Kissinger's unwavering support for brutal regimes still haunts Latin America

[Judi Lynn]

By DANIEL POLITI and PATRICIA LUNA Associated Press DECEMBER 2, 2023 — 11:04PM

SANTIAGO, Chile — In Chile, leftists were tortured, tossed from helicopters and forced to watch relatives be raped. In Argentina, many were ''disappeared'' by members of the brutal military dictatorship that held detainees in concentration camps.

. . .

As tributes poured in for the towering figure who was the top U.S. diplomat under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, the mood was decidedly different in South America, where many countries were scarred deeply during the Cold War by human rights abuses inflicted in the name of anti-communism and where many continue to harbor a deep distrust of their powerful neighbor to the north.

''I don't know of any U.S. citizen who is more deplored, more disliked in Latin America than Henry Kissinger,'' said Stephen Rabe, a retired University of Texas at Dallas history professor who wrote a book about Kissinger's relationship with Latin America. ''You know, the reality is, if he had traveled once democracy returned to Argentina, to Brazil, to Uruguay — if he had traveled to any of those countries he would have been immediately arrested.''

. . .

Kissinger was seemingly unaffected by tales of suffering at the hands of military officers, even though his own family arrived in the U.S. as refugees who had to flee Nazi Germany in his teens. ''By the end of 1976, State Department aides were telling Henry Kissinger, a Jew, that Jews were being targeted in Argentina,'' Rabe said. ''And Kissinger just didn't do anything.''

More:
https://www.startribune.com/kissingers-unwavering-support-for-brutal-regimes-still-haunts-latin-america/600324051/

[jaxexpat]

1. From the US's perspective, its relationship with south and central America is based on racism.

I opine that the root of much of the antipathy can be found in the imperial competition between Spain and England in the 16th and17th centuries. The American colonials were largely guard dogs trained to protect the investments and ensure the hegemony of the British empire in the western hemisphere. The behaviors of some breeds, bred for purpose, remain in the bloodline.

The Jewish people have, to my knowledge, never shown themselves slavish to their breeding. But they are, by tradition, a stiff-necked people, encouraged by earnest introspection and secure in the value of their self-doubt.

[SharonAnn]

2. Read "The Open Veins of Latin America" about the European, UK, and American capitalistic theft.

“5 Centuries of the pillage of a continent.”

As General Smedley Butler said in “War is a Racket”, it’s all about installing and protecting American business interests regardless of other countries’ desires.

[IbogaProject]

3. I know the founder of EAAF, who started with the Argentine Forensics

They now do those Forensic Excavations elsewhere too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_Forensic_Anthropology_Team

[Judi Lynn]

4. The members of EAAF would all have to be exceptional people, strong hearts and values. Courageous.

Without a doubt they are feared and hated by the monsters in the dictatorships and other powerful abusive regimes who need to remain protected.

It's an unbelievably difficult undertaking. They deserve the utmost respect for their efforts, and character.

Thank you for sharing the link.