From the Common Enemy to the Internal Enemy: Geopolitical Strategy of the Cold War in Latin America

Abstract

During the period of the so-called Cold War, with the installation in the world spirit of a feeling of uncertainty and following the lead of the United States as the emerging leading force of the post-war international system; regional homogenization of the Latin American armed forces was achieved. These, aiming to defense the State and its institutions from communism, address within their borders & towards their citizens all the accumulation of new techniques and knowledge that they acquired in their specialized training designed in "first world" academies. As a result, the expressions of violence to certain social sectors considered dangerous and uncomfortable during the 70s and 80s, were systematized. Particularly in the States with military commanders, where many young political activists were persecuted, disappeared and tortured through a unified and very well coordinated Latin American anti-communist offensive; just as the “Condor Plan” was.