rouge from taking power in the country and also to disrupt North Vietnamese supply lines that passed through Cambodia,Richard Nixon andHenry Kissinger approved an intensified U.S. bombing in the countryside, in OperationsMenu andFreedom Deal,^[230] causing mass civilian loss which the Khmer Rouge used to promote recruitment and gainCPK support.^[231] Later, Henry Kissinger suggested that Sihanouk had approved this U.S. bombing of North Vietnamese targets in Cambodia as early as 1969, although this has been heavily disputed by other sources.^[232]

By 1973, the U.S. had already leftIndochina after seeing its objectives in Vietnam becoming increasingly harder, leaving the weakened Khmer Republic to collapse on April 17, 1975, whenPhnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge.

After the fall of the Khmer Republic to the Khmer Rouge, the Khmer Rouge's leaderPol Pot was consolidated as the dictator of Cambodia, now renamed toKampuchea. Because Sihanouk fought alongside the Khmer Rouge during the civil war, he was allowed to become Head of State, a ceremonial position,^[233] however when he returned to the country and saw theCambodian genocide being perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge, he resigned.^{[citation needed]} The Khmer Rouge did not accept this at first, but after some negotiation, they accepted,^[234] after that, Sihanouk was placed underhouse arrest until theThird Indochina War, when theAngkar permitted him to flee to China for safety.

There are many accusations of the United States supposedly supportingDemocratic Kampuchea during theCambodian–Vietnamese War,^{[235][236][237][238]} because Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union, and the United States chose to support Vietnam's enemy, in this case Democratic Kampuchea. However, these claims are without support.^{[239][240][241][242]} Despite these responses, it is documented that the United States provided diplomatic support to the Khmer Rouge by continuously voting for Democratic Kampuchea and later theCGDK to retain its seat at theUN, both immediately after its ousting as well as after it joined the coalition. This was because the Vietnamese-establishedPeople's Republic of Kampuchea was a client state of Vietnam and more importantly, aSoviet-aligned state.

The U.S. government ran apsy ops action inChile from 1963 until the coup d'état in 1973, and the CIA was involved in everyChilean election during that time. In the1964 Chilean presidential election, the U.S. government supplied $2.6 million in funding toChristian Democratic Party presidential candidateEduardo Frei Montalva, to preventSalvador Allende and theSocialist Party of Chile winning. The U.S. also used the CIA to provide $12 million in funding to business interests for use in harming Allende's reputation.^{[243]: 38–9}Kristian C. Gustafson wrote:

It was clear the Soviet Union was operating in Chile to ensure Marxist success, and from the contemporary American point of view, the United States was required to thwart this enemy influence: Soviet money and influence were clearly going into Chile to undermine its democracy, so U.S. funding would have to go into Chile to frustrate that pernicious influence.^[244]

Prior to Allende's inauguration, chief of staff of theChilean Army,René Schneider, a general dedicated to preserving the constitutional order and considered "a major stumbling block for military officers seeking to carry out a coup", was targeted in a failed CIA backed kidnapping attempt by GeneralCamilo Valenzuela on October 19, 1970. Schneider was killed three days later in another botched kidnapping attempt led by GeneralRoberto Viaux.^[245][246] After the inauguration, there followed an extended period of social and political unrest between the right-dominatedCongress of Chile and Allende, as well aseconomic warfare waged byWashington. U.S. PresidentRichard Nixon had promised to "make the economy scream" to "prevent Allende from coming to power or to unseat him".^[247]

On September 11, 1973, President Allende wasoverthrown by theChilean Armed Forces andNational Police, bringing to power theregime ofAugusto Pinochet. The CIA, throughProject FUBELT (also known asTrack II), worked secretly to prepare the conditions for the coup. While the U.S. initially denied any involvement, many relevant documents have been declassified in the decades since.^[247]

The U.S. government supported the1971 coup led by GeneralHugo Banzer that toppled PresidentJuan José Torres ofBolivia, who had himself come to power in a coup the previous year.^[248][249] Torres was kidnapped and assassinated in 1976 as part ofOperation Condor.^{[250][251][252]}

On September 12, 1974,Emperor Haile Selassie I of theEthiopian Empire, a dynastic monarchy, was overthrown in a coup by theDerg, an organization set up by the Emperor to investigate theEthiopian Armed Forces.^[253] The Derg, led by dictatorMengistu Haile Mariam, becameMarxist–Leninist and aligned with the Soviet Union.^[254] Numerous rebel groups rose up against the Derg, including conservative, separatist groups, and other Marxist–Leninist groups.^{[255][256][257]} These groups would receive support from the United States.^{[258][clarification needed]}

In the late 1980s, the rebels and the Eritrean separatists began to make gains against the government. The Derg dissolved itself in 1987, establishing thePeople's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) under theWorkers' Party of Ethiopia (WPE) in an attempt to maintain its rule. In 1990 the USSR stopped supporting the Ethiopian government as it started to collapse, while the United States continued to support the rebels.^[259] In 1991 Mengistu Halie Mariam resigned and fled as rebels of theEthiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), a coalition of left-wing ethnic rebel groups, took over.^[260] Despite the fact that the US opposed him, the US embassy helped Mariam escape toZimbabwe.^[261] The PDRE was dissolved and replaced with theTigray People's Liberation Front-ledTransitional Government of Ethiopia, and a transition to parliamentary democracy began.^[262]

Beginning in the 1960s, a rebellion broke out against Portuguese colonial rule in theAngolan War of Independence, mainly involving rebel groups thePeople's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and theNational Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA). In 1974, the Portuguese regime of theNew State was depose in theCarnation Revolution. The new government promised to give independence to its colonies including Angola. On January 15, 1975, Portugal signed theAlvor Agreement giving independence to Angola and establishing a transitional government including the MPLA, FNLA andNational Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). The transitional government consisted of the Portuguese High Commissioner, ruling with a Prime Ministerial Council (PMC) made up of three representatives, one from each Angolan party to the agreement, with a rotating premiership among the representatives.

However, the various independence groups started fighting one another. The MPLA was a leftist group that was advancing upon the other two main rebel groups, the FNLA and UNITA, the latter led byJonas Savimbi, a former FNLA fighter andMaoist who eventually became a capitalist ideologically and made UNITA into a capitalist militant group.^[263][264]

The United States covertly supported UNITA and the FNLA throughOperation IA Feature. PresidentGerald Ford approved of the program on July 18, 1975, while receiving dissent from officials in the CIA and State Department.Nathaniel Davis,Assistant Secretary of State, quit because of his disagreement with this.^[265][266] This program began as the war for independence was ending and continued as the civil war began in November 1975. The funding initially started at $6 million but then added $8 million on July 27 and added $25 million in August.^[267] The program was exposed and condemned by Congress in 1976. TheClark Amendment was added to theUS Arms Export Control Act of 1976 ending the operation and restricting involvement in Angola.^[268] Despite this CIA DirectorGeorge H.W. Bush conceded that some aid to the FNLA and UNITA continued.^[269][270]

In 1986,Ronald Reagan articulated theReagan Doctrine, which called for the funding of anti-Communist forces across the world to "roll back" Soviet influence. TheReagan Administration lobbied Congress to repeal the Clark Amendment, which eventually occurred on July 11, 1985.^[271] In 1986, the war in Angola became a major Cold War proxy conflict. Savimbi's conservative allies in the US lobbied for increased support to UNITA.^[272][273] In 1986 Savimbi visited the White House and afterwards Reagan approved the shipment ofStinger Surface-to-Air Missiles as a part of $25 million in aid.^{[274][275][276][277]}

After George H.W. Bush became president, aid to Savimbi continued. Savimbi began relying on the companyBlack, Manafort, and Stone in order to lobby for assistance. They lobbied theH.W. Bush administration for increased assistance and weapons to UNITA.^[278] Savimbi also met with Bush himself in 1990.^[279] In 1991, the MPLA and UNITA signed theBicesse Accords ending US and Soviet involvement in the war, initiating multi-party elections and establishing the Republic of Angola, while South Africa withdrew fromNamibia.^[280]

On December 7, 1975, nine days after declaring independence from Portugal,East Timor wasinvaded by Indonesia. Whilst it was under the pretext ofanti-colonialism, the actual aim of the invasion was to overthrow theFretilin regimethat emerged the previous year.^[281][282] The day before the invasion, U.S. PresidentGerald Ford and Secretary of State,Henry Kissinger met with GeneralSuharto, who told them of his intention to invade East Timor. Ford replied, "[W]e will understand and not press you on the issue. We understand the problem you have and the intentions you have."^[283] Ford endorsed the invasion as he saw East Timor as of little significance, overshadowed byIndonesia–United States relations.^[284] Thefall of Saigon earlier in 1975 had left Indonesia as the most important U.S. ally inSoutheast Asia, so Ford reasoned that it was in the national interest to side with Indonesia.^[285]

American weapons were crucial to Indonesia during the invasion,^[286] with the majority of military equipment used by Indonesian military units involved being U.S. supplied.^[287]United States military aid to Indonesia continued during itsoccupation of East Timor, which ended in 1999 with East Timor'sindependence referendum.^[288] In 2005, the finalCommission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor wrote that "[U.S.] political and military support were fundamental to the invasion and occupation of East Timor".^[283][289]

TheArgentine Armed Forces overthrewPresidentIsabel Perón, elected in the1973 presidential election, in the1976 Argentine coup d'état, starting the military dictatorship of GeneralJorge Rafael Videla known as theNational Reorganization Process until 1983. Both the coup and the following authoritarian regime were endorsed and supported by the U.S. government^{[290][291][292]} with Henry Kissinger paying several official visits to Argentina during the dictatorship.^{[293][294][295]}

In 1978, theSaur Revolution brought theDemocratic Republic of Afghanistan to power, a one-party state backed by the Soviet Union. In what was known asOperation Cyclone, the U.S. government provided weapons and funding for a collection of warlords and several factions ofjihadiguerrillas known as theAfghan mujahideen fighting to overthrow the Afghan government. The program began modestly with $695,000 in nominally "non-lethal" aid to the mujahideen on July 3, 1979, and escalated following the December 1979Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.^[296][297] Through theInter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of neighboringPakistan the U.S. channeled training, weapons, and money for Afghan fighters.^{[298][299][300][301]} The first CIA-supplied weapons were antique BritishLee–Enfield rifles shipped out in December 1979, but by September 1986 the program included U.S.-originstate of the art weaponry, such asFIM-92 Stingersurface-to-air missiles, some 2,300 of which were ultimately shipped into Afghanistan.^[302]

Afghan Arabs also "benefited indirectly from the CIA's funding, through the ISI and resistance organizations."^[303][304] Some of the CIA's greatest Afghan beneficiaries were Islamist commanders such asJalaluddin Haqqani andGulbuddin Hekmatyar, who were key allies ofOsama bin Laden over many years.^{[305][306][307]} Some of the CIA-funded militants would become part ofal-Qaeda later on, and included bin Laden, according to formerForeign SecretaryRobin Cook and other sources.^{[308][309][310][311]} Despite these and similarallegations, there is no direct evidence of CIA contact with bin Laden or his inner circle during the Soviet–Afghan War.^{[312][313][314][315]}

U.S. support for the mujahideen ended in January 1992 pursuant to an agreement reached with the Soviets in September 1991 on ending external interference in Afghanistan by either side. By 1992, the combined U.S., Saudi, andChinese aid to the mujahideen was estimated at $6–12 billion, whereas Soviet military aid to Afghanistan was valued at $36–48 billion. The result was a heavily armed, militarized Afghan society: Some sources indicate that Afghanistan was the world's top destination for personal weapons during the 1980s.^[316]

Since the1952 Constitution,Poland was a one-party Communist state, thePolish People's Republic. In the 1980s, opposition to it crystallised in theSolidarity trade union, founded in 1980. The Reagan administration supported the Solidarity, and—based on CIA intelligence—waged a public relations campaign to deter what the Carter administration felt was "an imminent move by large Soviet military forces into Poland."^[317] On November 4, 1982, President Reagan, after a brief discussion with the National Security Planning Group, signed an executive order to provide money and non-lethal aid to Polish opposition groups: the operation was code-named QRHELPFUL.^[318]Michael Reisman andJames E. Baker named operations in Poland as one of the covert actions of the CIA duringCold War.^{[319][clarification needed]} ColonelRyszard Kukliński, a senior officer on the Polish General Staff was secretly sending reports to the CIA.^[320] The CIA transferred around $2 million yearly in cash to Solidarity, for a total of $10 million over five years. There were no direct links between the CIA and Solidarność, and all money was channeled through third parties.^[321] CIA officers were barred from meeting Solidarity leaders, and the CIA's contacts with Solidarność activists were weaker than those of theAFL–CIO, which raised $300,000 from its members, which were used to provide material and cash directly to Solidarity, with no control of Solidarity's use of it. The U.S. Congress authorized theNational Endowment for Democracy to promote democracy, and the NED allocated $10 million to Solidarity.^[322]

When the Polish government launchedmartial law in December 1981, however, Solidarity was not alerted. Potential explanations for this vary; some believe that the CIA was caught off guard, while others suggest that American policy-makers viewed an internal crackdown as preferable to an "inevitable Soviet intervention."^[323] CIA support for Solidarity included money, equipment and training, which was coordinated by Special Operations.^[324]Henry Hyde, U.S. House intelligence committee member, stated that the US provided "supplies and technical assistance in terms of clandestine newspapers, broadcasting, propaganda, money, organizational help and advice".^[325] Initial funds for covert actions by the CIA were $2 million, but soon after authorization were increased and by 1985 the CIA successfully infiltrated Poland.^{[326][clarification needed]}

In 1975 as part of theFirst Chadian Civil War, the military overthrewFrançois Tombalbaye and installedFélix Malloum as head of state.Hissène Habré was appointed Prime minister, and attempted to overthrow the government in February 1979, failing, and being forced out. In 1979 Malloum resigned andGoukouni Oueddei became head of state. Oueddei agreed to share power with Habre, appointing him Minister of Defense, but fighting resumed soon after. Habre was exiled toSudan in 1980.^[327]

At the time the U.S. government wanted a bulwark againstMuammar Gaddafi inLibya, and sawChad, Libya's southern neighbor, as a good option. Chad and Libya had recently signed an agreement to attempt to end theirborderconflict and "to work to achieve full unity between the two countries", which the United States was against. The United States also saw Oueddei as too close to Gaddafi. Habre was already pro-western and pro-American, as well as against Oueddei. The Reagan administration gave him covert support through the CIA when he returned in 1981 to continue fighting, and he overthrew Goukouni Oueddi on June 7, 1982, making himself the new president of Chad.^[328]

The CIA continued to support Habre after he took power, including training and equipping the Documentation and Security Directorate (DDS), Chad's notorious secret police. They also supported Chad in their1986–1987 war against Libya.^[329]

In 1979, theFSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front) overthrew the US-backed Somoza family. TheCarter administration tried to be friendly with the new government, but theReagan administration that came after in January 1981 had more aggressive and anti-communist foreign policy. They immediately cut off aid to theNicaraguan government, and in August 1981, Reagan signed National Security Decision Directive 7, which authorized the production and shipment of arms to the region but not their deployment. In November 1981 Reagan signed National Security Directive 17, which allowed covert support to anti-Sandinista forces.^[330][331]

The U.S. government armed, trained and funded theContras, a group of rebel fighters based inHonduras, in an attempt to overthrow the Nicaraguan government.^{[332][333][334][335]} As part of the training, the CIA distributed a detailed manual entitled "Psychological Operations in Guerrilla War", which instructed the Contras, among other things, on how to blow up public buildings, to assassinate judges, to create martyrs, and to blackmail ordinary citizens.^[336] In addition to backing the Contras, the U.S. government also blew up bridges andmined harbors, causing the damaging of at least seven merchant ships and blowing up numerous Nicaraguan fishing boats. They also attackedCorinto harbour on October 10, 1983, causing 112 wounded according to the Nicaraguan government.^{[337][338][339][340][341]} After theBoland Amendment, passed in 1982, made it illegal for the U.S. government to provide funding for Contra activities, Reagan's administration secretly sold arms to the Iranian government to fund a secret U.S. government apparatus that continued illegally to fund the Contras, in what became known as theIran–Contra affair.^[342] The U.S. continued to arm and train the Contras even after theSandinista government of Nicaragua won the elections of 1984.^[343][344]

In April 1984, Nicaraguainitiated proceedings against the U.S. at theInternational Court of Justice (ICJ) alleging that the U.S. violated international law for their support of the Contras and mining of harbors. Nicaragua argued that the U.S. had engaged in acts of aggression via surrogate forces to harm Nicaragua's economy and bring about regime change. The Nicaraguan government stated that economic cost of the war in 1984 alone was 255 million dollars and cited acts committed by the Contras such as closing of education and health care facilities, including a hospital, and the killing of health and education workers. The court ruled against the U.S. in June 1986 and awarded reparations to Nicaragua. However the Reagan administration had already announced in January 1985 that they would no longer be participating in the ICJ proceedings or consider itself bound by their ruling.^[345][346]

During the1990 Nicaraguan general election campaign, theGeorge H. W. Bush administration authorized 49.75 million dollars of non-lethal aid to the Contras. The war continued, with the Contras assassinating candidates and distributing leaflets promoting the opposition party UNO (National Opposition Union),^[347] who would win the election.^[348] The war ended soon afterwards.^[349] In 1992, the post-Sandinista government of Nicaragua withdrew the complaint from the ICJ and repealed the law that had required the country to seek compensation from the U.S.^[350]

On October 25, 1983, the U.S. military and a coalition of six Caribbean nationsinvaded the nation ofGrenada, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury, and successfully overthrew theMarxist government ofHudson Austin. The conflict was triggered by the killing of the previous leader of GrenadaMaurice Bishop and the establishment of Hudson as the country's leader a week before on 19 October.^[351][352] TheUnited Nations General Assembly called the U.S. invasion "a flagrant violation of international law"^[353] but a similar resolution widely supported in theUnited Nations Security Council was vetoed by the U.S.^[354][355]

In 1979, the U.S. andPanama signed atreaty to end thePanama Canal Zone and promise that the U.S. would hand over thecanal after 1999.Manuel Noriega ruled the country of Panama as a dictator. He was an ally of the United States working with them against the Sandinistas in Nicaragua and the FMLN in El Salvador. Despite this, relations began to deteriorate as he was implicated in theIran–Contra scandal, including drug trafficking.^[356] As relations continued to deteriorate Noriega started to ally with the Eastern Bloc. This also worried US officials and government officials likeElliott Abrams started arguing with Reagan that the US should invade Panama. Reagan decided to hold off due toGeorge H. W. Bush's ties to Noriega when he was the head of the CIA running his election, but after Bush was elected he started pressuring Noriega. Despite irregularities in the1989 Panamanian general election, Noriega refused to allow the opposition candidate into power. Bush called on him to honor the will of the Panamanian people. Coup attempts were made against Noriega and skirmishes broke out between U.S. and Panamanian troops. Noriega was also indicted for drug charges in the United States.^[357]

In December 1989, in a military operation code-namedOperation Just Cause, the U.S.invaded Panama. Noriega went into hiding but was later captured by US forces. President-electGuillermo Endara was sworn into office. The United States ended Operation Just Cause in January 1990 and beganOperation Promote Liberty, which was the occupation of the country to set up the new government until 1994.^[358]

In 1983, the congressionally fundedNational Endowment for Democracy was established to promote democratic change in communist states.^[359] Between 1984 and 1986, the foundation funded émigré journals that were smuggled into the Soviet Union.^[359] At a meeting of the organization in December 1986,Zbigniew Brzezinski proposed supporting nationalism and democratic aspirations among national and religious minorities such as Ukrainians, Muslims, and the Baltics in order to politically and economically decentralize the Soviet system.^[359] In 1989, sovietologistRichard Pipes suggested that the Bush administration "devise a long-term strategy for the decolonization of the innerSoviet empire", and Brzezinski argued that the Soviet Union should be transformed "into a genuinely voluntary confederation or commonwealth".^[359] The foundation channeled aid to groups in the Baltic States, Armenia, Russia, and Ukraine that sought greater independence fromGorbachev's central government.^[359]

Prior to the1990 Russian parliamentary elections, NED funded an initiative byPaul Weyrich and theFree Congress Foundation to assistBoris Yeltsin and a group of democratic candidates and to create a "communications network".^[359] The foundation provided assistance to strengthen the independent press and to train democratic candidates in political techniques.^[359] The organizationDemocratic Russia received $2 million from the conservativeKrieble Institute, with which Yeltsin's advisorGennady Burbulis organized 120 workshops and seminars in Moscow, democracy trainings in Russian regions, and conferences in Tallinn.^[360] The money also bought computers and copy machines that were used during thereferendum on March 17, 1991, as well asYeltsin's election campaign.^[360] Yeltsin'scampaign manager in 1991, Alexander Urmanov, received training from the Krieble Institute.^[359] The KGB knew about the foreign aid, but did nothing about it because the recipients of the money had parliamentary immunity and there was no law prohibiting Soviet parliamentarians from receiving foreign aid.^[360] Commenting on Yeltsin's victory in Russia's first democratic presidential election, Burbublis told Krieble: "Well, Bob, you did it."^[360]

TheUnited Nations Security Council (UNSC) imposedsanctions against Iraq in August 1990 underResolution 661^[361] to compel Iraq to withdraw fromoccupied Kuwait without the use of military force, but Iraq refused to withdraw its forces, leading to the 1991Gulf War.^[362] During and immediately following the War, the United States broadcast signals encouraging an uprising againstSaddam Hussein, an autocrat who had ruled Iraq since coming to power in an internal struggle in the rulingBa'ath Party in 1979.^[363][364] On February 24, 1991, a few days after the ceasefire was signed the CIA funded and operated radio station Voice of Free Iraq called for the Iraqi people to rise up against Hussein.^[365][366] The day after theGulf War ended on March 1, 1991, Bush again called for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.^[367] The U.S. was hoping for a coup but instead, a series of uprisings erupted across Iraq right after the war.^[368] Two of the largest rebellions were led by the Iraqi Kurds in the North and the Shia militias in the south. Although George H.W. Bush said that the U.S. did not intend to assist any rebels,^[369] the rebels assumed that they would get direct U.S. support; however, the United States worried that if Saddam fell and Iraq collapsed, Iran would gain power.^[370]Colin Powell wrote of his time asChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff "our practical intention was to leave Baghdad enough power to survive as a threat to an Iran that remained bitterly hostile toward the United States".^[371] The Shia uprisings were crushed by the Iraqi military while thePeshmerga were more successful, gaining theIraqi Kurds autonomy.

After the war, the U.S. government successfully advocated that sanctions remain in effect with revisions, including linkage to removal ofweapons of mass destruction, which the UNSC did in April 1991 by adoptingResolution 687, albeit with the earlier prohibition on foodstuffs lifted.^[372][373] U.S. officials stated in May 1991—when it was widely expected that the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein faced collapse^[374][375]—that the sanctions would not be lifted unless Saddam was ousted.^{[376][377][378]} In the subsequent president's administration, U.S. officials did not explicitly insist on regime change but took the position that the sanctions could be lifted if Iraq complied with all of the UN resolutions it was violating (including those related to the country'shuman rights record) and not just with UN weapons inspections.^[379]

Eight months after his election, PresidentJean-Bertrand Aristide was deposed by theHaitian Armed Forces.^[380] Many professors document that the CIA "paid key members of the coup regime forces, identified as drug traffickers, for information from the mid-1980s at least until the coup."^[381] Coup leadersRaoul Cédras andMichel François had received military training in the United States.^[382] While CIA officials expressed displeasure with Aristide and CIA informants placed CIA officers with the military at the time of the coup, the CIA denied involvement.^[383] Importantly, the U.S.-ledOperation Uphold Democracy reinstated President Aristide after receiving approval for intervention by theUnited Nations Security Council and collaborating with other Caribbean nations.

The CIA launched DBACHILLES, a coup d'état operation against the Iraqi government, recruitingAyad Allawi, who headed theIraqi National Accord, a network of Iraqis who opposed the Saddam Hussein government, as part of the operation. The network included Iraqi military and intelligence officers but was penetrated by people loyal to the Iraqi government.^{[384][385][386]} Also using Ayad Allawi and his network, the CIA directed a governmentsabotage and bombing campaign inBaghdad between 1992 and 1995.^[387] The CIA bombing campaign may have been merely a test of the operational capacity of the CIA's network of assets on the ground and not intended to be the launch of the coup strike itself.^[387] However, Allawi attempted a coup against Saddam Hussein in 1996. The coup was unsuccessful, but Ayad Allawi was later installed as prime minister of Iraq by theIraq Interim Governing Council, which had been created by theU.S.-led coalition following the March 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq.^[388]

After a right-wing military junta took over Haiti in 1991 in a coup, the U.S. initially had good relations with the new government. George H. W. Bush's administration supported the right wing junta. However, after the1992 U.S. general electionBill Clinton came to power. Clinton was supportive of returningJean-Bertrand Aristide to power, and his administration was active for the return of democracy to Haiti. This culminated inUnited Nations Security Council Resolution 940, which authorized the United States to lead an invasion of Haiti and restore Aristide to power. A diplomatic effort was led by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffColin Powell.^[389] The U.S. gave the Haitian government an ultimatum: either the dictator of Haiti,Raoul Cédras, retire peacefully and let Aristide come back to power, or be invaded and forced out. Cedras capitulated; however, he did not immediately disband the armed forces. Protesters fought the military and police.^[390][391] The U.S. sent in the military to stop the violence, and soon it was quelled. Aristide returned to lead the country in October 1994.^[392] Clinton and Aristide presided over ceremonies andOperation Uphold Democracy officially ended on March 31, 1995.^{[citation needed]}

Due to the end of the Cold War, U.S. support forMobutu Sese Seko inZaire reduced.^{[393][394][395]} In 1990 theRwandan Patriotic Front (FPR) invaded Rwanda, beginning theRwandan Civil War, which culminated in theRwandan genocide and caused over 1.5 million refugees to flee into Zaire, where fighting broke out between refugee and non-refugee Tutsis, Hutu refugees, and other ethnic groups. In response, Rwanda formed Tutsi militias in Zaire,^[396] causing tensions between the militias and the Zaire government leading to the^[397] Banyamulenge Rebellion on August 31, 1996, which led to the creation of Tutsi and non-Tutsi militias opposed to Mobutu into theAlliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of the Congo (AFDL), led byLaurent-Désiré Kabila.^[398]

The United States covertly supported Rwanda before and during the Congo war. The U.S. believed it was time for a "new generation of African leaders", such as Kagame andYoweri Museveni in Uganda, which was part of the reason the U.S. had previously stopped supporting Mobutu.^[399] The U.S. sent soldiers to train the FPR and brought FPR commanders to the U.S. as well before the war in 1995 for training. During the war, rebels in Bukavu were joined by a group of African–American mercenaries, who claimed they had been recruited in an unofficial U.S. mission. The CIA and U.S. army set up communications in Uganda, and during the war, several aircraft landed in Kigali and Entebbe, claiming to be bringing "aid for the genocide victims"; however, it has been alleged they were bringing military and communication supplies for the FPR. At the same time, U.S. operated anti-Mobutu support from theInternational Rescue Committee (IRC).^[400]

In the run-up to the2000 Yugoslavian general election, the U.S. State Department actively supported opposition groups such asOtpor through the supply of promotional material and consulting services via Quangos.^[401] United States involvement served to speed up and organize dissent through exposure, resources, moral and material encouragement, technological aid and professional advice.^[402] This campaign was one of the factors contributing to the incumbent president's defeat in the 2000 Yugoslavian general election and subsequentBulldozer Revolution which overthrew Milošević on October 5, 2000, after he refused to recognise the results of the election.^[402] In addition, President Bill Clinton authorized CIA involvement in the election to prevent Milošević's victory.^[403] The agency funneled "certainly millions of dollars" into the campaign against the Serbian leader domestically and also organized meetings of opposition members abroad.^[403]

Since 1996,Afghanistan had been under the control of theTaliban-ledIslamic Emirate of Afghanistan, a largelyunrecognizedunitaryDeobandi–Islamictheocraticemirate administered byshura councils.^[404] On October 7, 2001, four weeks after theSeptember 11 attacks byal-Qaeda,the United States invaded Afghanistan and began bombing al-Qaeda and Taliban targets. Under the Taliban regime, al-Qaeda had used Afghanistan to train and indoctrinate fighters at its own training camps, import weapons, coordinate with otherjihadists, and plot terrorist actions. 10,000 to 20,000 men passed through al-Qaeda run camps before 9/11, most of whom went to fight for the Taliban, while a smaller number were inducted into al-Qaeda.^[405] Although none of the hijackers were of Afghan nationality, the attacks had been planned inKandahar.^[406]George W. Bush said that the goal was to capture al-Qaeda leaderOsama bin Laden and bring him to justice.^[407]

On October 11, four days after the bombing started, Bush claimed that it might stop if bin Laden were handed over to the U.S. by the Taliban, which had provided safe haven to al-Qaeda. "If you cough him up and his people today, then we'll reconsider what we are doing to your country," Bush told the Taliban. "You still have a second chance. Just bring him in, and bring his leaders and lieutenants and other thugs and criminals with him."^[408] On October 14, Bush turned down an offer from the Taliban to discuss sending bin Laden to a third country.^[409] Taliban leaderMullah Omar had previously refused to extradite bin Laden.^[410] The United Kingdom was a key ally of the United States, offering support for military action from the start of preparations for the invasion, and the two countries worked with anti-Taliban Afghan forces in theNorthern Alliance.^[411] The US aimed to destroy al-Qaeda and remove the Taliban regime from power,^[412] but also sought to prevent the Northern Alliance from taking control of Afghanistan, believing the Alliance's rule would alienate the country's Pashtun majority.^[413] CIA directorGeorge Tenet argued that the US should target al-Qaeda but "hold off on the Taliban," since the Taliban were popular in Pakistan and attacking them could jeopardizerelations with Pakistan.^[414]

By the end of October, a further goal had emerged: to remove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan.^[412]

From December 6–17, 2001, a team of Northern Alliance fighters, under direction from a U.S. special forces team, pursued bin Laden in thecave complex of Tora Bora in eastern Afghanistan, but the U.S. did not commit its own troops to the operation and bin Laden escaped to neighbouringPakistan.^[415] That same month, the Taliban Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan fell^[411] and was replaced by theAfghan Interim Administration and then theTransitional Islamic State of Afghanistan in 2002, and finally theIslamic Republic of Afghanistan in 2004. Bin Laden was killed by a team ofUnited States Navy SEALs in a raid on his clandestine residence inAbbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011, nearly ten years after the initial invasion.^[411] Despite bin Laden's death, the U.S. remained in Afghanistan, propping up the governments ofHamid Karzai andAshraf Ghani.^[416]

PresidentDonald Trump struck an arrangement with the Taliban in February 2020 that would see U.S. troopswithdraw from Afghanistan.^[417] In April 2021, his successor,Joe Biden announced that a full withdrawal would occur in August of that year.^[418] This was followed by the return of the Taliban to power.^[411]

In 1998 as a non-covert measure, the U.S. enacted the "Iraq Liberation Act", which states, in part, that "It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq," and appropriated funds for U.S. aid "to the Iraqi democratic opposition organizations."^[433] After Bush was elected he started being more aggressive toward Iraq.^[434] After the 9/11 attacks the Bush administration claimed that Iraq's ruler at the time,Saddam Hussein, had connections toAl-Qaeda and was supporting terrorism. The administration also stated that Hussein was covertly continuing production ofweapons of mass destruction despite the fact that evidence for both was not conclusive.^{[435][436][437][438][439]} Iraq was also one of the three countries Bush called out in hisAxis of Evil Speech.^[440] In 2002 Congress passed the "Iraq Resolution" which authorized the president to "use any means necessary" against Iraq. The Iraq War then began in March 2003 when a United States-led military coalitioninvaded the country and overthrew the Iraqi government.^[441] The U.S. captured and helped prosecute Hussein, who was later hanged. The U.S. and the new Iraqi government also fought an insurgency following the invasion. In December 2011 the U.S. withdrew its soldiers from the conflict,^[442] but returned in 2014 to help stop the rise of theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).^[443] The military's combat mission came to an end on December 9, 2021.^[444]

With the start of theSomali Civil War, a movement known as theIslamic Courts Union emerged inMogadishu with the aim of asserting a stable governance against the rule of Somali warlords and the anarchy that came with the overthrow ofSiad Barre. The Islamic Courts Union's governance was based on providing stability through the implementation ofSharia. Despite the Islamic Courts Union often being called jihadist, the ICU did not implement very rigid interpretations of Sharia or prohibit women's employment with Ted Dagne, an Africa Research Specialist for the Congressional Research Service remarking that

"...the leadership [of the ICU] was often referred to as jihadist, extremist, and at times terrorist by some observers without much evidence to support the allegations. For example, the assessment of the Islamic Courts by U.S. officials was that less than 5% of the Islamic Courts leadership can be considered extremist, according to a senior State Department official."^[445]

" Despite this, the ascendance of anIslamist political force in Somalia during this period was perceived as a threat to Western strategic interests in theHorn of Africa.^[446] Within the framework of thewar on terror, the U.S. government also perceived the rise of an Islamic movement in Somalia as a potential terror risk. From 2003 onwards, theCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA) initiated covert operations against the Islamic Courts Union, aiming to depose them from power.^[447] TheBush administration had become increasingly concerned with the growing power of the Islamic Courts Union, and feared that they would make Somalia a haven forAl-Qaeda to plan attacks from, like inAfghanistan.^[200][448] American support for the warlords extended to the point where, on numerous occasions,Nairobi-basedCIA officers landed on warlord-controlled airstrips in Mogadishu with large amounts of money for distribution to Somali militias.^[449] According toJohn Prendergast, CIA-operated flights into Somalia had been bringing in $100,000 to US$150,000 per month for the warlords and he further claimed that the flights remained in Somalia for the day so that CIA agents can confer with them.^[448] Many of the warlords the Americans funded to fight the Islamic Courts Union were many of the same ones that had fought directly against the Americans in Mogadishu duringUNOSOM II in 1993.^[200]

American efforts began with a wave of assassinations, resulting in claims by the ICU that America was funding warlords to depose their rule. According to C. Barnes & H. Hassan, "It was in this context that a military force known asAl-Shabaab (‘the Youth’) emerged, related to but seemingly autonomous of the broad based Courts movement." With CIA support, the warlords in 2006 formed theAlliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism and attempted to overthrow the ICU with American backing. However, American efforts to overthrow the Islamic Courts Union in 2006 failed, as the ICU defeated the warlords America supported against them in theSecond Battle of Mogadishu.

American efforts to counter the ICU would not end here however, as America would continue to support the overthrow of the ICU by supporting an Ethiopian invasion of the country. Leaked documents in 2006 revealed a confidential meeting between senior American and Ethiopian officials inAddis Ababa six months prior to the full scale December 2006 invasion. Participants deliberated on various scenarios, with the 'worst-case scenario' being the potential takeover of Somalia by the Islamic Courts Union. The documents revealed that the US found the prospect unacceptable and would back Ethiopia in the event of an ICU takeover. JournalistJon Snow reported that during the meeting ‘the blueprint for a very American supported Ethiopian invasion of Somalia was hatched’.^[450] Pentagon officials and intelligence analysts reported that the invasion had been planned during the summer of 2006 and thatUS special forces were on the ground before the Ethiopians had invaded.^[451] America participated in the invasion of Somalia, as theBush Administration covertly deployedUS Special Forces backed byAC-130 gunships in support ofENDF forces. The lightly armed court forces were unable to counter ENDF/USair supremacy and armour. The timing and scale of the attack surprised many international observers, leading many to conclude that it was 'fairly obvious that Ethiopia had received significant help' during the invasion.^[452]Reuters reported American and British Special Forces, along with US-hiredmercenaries, had been laying the ground work for the invasion within and outside Somalia since late 2005. During the invasion the United States provided satellite surveillance of ICU forces to the ENDF, along with extensive military andlogistical support extending to the provision of spare parts. The European Union was reportedly 'exceptionally unhappy' about the heavy US support for the invasion, and held back funds for the newly createdAMISOM mission for several months.^[453]

The US-backed Ethiopian invasion was eventually defeated by Somali insurgents, however the ICU was overthrown and was unable to re-assert its control over Somalia and Mogadishu by the time of the Ethiopian withdrawal.

In February 2004, the democratically elected President of HaitiJean-Bertrand Aristide was forced to resign amid a rapidly spiraling situation with the rebel groupNational Revolutionary Front for the Liberation and Reconstruction of Haiti, which had laid siege to the capitalPort-au-Prince in the week leading up to Aristide's resignation.^[454] It was alleged that the rebels were trained byU.S. Special Forces in the nearbyDominican Republic prior to the instabilities.^[455] It has also been alleged by multiple Haitian and French officials,^[456] as well as Aristide himself,^[457] that the coup was effectively orchestrated by France and the United States.

In the aftermath of the coup, a Multinational Interim Force led by the U.S.invaded Haiti to stabilize the country under the government of the newly assumed provisional presidentBoniface Alexandre and prime ministerGérard Latortue.^{[citation needed]}

InKyrgyzstan, in response to the corruption and authoritarianism of theAskar Akayev government which had ruled since 1990, mass protests ousted the government andfree elections were held.

According toThe Wall Street Journal, the US government provided aid to opposition protesters via theState Department,USAID,Radio Liberty andFreedom House by funding the only print-media outlet in the country not controlled by the government. When the state cut off electricity to the outlet, the U.S. embassy provided emergency generators. Other opposition groups and an opposition TV station received funding from the US government and US-based NGOs.^[458]

The Bush Administration was displeased with the government formed by Hamas, which won 56% of the seats in thePalestinian legislative election of 2006.^[459] The U.S. government pressured theFatah faction of thePalestinian National Authority leadership to topple theHamas government of Prime MinisterIsmail Haniyeh, and provided funding,^[460][461] including a secret training and armaments program that received tens of millions of dollars incongressional funding. This funding was initially blocked by Congress, who feared that arms provided to Palestinians might later be used against Israel, but the Bush administration circumvented Congress.^{[462][463][464]}

Fatah launched a war against the Haniyeh government. When the government ofSaudi Arabia attempted to negotiate a truce between the sides so as to avoid a wide-scale Palestinian civil war, the U.S. government pressured Fatah to reject the Saudi plan and to continue the effort to topple the Hamas government.^[462] Ultimately, theHamas government was prevented from ruling over all of thePalestinian territories, with Fatah retreating to theWest Bank and Hamas retreating to and taking control of theGaza Strip.^[465]

In 2005, after a period of co-operation in thewar on terror, the Bush administration froze relations with Syria. According to US cables released byWikiLeaks, the State Department then began to funnel money to opposition groups, including at least $6 million to the opposition satellite channelBarada TV and the exile groupMovement for Justice and Development in Syria, although this was denied by the channel.^{[466][467][468]} This alleged covert backing continued under the Obama administration until at least April 2009 when US diplomats expressed concern the funding would undermine US attempts to rebuild relations with Syrian PresidentBashar al-Assad.^[466]

In 2017,The Intercept reported that military officials from theCenter for Hemispheric Defense Studies had quietly assisted Honduran officers in acoup d'état against PresidentManuel Zelaya on 28 June 2009, helping them argue the coup's legality and arrange meetings with sympathetic U.S. lawmakers.^[469]

In 2011, Libya had been led byMuammar Gaddafi since 1969. In February 2011, amid the "Arab Spring", a revolution broke out against him, spreading from the second cityBenghazi (where aninterim government was set up on February 27), to the capitalTripoli, sparking theFirst Libyan Civil War. On March 17,United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 was adopted, authorizing ano-fly zone over Libya, and "all necessary measures" to protect civilians.^[470] Two days later, France, the United States and the United Kingdom launched the2011 military intervention in Libya withOperation Odyssey Dawn, US and British naval forces firing over 110Tomahawk cruise missiles,^[471] the French and British Air Forces^[472] undertakingsorties across Libya and a navalblockade by Coalition forces.^[473] A coalition of 27 states from Europe and the Middle East soon joined theNATO-led intervention, asOperation Unified Protector. The Gaddafi government collapsed in August, leaving theNational Transitional Council as the de facto government, with UN recognition. Gaddafi was captured andkilled in October byNational Transitional Council forces and NATO action ceased.^[474][475]

In April 2011, after the outbreak of theSyrian civil war in early 2011, three U.S. Senators, RepublicansJohn McCain andLindsey Graham and IndependentJoe Lieberman, urged PresidentBarack Obama in a joint statement to "state unequivocally" that "it is time to go" for PresidentBashar al-Assad.^[476][477] In August 2011, the U.S. government called on Assad to "step aside" and imposed anoil embargo against the Syrian government.^{[478][479][480]} Starting in 2013, the U.S. provided training, weapons, and money to vetted moderate Syrian rebels,^[481][482] and in 2014, theSupreme Military Council.^[483][484] In 2015, Obama reaffirmed that "Assad must go".^[485]

In March 2017, AmbassadorNikki Haley told a group of reporters that the US's priority in Syria was no longer on "getting Assad out."^[486] Earlier that day at a news conference inAnkara, Secretary of StateRex Tillerson also said that the "longer term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people."^[487] While theUS Defense Department's program to aid predominantlyKurdish rebels fighting theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) continued, it was revealed in July 2017 that US PresidentDonald Trump had ordered a "phasing out" of the CIA's support for anti-Assad rebels.^[488]

In November 2019, there was a coup in Bolivia to oust presidentEvo Morales, who then went into exile in Argentina.^[489] Morales claimed the following month that the U.S. had plotted to oust him for choosing to seek lithium extraction partnerships with Russia and China.^[490]

In the aftermath of the coup, and following the elections which brought back the socialistMovimiento al Socialismo to power, the U.S. faced allegations that it had supported the coup and Morales' removal.^[491]

President Donald Trump supported the removal of PresidentNicolás Maduro from office during theVenezuelan presidential crisis through his "maximum pressure" policy.^{[492][493][494]} TheCongressional Research Service wrote that "although the Trump Administration initially discussed the possibility of using military force in Venezuela, it ultimately sought to compel Maduro to leave office through diplomatic, economic, and legal pressure."^[495] In January 2019, days afterJuan Guaidó was sworn in aspresident of the National Assembly, according to journalist William Neuman, the Secretary of StateMike Pompeo approved of the plan to invoke Article 233 of Venezuelan's Constitution to name Guaidó as interim president and that the United States could lead other nations to support Guaidó.^[496] After swearing to serve as acting president of Venezuela on 23 January,^[497][498] the United States announced that it recognized Guaidó as interim president minutes after his speech.^[499] The Trump administration utilizedsanctions against Venezuela to instigate political change.^{[493][494][500]} Maduro remained in power^[495] while Guaidó never controlled all of Venezuela's institutions and was removed from his position by the National Assembly in December 2022.^[501][502]

During the2025 United States naval deployment in the Caribbean, Trump stated in October that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, which Maduro denounced.^[503][504]

• Criticism of United States foreign policy
• Foreign electoral intervention
• Foreign interventions by the United States
• Latin America–United States relations
• Russian involvement in regime change
• Soviet involvement in regime change
• Timeline of United States military operations
• United States involvement in regime change in Latin America
• Assassinations and targeted killing by the CIA
• CIA activities by country