Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya

Ousted Nicaraguan President José Santos Zelaya López

With the ouster of President Zelaya from Honduras, the Wall Street Journal looks at the phenomenon of Latin American strongmen:

The Cult of the Caudillo

"Some argue that Latin America's single most - and colorful - contribution to political science is the caudillo."

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Tied to wealthy business interests and brought to power by the military, the provisional government brings back memories of the coup in which Chilean Augusto Pinochet tore down the Socialist project of Salvador Allende in 1973. On the streets of Tegucigalpa nowadays, some protesters have scrawled graffiti that merges the names of Mr. Pinochet and their new, unelected leader: "Pinocheletti."

...

To understand what is happening in Honduras today, it helps to know a bit more about Latin America's long love affair with caudillos, how these larger-than-life but power-hungry men damaged their countries, and why so many people are terrified that they are making a comeback.

In current MSM style, "Some argue" absolves the reporter from actually providing a reference for their premise, but my first instinct was to see whether the WSJ acknowledged an American role in creating Latin American strongmen for their own purposes. They mention the US role in two paragraphs:

As far as the U.S. was concerned, the cause of democracy in Latin America often took a back seat to fighting Communism during the Cold War. For years, the U.S. either looked the other way or supported coups with the aim of preventing the spread of Communism in the hemisphere. Military coups became almost ritual. In the 1970s, Honduras endured so many coups that the capital was jokingly called Tegucigolpe, for the Spanish word golpe, or coup.

The end of the Cold War radically changed politics in Latin America. As civil wars and guerrilla insurrections in Central America ran out of steam, pampered military establishments suffered deep budget cuts. The U.S. and the rest of the world made it clear that coups would not be tolerated anymore. The Organization of American States, which represents 34 countries throughout the hemisphere, adopted a democracy clause in its charter in 2001. By that point, Cuba remained as the only non-democracy.

But the US did far more than just "look the other way" or support coups to suppress Communism.

Under William Howard Taft, another Zelaya, Nicaraguan President José Santos Zelaya was forced to resign after US warships seized several of Nicaragua's seaports and US Marines landed from the Caribbean. The US installed Adolfo Díaz, former treasurer of American owned, La Luz y Los Angeles Mining Company. Diaz had used the mining company to fund the revolt against Zelaya. Marines occupied Nicaragua in 1910 and again in 1912. For the 1912 election, there were only 4000 eligible voters, and Díaz was the only candidate. Troops and advisors stayed until 1925.

Meanwhile, Zelaya's friend President Miguel Dávila of Honduras was toppled and replaced by former president Manuel Bonilla, aided by American banana tycoon Sam Zemurray and an American mercenary who became commander-in-chief of the Honduran army.

While Woodrow Wilson tried to keep us out of the impending European conflict, he allowed US intervention in four Latin American countries before WWI. Troops including my grandfather occupied Vera Cruz, Mexico, forcing out caudillo President (and former general) Victoriano Huerta. We occupied Haiti and stayed until 1934, setting the stage for the Duvalier regime. We occupied the Dominican Republic (which Pres. Grant had tried to annex), establishing a puppet administration in which Dominicans refused to serve, and staying until 1924, setting the stage for Trujillo. We intervened in Cuba over sugar exports, and in Panama, probably to protect the Canal.

One intervention was probably unavoidable. The US had supported former bandido (and self-styled Robin Hood) Pancho Villa against Huerta, but under Wilson, US policy turned against Villa, who retaliated by attacking US forces across the border. Wilson again sent troops to pursue Villa. They didn't catch him, but forced his retirement.

Extensive timeline of US interventions in Latin America