Genocide in Latin America, 1950–2000

Abstract

Massive state violence in Latin America reached its peak in the twentieth century during the cold war under the National Security Doctrine (NSD). This doctrine provided an ideological justification for dictatorships in the region in the 1960s and 1970s, and even influenced regimes in countries where there was no breakdown of democracy, such as Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico. The NSD identified a new type of enemy – the ‘internal enemy’; a new form of warfare – the counter-insurgency campaign; and a new role for the armed forces – controlling the domestic population.