US Interests and Regional
Issues in Latin America
Overview
The history of US relations with Cuba
The history of US relations with Haiti
The challenges of migration from Latin
America to the United States
The effects on the United States of the
political and economic challenges in
Latin America
Chapter 5, Lesson 5
The History of US Relations with
Cuba
Fidel Castro was a
communist allied with the
Soviet Union
1961: Operation
Mongoose—a US covert
program to undermine
and overthrow Castro
More than 200,000
Cubans came to the
United States from 1959
to 1962 Chapter 5, Lesson 5 Alfredo Sosa / © 2008 The Christian
Science Monitor
The History of US Relations with
Cuba, cont.
1966 Cuban
Adjustment Act--
assumed that any
Cuban reaching
American soil was a
refugee from
communism and
welcome
Chapter 5, Lesson 5 Alfredo Sosa / © 2008 The Christian
Science Monitor
The History of US Relations
with Haiti
1957: François
Duvalier (“Papa Doc”)
won election
Harsh, corrupt rule
Succeeded by his
son
1996: Haiti enjoyed its
first-ever democratic
transition of power
Chapter 5, Lesson 5 Melanie Stetson Freeman / © 2006 The
Christian Science Monitor
The History of US Relations
with Haiti, cont.
From 1957 to 1982
about one million
people left Haiti
Unlike Cubans,
Haitians do not count
as refugees. They are
considered economic
migrants in the US
Chapter 5, Lesson 5 Melanie Stetson Freeman / © 2006 The
Christian Science Monitor
Latin America and the United
States Video
Consider the interconnection between the
United States and Latin America as we
watch this video: “Latin America and the
United States.”
Do you believe that we can no longer view
the well-being of the United States as
separate from Latin America?
Chapter 5, Lesson 5
Latin America and the United
States Video
Chapter 5, Lesson 5
The Challenges of Migration From
Latin America to the United States
Legal immigration refers
to those who work within
US law to come to the
US to settle permanently
Illegal immigrants, by
contrast, arrive in a
country without
permission
Chapter 5, Lesson 5 Melanie Stetson Freeman / © 1997 The
Christian Science Monitor
The Challenges of Migration From
Latin America to the United States,
cont.
Remittances are
sums of money
workers send back
home to their
families
To many Americans,
illegal immigrants
represent a failure of
government
Chapter 5, Lesson 5 Melanie Stetson Freeman / © 2006 The
Christian Science Monitor
The Effects on the United States of
the Political and Economic Challenges
in Latin America
Crime and violence
are two of the region’s
top threats
Drug-related violence
continues to spill over
the US border
Chapter 5, Lesson 5 Robert Harbison / © 1994 The Christian
Science Monitor
The Effects on the United States of
the Political and Economic Challenges
in Latin America, cont.
Latin America is the
largest foreign
supplier of oil to the
US, and a strong
partner for the
development of
alternative fuels
Chapter 5, Lesson 5 Alfredo Sosa / © 2008 The Christian
Science Monitor
Review
More than 200,000 Cubans came to the
United States from 1959 to the 1962
missile crisis
From 1957 to 1982 about one million
people left Haiti
Legal immigration refers to those who
work within US law to come to the US to
settle permanently
Chapter 5, Lesson 5
Review, cont.
Illegal immigrants, by contrast, arrive in a
country without permission
As a region, Latin America is the largest
foreign supplier of oil to the United States,
and a strong partner in the development of
alternative fuels
Chapter 5, Lesson 5
Summary
The history of US relations with Cuba
The history of US relations with Haiti
The challenges of migration from Latin
America to the United States
The effects on the United States of the
political and economic challenges in
Latin America
Chapter 5, Lesson 5
Next….
Done—US
Interests and
Regional Issues
in Latin America
Next—Europe:
An Introduction
Chapter 5, Lesson 5 David Clark Scott / © 2003 The Christian
Science Monitor