To gain a full understanding of how complex the situation in Latin America during the Cold War was, I explored a variety of government reports from the United States. While I would have liked to explore several government reports from either the Soviet Union, Russian Federation, or the People’s Republic of China, many of these were either inaccessible due to language barriers or unable to be obtained because of heavy government censorship in all three countries. However, I did my best to address all voices, including those of Latin Americans describing anti-imperialist and anti-American sentiments through government reports. Overall, many of my reports are CIA documents, as they provide a variety of baseline information that was crucial to my full understanding of the topic, but many of these reports were either co-authored or used information from different government agencies or government experts. I tried to use primary sources that encapsulated three different areas, all of which detail how the Soviets or the United States influenced Latin America. These three areas are economics, politics, and the military. By doing this, I was able to give a nuanced and contextualized understanding of the complex political, military, economic, and clandestine game that was being played by the US and USSR in Latin America.

Table of Contents:

1. CIA. 1986. Soviet Policy Toward Nicaragua. Directorate of Intelligence. Central Intelligence Agency.
2. CIA. 1975. The Latin American Arms Market. Intelligence Memorandum. Central Intelligence Agency.
3. CIA. 1958. Soviet Economic Penetration of Latin America. Central Intelligence Agency.
4. CIA. 1985. Soviet and Soviet Surrogate Training of Insurgents. Central Intelligence Agency. August 1985.
5. Culvahouse, Arthur B., Jr. 1987. Iran/Arms Transaction: Legal Memoranda – Nicaraguan Contra Aid (Boland Amendment). Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
6. Edwards, Mickey. 1980. “Soviet Expansion and Control of Sea Lanes.” Proceedings 106, no. 9. U.S. Naval Institute. https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1980/september/soviet-expansion-and-control-sea-lanes.
7. CIA. 1979. Official History of the Bay of Pigs Operation, Volume II: Participation in the Conduct of Foreign Policy. Central Intelligence Agency History Staff. October 1979.
8. CIA. 1982. Soviet Policies and Activities in Latin America and the Caribbean. Special National Intelligence Estimate SNIE 11/80/90-82. Central Intelligence Agency.
9. Duncan, W. Raymond. 1980. Soviet Power in Latin America: Success or Failure? Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College.
10. CIA Foreign Documents Division. 1965. US Intervention in Latin America. Translated excerpts from article by Ernesto Solovera P. Santiago, July 13, 1965.