Abstract
During the Cold War, the Truman doctrine guided America towards extensive involvement throughout Latin America. Today, American private security companies recruit heavily from this region, drawing some of the same men who the CIA had covertly trained in the 1970s–1980s to fight in the modern manifestation of other Cold War conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Currently, both American and foreign proxy conflicts continue to expand while relying heavily on Latin American mercenaries, raising important questions on the status of Latin American fighters in the world and their influence on the character of modern warfare.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
In 2014, Triple Canopy and Blackwater merged, forming a new company under the name Constellis Group.
Technically, a subsidiary of Greystone, another subsidiary of Blackwater, thus a subsidiary twice removed.
McKenna and Johnson. A Look At The World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Armies.
Ibid.
Ibid.
See, e.g., The Chinese Chequebook (2015 May 23). Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/news/ americas/21651889-latin-america-needs-be-more-hard-headed-its-big-new-partner-chinese-chequebook; The Dragon and the Gringo (2015 Jan. 17). Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/news/americas/
21,639,549-latin-americas-shifting-geopolitics-dragon-and-gringo; Pacific Pumas (2014 Nov. 15). Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21631801-americas-backyard-pacific-economies-are-learning-east-asia-pacific-pumas.
See, e.g., Acemoglu, D; Johnson, S; and Robinson, J.A. (2001) The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation. American Economic Review 91(5), 1369–1401.
“As dimwitted as American teenagers are,” explains a Mexican–American army recruiter in Pomona, California, “they’re not stupid enough to fall for the crap we’re selling to get them to go to Iraq or Afghanistan. Don’t quote me.” [Landau, S. (2006 March–April) Latino Mercenaries for Bush. Retrieved from https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/latino-mercenaries-for-bush-saul-landau.]
McKenna and Johnson. A Look At The World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Armies; Mazzetti, M and Hager, E.B. (2011 May 14), Secret Desert Force Set Up by Blackwater’s Founder. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/world/middleeast/15prince.html.
Falconer and Schulman. Blackwater’s World of Warcraft.
Uco. Latin American Mercenaries Guarding Baghdad’s Green Zone.
Falconer and Schulman. Blackwater’s World of Warcraft.
Uco. Latin American Mercenaries Guarding Baghdad’s Green Zone.
Falconer and Schulman. Blackwater’s World of Warcraft; Paez, A. (2007 Nov. 6). Peru–Iraq: A Year in Hell for 1000 Dollars a Month. Retrieved from http://www.ipsnews.net/2007/11/peru-iraq-a-year-in-hell-for-1000-dollars-a-month/.
Falconer and Schulman. Blackwater’s World of Warcraft.
Human Rights Council. Implementation of General Assembly Resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006 Entitled ‘Human Rights Council’ Chairperson: Ms. Amada Benavides De Pérez Addendum Mission to Honduras A/HRC/4/42/Add.1. (2007 Feb. 7) Retrieved from http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/alldocs.
aspx?doc_id = 12,900.
Stoner. Outsourcing the Iraq War: Mercenary Recruiters Turn to Latin America.
Uco. Latin American Mercenaries Guarding Baghdad’s Green Zone.
Landau. Latino Mercenaries for Bush.
It should be further noted that Iraqi nationals hired by these same companies earn an average $150 per month. That’s approximately 1/10th of what Latin American and other so-called “third-country nationals” are paid, and around 1/100th of what their American counterparts are paid. [The Baghdad Boom. (2004 March 27). Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/2539816.]
Mazzetti and Hager. Secret Desert Force Set Up by Blackwater’s Founder.
Mazzetti and Hager. Secret Desert Force Set Up by Blackwater’s Founder.
Hager and Mazzetti. Emirates Secretly Sends Colombian Mercenaries to Yemen Fight.
Ibid.
Ibid.
References
Barakat, S. and Chard, M. (2002). Reconstructing War-Torn Societies: Afghanistan. Third World Q, 23(5). Retrieved June 6, 2016, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3993390.
Bergen, P. (2001). Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden. New York: Free Press.
Bjork, K., & Jones, R. (2005). Overcoming dilemmas created by the 21st century mercenaries: Conceptualising the use of private security companies in Ira. Third World Q, 26(4/5) Retrieved June 10, 2016 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3993720.
Byman, D. (2003). Constructing a Democratic Iraq: Challenges and Opportunities. International Security, 28(1). Retrieved June 10, 2016 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4137575.
Capdevila, G. (2008). Mercenaries Playing Increasingly Prominent Role in Latin America. Retrieved from http://www.alternet.org/story/115018/mercenaries_playing_increasingly_prominent_role_in_latin_america.
Dorfman, A. (2016). Now, America, You Know How Chileans Felt. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/opinion/now-america-you-know-how-chileans-felt.html.
Falconer, B. and Schulman, D. (2008). Blackwater’s World of Warcraft. Retrieved from http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/03/blackwaters-world-warcraft.
Fitzgerald, Denis. (2015). UN Report: UAE, Saudi Using Eritrean Land, Sea, Airspace and, Possibly, Eritrean Troops in Yemen Battle. Retrieved from http://untribune.com/un-report-uae-saudi-leasing-eritean-port-using-eritrean-land-sea-airspace-and-possibly-troops-in-yemen-battle/.
Gaudin, A. (2016). Colombian mercenaries fighting for Arab coalition in Yemen. NotiSur - South American Political and Economic Affairs. Retrieved June 10, 2016 from http://libraries.state.ma.us/login?gwurl=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA444915817&v=2.1&u=mlin_m_tufts&it=r&p=ITOF&sw=w&asid=448ade11368c28b4fa1d377ecbd8bc42.
Gomez Del Prado, J. (2010). The Privatization of War: Mercenaries, Private Military and Security Companies (PMSC). Retrieved from http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-privatization-of-war-mercenaries-private-military-and-security-companies-pmsc/21826.
Goodman, A. (2009). Obama’s Blackwater? Jeremy Scahill on Triple Canopy, the New Lead US Mercenary Force in Iraq and Israel. Retrieved from http://www.democracynow.org/2009/4/2/obamas_blackwater_jeremy_scahill_on_triple.
Hager, E.B. and Mazzetti, M. (2010) Emirates Secretly Sends Colombian Mercenaries to Yemen Fight. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/26/world/middleeast/emirates-secretly-sends-colombian-mercenaries-to-fight-in-yemen.html.
Hughes, G. (2014). Syria and the Perils of Proxy Warfare. Journal Small Wars & Insurgencies, 25(3). Retrieved June 10, 2016 from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09592318.2014.913542.
Hynds, P. (2005). Mercenary Recruitment and Training for Iraq War Causes Scandals in Multiple Latin American Countries. Retrieved from http://ladb.unm.edu/notisur/2005/10.
Kandell, J. (2006). Augusto Pinochet, Dictator Who Ruled by Terror in Chile, Dies at 91. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/11/world/americas/11pinochet.html.
Kissinger to Argentines on Dirty War: ‘The Quicker You Succeed the Better’. (2003). Retrieved from http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB104/.
Mckenna L. and Johnson R. (2012). A Look At The World's Most Powerful Mercenary Armies. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/bi-mercenary-armies-2012-2
President Harry S. (1947). Truman’s Address Before a Joint Session of Congress. Retrieved from http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/trudoc.asp.
Rohter, L. (1995). Honduras Confronts Military Atrocities of the 80's. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/21/world/honduras-confronts-military-atrocities-of-the-80-s.html.
Sanchez, E.L. (2013). US Military, A Growing Latino Army. Retrieved from http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/01/u-s-military-a-growing-latino-army/.
Stoner, E. (2008). Outsourcing the Iraq War: Mercenary Recruiters Turn to Latin America. Retrieved from https://nacla.org/news/outsourcing-iraq-war-mercenary-recruiters-turn-latin-america.
The Truth America Owes Honduras. (1996). Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1995/ 10/09/opinion/the-truth-america-owes-honduras.html.
Tiezzi, S. (2014). Could Iran and China Cut the US Out of Afghanistan? Retrieved from http://thediplomat.com/2014/11/could-iran-and-china-cut-the-us-out-of-afghanistan/.
Uco, C. (2005). Latin American Mercenaries Guarding Baghdad's Green Zone. Retrieved from https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2005/12/merc-d28.html.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
Author Tara Dominic has received no research grants or funding in the research or writing of this article. She declares that she has no conflict of interests.
Ethical Approval
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dominic, T. A New Statelessness? The Truman Doctrine, the Modern Latin American Mercenary, and the Economic Entrenchment of the Third World. Int J Polit Cult Soc 31, 1–14 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10767-017-9262-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10767-017-9262-x