US threatens democracy in Central America by sending Marines: James Petras

The Pentagon’s move to send hundreds of US Marines to Central America threatens democracy in the volatile region says, an American professor.

“I think this move by Washington is a threat to democratic and independent politics which has been the key in Latin America over the last 15 years,” said James Petras.

“Sending of 280 Marines for the United States government to Central America is a very ominous development that follows a certain pattern that has taken place on a global level,” sociology professor said in an interview with Press TV on Sunday.

Petras, who is Bartle Professor of Sociology from Binghamton, New York, was giving his take on US plans to deploy US Marines to several countries in Central America.

The professor noted that the soldiers who would be sent to Latin America would not be there for “disaster relief” because “these groups that are being sent are special forces and they are notable for their counter-insurgency operations.”

Petras said the Pentagon believes that it can now “exploit certain changes that have taken place in Latin America, essentially the decline of oil and commodity prices.”

“They think the progressive governments in Latin America are more vulnerable at this moment, at the possibility of some social discontent, which they think they can exploit via some puppet political and essentially back to interventionism and the kind of policies that brought dictatorships and overthrew democracy,” Petras asserted.

“I think it’s very telling that Washington will concentrate most of its troops in Honduras which was the object of a military coup that was backed by Hillary Clinton when she was secretary of state that overthrew a legally-elected government and that now is run by a right-wing regime, which has been involved in repressing farm workers and small farmers and has been running a very repressive outfit,” added Petras.

The United States was involved in a military coup in Honduras that ousted President Manuel Zelaya on June 28, 2009.

In 2009, US President Barack Obama said that the military ouster of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was illegal and could set a "terrible precedent.”

Former secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at the time the United States government was holding off on formally branding it a coup.

Petras compares this policy with the Pentagon’s strategy in the Middle East.

“I think this policy is also planted in the Middle East where Washington has been involved with Saudi Arabia in crushing Yemen, while on the other hand it’s engaging in diplomatic negotiations with Iran,” he asserted.

The US is part of the so-called P5+1 group of countries that also include the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany who are all in the process of drafting a final agreement over Iran’s nuclear energy program.

Petras further stated that he believed the US is practicing a double standard policy one focusing on diplomacy and the other focuses on military aggression.

“I think it’s true in the Middle East and its true now in Latin America,” he stated.

HDS/AGB

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk