The United States has means to wound Latin American countries deeply, chiefly by altering trade policies to cut imports in ways that would throw thousands out of work.

During the 1990s the United States sought to impose the 'Washington Consensus' on Latin American governments. It embodied what Latin Americans call 'neo-liberal' principles: budget cuts, privatization, deregulation of business, and incentives for foreign companies. This campaign sparked bitter resistance and ultimately collapsed.

What the United States wanted in Guatemala - and in Iran, where the C.I.A. also deposed a government in the early 1950s - was pro-American stability.

The United States condoned dictatorships in Latin America for much of the 20th century.

No step the United States could take anywhere in the world would bring strategic benefits as great as detente with Iran.

The countries of the American continent and the adjacent islands are for the United States the natural marts of supply and demand.