Letters to the Editor: Trump, stop using our tax dollars to wreak havoc in Latin America
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To the editor: The U.S. throughout history, and now during the Trump administration in particular, has always taken Latin America for granted and used it as its own source of wealth at will. From the Mexican-American War of 1846-48, which ended with the U.S. taking half of Mexico’s territory, to recent attacks on Venezuelan boats and the talk about sending troops to Mexico to fight the drug cartels, there is nothing but the arrogance of power and the disregard for other countries’ independence and sovereignty (“Sheinbaum cites Mexican-American War as she rejects Trump’s cartel strike threats,” Nov. 18).
History shows that the last wars waged by the U.S. in the name of defending its interests or purporting to establish democratic regimes have failed miserably, leading to thousands of deaths, millions of dollars made by the industries that profit from war and resulting governments that bear no resemblance to a real democracy.
So the message is, hands off Latin America! Take care of the problems in the U.S. Do not spend our tax dollars on this continued disregard for the countries to the south.
Rosa Maria Hernandez, Whittier
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To the editor: “I am not happy with Mexico,” President Trump says, so disappointed, like he’s scolding a naughty child. Spare me.
He says he’s “OK” with cartel strikes in Mexico as a means to “stop drugs” from killing Americans. How naive. We are killing ourselves with drugs at the highest rate in the world by far. Trump, why don’t you and your tough guys, bombing little boats, figure out the reason such huge parts of the country are in hopeless despair and turn to drugs? While you’re at it, maybe research a time when the thriving middle class was not hollowed out by a 50-year cycle of unchecked corporate greed and a vicious form of capitalism that has overrun democracy.
The roots of America’s drug addiction, obesity and homelessness are a disgrace to a country of such riches and power, and Trump’s short-term cure-alls are merely the blowharding of a bully with no idea of disappointment and desperation.
Dell Franklin, Cayucos
