U.S. Military Interventions Timeline

A comprehensive history of American interventions in Latin America and beyond (1898-2025)

■ Overt Military Intervention
★ Covert Operation

Banana Wars Era (1898-1934)

■ OVERT
1898 • President McKinley (R)
Cuba & Philippines
Spanish-American War leads to U.S. occupation of Cuba and colonization of Philippines. Brutal counter-insurgency war killed an estimated 200,000-1,000,000 Filipinos.
■ OVERT
1903 • President T. Roosevelt (R)
Panama
U.S. supports Panamanian independence from Colombia to secure canal rights. USS Nashville prevented Colombian troops from suppressing the rebellion.
■ OVERT
1912-1933 • Presidents Taft (R), Wilson (D), Harding (R), Coolidge (R), Hoover (R)
Nicaragua
Twenty-one year U.S. Marine occupation to protect American business interests and fight Augusto Sandino's nationalist insurgency.
■ OVERT
1915-1934 • Presidents Wilson (D), Harding (R), Coolidge (R), Hoover (R), FDR (D)
Haiti
Nineteen-year U.S. occupation. Marines dissolved the Haitian army, controlled customs revenues, and supervised a new constitution allowing foreign land ownership.
■ OVERT
1916-1924 • Presidents Wilson (D), Harding (R), Coolidge (R)
Dominican Republic
Eight-year occupation. U.S. Marines dissolved the Dominican military and established a U.S. military government that directly ruled the country.
■ OVERT
1918-1920 • President Wilson (D)
Russia
U.S. deploys 13,000 troops in Allied intervention in Russian Civil War to support White movement and overthrow Bolsheviks. The "Polar Bear Expedition."

Early Cold War Era (1945-1960)

★ COVERT
1945-1954 • Presidents Truman (D), Eisenhower (R)
Vietnam
OSS officer Archimedes Patti worked with Ho Chi Minh during WWII. U.S. backed France's colonial reconquest instead of Vietnamese independence, then prevented 1954 Geneva elections knowing Ho Chi Minh would win.
★ COVERT
1945-1953 • Presidents Truman (D), Eisenhower (R)
Korea
U.S. backed Syngman Rhee's authoritarian government, preventing unified democratic elections that might have avoided the Korean War.
■ OVERT
1946 • President Truman (D)
Japan
Occupied Japan ratifies new constitution closely following a 'model copy' prepared by General MacArthur's command.
★ COVERT
1948 • President Truman (D)
Italy
CIA conducts first major electoral interference operation to prevent communist victory in Italian elections.
★ COVERT
1953 • President Eisenhower (R)
Iran
CIA Operation Ajax overthrows democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. The coup reinstalled Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whose authoritarian rule lasted until 1979.
★ COVERT
1953 • President Eisenhower (R)
Philippines
U.S. interferes in Philippine elections.
★ COVERT
1954 • President Eisenhower (R)
Guatemala
CIA Operation PBSUCCESS overthrows democratically elected President Jacobo Árbenz. The coup began decades of military dictatorships and civil war that killed over 200,000 Guatemalans.
★ COVERT
1957 • President Eisenhower (R)
Lebanon
U.S. interferes in Lebanese elections.

The 1960s: Peak Intervention Decade

★ COVERT
1960-1961 • Presidents Eisenhower (R), Kennedy (D)
Congo
CIA backs Colonel Joseph Mobutu in coup against democratically elected Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. Evidence suggests CIA involvement in Lumumba's assassination.
★ COVERT
1961 • President Kennedy (D)
Cuba (Bay of Pigs)
CIA-organized invasion by Cuban exiles attempts to overthrow Fidel Castro. During this period, the Joint Chiefs developed Operation Northwoods, a proposed false flag operation. President Kennedy rejected it.
★ COVERT
1961 • President Kennedy (D)
Dominican Republic
U.S. assists in assassination of dictator Rafael Trujillo.
★ COVERT
1963 • President Kennedy (D)
Iraq
CIA assists Ba'ath Party coup bringing Saddam Hussein's party to power. The new government used CIA-provided lists to hunt down and kill Iraqi communists.
★ COVERT
1963 • President Kennedy (D)
South Vietnam
CIA supports military coup against Ngo Dinh Diem, leading to his assassination. This begins the revolving door of unstable governments.
★ COVERT
1964 • President Johnson (D)
Brazil
U.S. supports military coup against democratically elected President João Goulart. The resulting military dictatorship lasted 21 years.
■ OVERT
1965 • President Johnson (D)
Dominican Republic
23,000 U.S. troops invade to prevent leftist Juan Bosch from returning to power. Operation Power Pack marked the first major U.S. combat deployment in Latin America since the 1920s.

The 1970s-1980s: Dirty Wars

★ COVERT
1970-1973 • President Nixon (R)
Chile
CIA attempts to prevent Salvador Allende's election, then works to destabilize his government through Operation FUBELT. On September 11, 1973, General Augusto Pinochet overthrew Allende. Pinochet's dictatorship killed over 3,000 people.
★ COVERT
1980s • Presidents Reagan (R), G.H.W. Bush (R)
El Salvador
U.S. provides over $4 billion in military aid during civil war. U.S.-trained and funded military and death squads killed approximately 75,000 civilians.
★ COVERT
1980s • Presidents Reagan (R), G.H.W. Bush (R)
Nicaragua (Contras)
CIA organizes, trains, and funds Contra rebels to overthrow the democratically elected Sandinista government. The International Court of Justice ruled the U.S. actions violated international law.
★ COVERT
1980s-1990s • Presidents Reagan (R), G.H.W. Bush (R), Clinton (D)
Mexico
U.S. supported authoritarian PRI government. President Carlos Salinas de Gortari's regime marked by political assassinations, including his hand-picked successor Luis Donaldo Colosio.
■ OVERT
1983 • President Reagan (R)
Grenada
7,000 U.S. troops invade the tiny Caribbean island following a Marxist coup. Operation Urgent Fury was justified as protecting American medical students.

Post-Cold War to 21st Century

■ OVERT
1989 • President G.H.W. Bush (R)
Panama
27,000 U.S. troops invade Panama to remove Manuel Noriega, a former CIA asset turned adversary. Operation Just Cause killed between 500-3,000 Panamanians.
★ COVERT
1991-1994 • Presidents G.H.W. Bush (R), Clinton (D)
Haiti
CIA allegedly pays coup leaders who overthrow democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. In 1994, U.S.-led Operation Uphold Democracy reinstates Aristide.
★ COVERT
1996 • President Clinton (D)
Russia
U.S. interferes in Russian presidential elections to ensure Boris Yeltsin's reelection.
★ COVERT
2002 • President G.W. Bush (R)
Venezuela
U.S. supports coup attempt against Hugo Chávez. Evidence emerged of U.S. meetings with coup plotters. The coup failed when popular protests restored Chávez within 48 hours.
■ OVERT
2003-present • Presidents G.W. Bush (R), Obama (D), Trump (R), Biden (D)
Iraq
CIA launches Operation DBACHILLES to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Following 2003 invasion, U.S. implements wholesale regime change and reconstruction of Iraqi government.
★ COVERT
2009 • President Obama (D)
Honduras
Military coup removes President Manuel Zelaya. U.S. officially condemned the coup but continued military aid and quickly recognized the post-coup government.
★ COVERT
2019-2020 • President Trump (R)
Bolivia
Following disputed elections, President Evo Morales resigns amid military pressure. U.S. immediately recognized the interim government despite questions about legitimacy.
■ OVERT
2025 • President Trump (R)
Venezuela Boat Bombings
At least six U.S. strikes on boats in Caribbean waters near Venezuela, killing approximately 27 people. Most direct U.S. military action in Central or South America since 1989 Panama invasion.

The Open Record

Documenting American foreign policy through declassified documents and historical research

theopenrecord.org

Sources: Congressional Research Service, National Security Archive (GWU), CIA FOIA Reading Room, Office of the Historian, Academic Research