CIA

Nick Cullather’s Secret History and US Intervention in Guatemala

By Rachel Bierly

January 7, 2019

The CIA’s intervention in Guatemala was the first of its kind. Due to the U.S. government’s secrecy on the matter, we are only able to make assumptions based on the facts given to us to determine the rationale of the CIA in terms of this invasion. Nick Cullather’s Secret History, Second Edition: The CIA’s Classified Account of its Operations in Guatemala, 1952-1954 collects the newly unredacted documents detailing the U.S.’s intervention in Guatemala, and the fallout that occurred as a result.

University of Pittsburgh Hillman Library houses Thomas Walker Collection: A lifetime of scholarly work in Latin America

By Rosa De Ferrari

November 8, 2017

Caridad was a woman of great endurance. Rising at 4am and retiring at midnight, she spent her long days cooking and selling mondongo, or tripe soup, to the men returning from the brothels in a small town in Colombia. With her sparse earnings, she supported her six children and was able to send her eldest, a son, to school. He went on to become a university professor and in turn provided education for his younger siblings. Not unlike mothers around the world, Caridad fought for her children’s survival with resilience and strength.

The Truth Behind Banana Republic

By Rachel Rozak

March 13, 2017

It doesn’t come as news to anybody that we live in a highly controversial world. Especially thanks to the collaborative environment fostered by social media, revolts have sparked over no less than the changing color of a Starbucks cup and its supposed underlying meaning. It is therefore quite shocking to me that one store’s name has been completely overlooked in this flurry of arguments and political correctness.

Over a Decade of US Covert Action in Colombia

By Kelcey Hadden-Leggett

October 20, 2016

For the last 50 years, Colombia’s most prominent guerrilla group, the FARC or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, have fought violently for land reform and justice for the poor. Formed in 1964, the Marxist peasant movement has used violence to bring attention to their cause, which has mostly been funded by the lucrative drug trade. However, over the last year in Havana, Cuba, negotiators from both the FARC and the Colombian government have been meeting in an effort to end the 50-year war.

Obama, Argentina and the “Dirty War” in Central America

President Obama’s upcoming visit to Argentina coincides with the 40^th anniversary of the military coup responsible for the curtailment of political and civil rights, forced disappearances, and the torture and murder of thousands of civilians. The decision of Mr. Obama to honor the victims of Argentina’s brutal “dirty war” by declassifying military, intelligence and law enforcement documents from that period should be applauded.

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