PART I: A CRISIS WITH DEEP ROOTS
CHAPTER 1
Invisibility and Forgetting
CHAPTER 2
Making the United States, Making Central America:
Bananas, Coffee, Savages, and Bandits
CHAPTER 3
The Cold War, Ten Years of Spring, and the Cuban
Revolution
PART II: REVOLUTION IN THE 1970 AND ’80S
CHAPTER 4
Guatemala: Reform, Revolution, and Genocide
CHAPTER 5
Nicaragua: “Luchamos contra el yanqui, enemigo de la humanidad”
CHAPTER 6
El Salvador: Si Nicaragua Venció, ¡El Salvador Vencerá!
CHAPTER 7
Honduras: Staging Ground for War and Reaganomics
CHAPTER 8
Central America Solidarity in the United States
PART III: KILLING HOPE
CHAPTER 9
Peace Treaties and Neoliberalism
CHAPTER 10
Migration
CONCLUSION
Trump’s Border War
Acknowledgments
Glossary
Notes
Index
Aviva Chomsky is a professor of history and the coordinator of Latin American Studies at Salem State University. The author of several books including Undocumented and "They Take Our Jobs!", Chomsky has been active in the Latin American solidarity and immigrants' rights movements for over 30 years. She lives in Salem, Massachusetts.
“A fiery, revelatory survey of Central America under U.S.
domination...Chomsky challenges readers to acknowledge that Donald
Trump’s policies were 'only the most recent iteration of over a
century of U.S. domination and exploitation of Central Americans.'
A compelling historical synthesis, told with style and moral
clarity.”
—Library Journal, starred review
“A convincing case that much of Central America’s violent unrest
can be laid at the feet of US leaders.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“A searing examination of how colonial oppression, Indigenous
resistance, and political and economic turmoil have fueled
migration from Central America to the U.S.”
—Publishers Weekly
“This is a text that is sorely needed, and there is nothing like it
available, a brilliant, deeply researched, and concise ‘forgotten’
history, not only of Central America but also of US military
occupations and interventions that have created the refugees at the
US-Mexico border.”
—Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of An Indigenous Peoples’ History of
the United States
“Aviva Chomsky’ Central America’s Forgotten History is essential
reading, an antidote to mainstream coverage that ignores the larger
context of the crisis. Its roots, as Chomsky concisely and
convincingly reveals, are deep, and many of them snake back to
Washington, to a century of catastrophic security and economic
policies.”
—Greg Grandin, author of The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to
the Border Wall in the Mind of America
“In this breathtaking book, Aviva Chomsky chronicles Indigenous
organizing and international solidarity movements that should guide
contemporary efforts to reform US foreign policies vis-à-vis the
Global South.”
—Paul Ortiz, author of An African American and Latinx History of
the United States
“For decades, policy makers and the public have grappled with the
problem of undocumented immigrants and have at the same time
ignored the reasons why so many Central Americans, in particular,
are fleeing in caravans of thousands to the US. . . . Until we
understand the US’ role and continued complicity in perpetuating
these conditions, a true solution to the immigration ‘problem’ will
remain out of reach. Professor Chomsky’s book illuminates this
willfully forgotten history.”
—Patricia Montes, executive director, Centro Presente
“With rich detail and accessible analysis, Aviva Chomsky
demonstrates how the colonial crucible itself is ultimately a fight
over how history is remembered—and why such history is so important
for advancing popular struggle.”
—Steve Striffler, author of Solidarity: Latin America and the US
Left in the Era of Human Rights
“I have been waiting for Central America’s Forgotten History for
the past decade. This thorough and thought-provoking book revives
the history that has long been severed from the Central American
experience in US discourse, especially around immigration.”
—Todd Miller, author of Storming the Wall: Climate Change,
Migration, and Homeland Security
“[Central America’s Forgotten History] gives insight to a history
that we never really look at in school. It was very informative and
I would recommend!”
—Kylee-Ryan Hodnett, student, Salem State University
“Aviva Chomsky delivers a detailed account of the untold history of
Central America. This book is a wonderful read for those searching
to further their knowledge on the United States’ hand in shaping
the policies and governments in Central America and the effects it
had on the people.”
—Kerry Williams, student, Salem State University
“Professor Chomsky, in the great tradition of speaking truth to
power, provides a detailed account of the often-forgotten neighbors
to our south. It is necessary to know and understand this history,
as the crises brought on by the neoliberal model continue to
amass.”
—J Lyons, student, Salem State University
“Professor Chomsky truly highlights the history of Central America
and its people. She reminds us all that forgetting is a clear
injustice to such a vibrant culture that has continuously been
squashed throughout history.”
—Molly Clark, student, Salem State University
“Aviva Chomsky does the work of helping us unforget the pillage,
plunder, and violence rained on Central America by the United
States. In-depth research and good storytelling do much to
resurrect the devastating stories and history beneath the
immigration headlines dominating our news cycle. A necessary and
timely contribution.”
—Roberto Lovato, author of Unforgetting: A Memoir of Family,
Migration, Gangs, and Revolution in the Americas
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