Could Latin America help with Afghan refugee crisis?

When the U.S. started its war in Afghanistan, Latin America stayed out of it. The George W. Bush administration (2001-2009) built a 58-country coalition to support its military intervention in the Central Asian country, but from Latin America, only El Salvador joined the group — offering nonmilitary support. Many of the region’s countries, such as Venezuela and Cuba, criticized the invasion at the time – something they will feel justified about, seeing the catastrophic withdrawal of U.S. troops and the resurgence of the Taliban.

Others, such as Costa Rica, Mexico, and Chile, have now announced they would be accepting refugees from the war-torn nation.

The decision comes after UN Secretary-General António Guterres, among other influential voices, called for countries to open their doors to help alleviate the crisis, with thousands of Afghans fearing reprisals for their collaboration with the U.S.-led occupation and its outgoing authorities. Others...