The so-called “backyard diplomacy” of the U.S. in Latin America is notorious and widely criticized. Governments in the region that displease Washington are historically hit with robust economic sanctions that — while causing turmoil — do not hit their intended target.
The leading example, of course, is Cuba, one of the few countries that sought to challenge U.S. hegemony in the Americas. Soon after the Castro-led Cuban Revolution in the late 1950s, Washington hit the island nation with a massive trade embargo that still exists today. The UN estimated in 2018 that the blockade cost Cuba...
