The United States and the Armed Forces of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, 2000-2014

This up-to-date book traces the efforts of the U.S. government to shape the armed forces of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean from 2000 to 2014. The narrative concentrates on the army and also provides extensive discussions of the air force and naval forces, including the Marines and the Coast Guard. The book also contains many references to the police in the countries. The longest chapters are on Mexico and its ongoing struggles with the drug cartels. Other countries, in particular Venezuela with its Bolivarian experiment and also Socialist Cuba, receive considerable attention. In an original contribution, this study is the first to discuss the military of usually ignored armed forces of countries such as the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. And the sections on Haiti and Panama, countries supposedly without armies, serve to reveal the massive role the United States has played in determining military policies. The text weaves the histories of the armed forces into the broad flow of the politics, economics, and international relations in the region. The book also provides a clear and brief introduction to the relations of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean with the United States.