ABSTRACT
The principal debates on US policy toward Latin America have seldom occurred within the executive branch. This chapter describes the five case studies that span the last forty years of the twentieth century. Each represents a pivotal moment in US policy toward Latin America, and each illustrates the use of a different policy instrument. First is the US policy on expropriations and investment disputes is an example of the way Congress uses the aid bill to make policy. Second, US policy on human rights is routine executive diplomacy. Third, the negotiation and ratification of the new Panama Canal Treaties required a two-thirds vote of the Senate. Fourth, US policy toward Nicaragua included diplomacy, aid, and covert actions. Finally, the US invasions of Grenada in 1983 and Panama in 1989 were acts of war. The existence of the interbranch ensures that the policy that evolves from the American dialectic reflects the breadth of US national interests and ideals.
