Aftershocks from Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were felt around the world throughout the 1950s and beyond. Across Latin America, the U.S. began to use economic and military campaigns to fight for influence over foreign governments. This led to a period of violence and disorder across Latin America.
Latin American nations continue to face the impact of violent atrocities, and victims who were coerced into silence for decades have begun to tell their stories. Share them in your classroom with this collection of Retro Report documentary videos and classroom resources.
Putin’s Nuclear Threats Evoke Cold War Tensions of the Cuban Missile Crisis
When Russian President Vladimir Putin said in 2022 that the West risked nuclear conflict if it intervened more directly in the war in Ukraine, his words evoked memories of a 13-day political and military standoff known as the Cuban missile crisis. In October 1962, Soviet and U.S. leaders engaged in a confrontation over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles in Cuba. The episode stands as a lesson in the power of de-escalation. It also represents a turning point in the Cold War, when Americans’ trust in their leaders began to falter.
Following the tensions over the Cuban missile crisis, it became clear to many Americans that their leaders had underestimated the revolutionaries coming to power in Latin America. Use this documentary and lesson plan to teach about the Cuban missile crisis and its impact on the morale of Americans during the Cold War.
As Massacre Survivors Seek Justice, El Salvador Grapples With 1,000 Ghosts
As the Cold War continued, the U.S. supported the fight against Soviet-backed rebels in El Salvador. On Dec. 11, 1981, U.S.-trained Salvadoran soldiers stormed an area near the village of El Mozote, killing 1,000 people; more than half of the victims were children.
The Salvadoran government initially denied reports of the attack. Weeks later, the U.S. sent in military officers, who drafted a report affirming allegations of a massacre. But when the report was delivered to Congress, the opposite was stated, with a claim that there was no evidence of a massacre. The U.S. continued to fund El Salvador’s military efforts.
In 1992, the United Nations launched an investigation, recovering hundreds of human remains. Nonetheless, despite mountains of physical and testimonial evidence, efforts to hold anyone responsible were unsuccessful and continue today.
Students can learn about the massacre in El Salvador in this documentary. The consequences of U.S. involvement in Latin America are the topic of this lesson plan.
How A Folk Singer’s Murder Forced Chile to Confront Its Past
Each year, musicians from across Chile gather to commemorate the life and work of the folk singer Víctor Jara, who was murdered during a military coup in 1973, at the height of the Cold War. Jara was a lifelong advocate for peace and believed that “song has great power to raise consciousness in the face of the times we are living through.”
When a socialist government came to power in Chile in 1970, the U.S. government and allies within the Chilean military worked to destabilize the regime. Jara was arrested and taken to the Chile Stadium in Santiago, along with 5,000 other political prisoners. Days after he was escorted out of the stadium by military officers, his wife was called to identify his body, which was riddled with gunshot wounds.
In 2015, nine military officers were charged with Jara’s murder. But left out of the indictment was Pedro Pablo Barrientos, who resided in Florida. After a successful civil suit by Jara’s family to extradite Barrientos, the U.S. government granted the family’s request in October 2023. Students can hear from Jara’s widow, Joan Jara, and learn about her efforts to hold accountable those responsible for her husband’s murder in the documentary and lesson plan.
DAGMAR ROTHSCHILD is a former education intern at Retro Report. Previously, she worked as a field researcher and multimedia journalist for the human rights organizations Yesh Din and Machsom Watch in the West Bank. She is an undergraduate at Georgetown.
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