Perilous lessons

The U.S. has been meddling in the affairs of Central American countries since the 1954 Guatemalan coup, during which the CIA deposed a democratically elected leader to install a military dictatorship. What followed: the Bay of Pigs debacle in Cuba, the invasion of the Dominican Republic, support for a coup in Chile against leftist President Salvado Allende, the Iran Contra scandal in Nicaragua, involvement in the civil war in El Salvador, and the invasion of Panama.

Our actions helped to establish dictatorships that lasted for decades and killed tens thousands. Now, we have deposed Maduro in Venezuela, so Trump can steal their oil. Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan should remind us of how this will end. Will the Republicans in Congress grow a spine and reign in Donald Trump?

To our peril, I don't see that happening.

Richard Keslinke

Algonquin