Political Violence The article “we will be known by the company we keep: Lessons from US-Latin America policy for the post-September 11th World” is written by Hugh Byrne. The article addresses various interventions the united states had in Latin America and their contributions to violence. The intervention was done as the region was seen vulnerable to communism. As a result, the regime that was seen as supporting communism was overthrown through support of the opposing side. Hence, United States was part of the politics of the countries in the region such as Guatemala, Chile, and El Salvador.

The concept of “internal enemy” was significantly applied during the cold war period. The concept was applied in countries such as Guatemala, Chile, and El Salvador. In Guatemala, the concept was applied to overturn the regime that was seen as leaning towards communism. The concept was successful in the removal of Col. Jacobo Arbenz from power (Byrne 6). Moreover, the idea led to training of people that could topple the regime. On the other hand, the concept was well applied in Chile. In Chile, the concept led to destabilization of Allende government that was successful elected. The concept also led to the elimination of those people that were seen as being leftist. Most of the people were killed and detained in the country (Byrne 8). Additionally, in El Salvador, the concept provided a way in which to train police and military force inn the country to play a role in countering of insurgency. The forces played a significant role in killing of a large number of people in the 70s and the 1980s (Byrne 10). The political repression in these three countries targeted those that were seen as leftist or supporting communism. In addition, repression led to the elimination of those opposed to democratic ideas.

In conclusion, it is clear that United States contributed significantly to destabilization Latin America during cold war period. The destabilization continues to be experienced in the region until today.

Works Cited

Byrne, Hugh. “We will be known by the Company we keep: Lessons from US-Latin America policy for the post-September 11th World.