HistoryExtra podcast The United States and Latin America: a turbulent history
13 snips
Jan 30, 2026 
Greg Grandin, Yale history professor and expert on US–Latin American relations, offers sharp analysis of a turbulent two-centuries arc. He traces early expansionism and intervention, gunboat diplomacy and corporate influence. He covers the Cold War pivot, Castro’s role, and how the war on drugs reshaped regional politics.
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From Empire To Diplomatic Neighbors
- The US initially treated Spanish America as a collapsing empire to be absorbed rather than a group of sovereign nations.
- By 1823 the US shifted to diplomatic relations with new republics as Spain's colonies won independence.
Expansionism Woven Into US Origins
- Expansionism was baked into early American politics from colonial westward impulses to the Louisiana Purchase and Indian removal.
- The annexation of Texas and the Mexican-American War completed continental expansion by the 1840s.
Poinsett And Mexico's First US-Backed Coup
- Joel Poinsett engineered York Freemason lodges in Mexico that helped stage a coup friendly to US interests.
- That 1820s intervention is described as the United States' first effective form of regime change.
