Quote:
Originally Posted by T. A. Gardner
If you look at the US planning as early as 1938 for what was termed "Hemisphere Defense" if any nation in the Americas openly declared war in support of Germany (or Japan) and had entered the war even prior to the entry of the United States into the war that nation, along with Germany, would have been shortly at war with the US. That is, the US and nations friendly to the US in the Americas would have declared war on that nation.
Taking Mexico as an example: Had they entered the war on the side of Germany the US would have invaded within weeks and taken the country. Mexico had (and has) a relatively small army and navy and both are ill-quipped to fight a modern war. Any other nation in the Americas would have faced similar circumstances; their small armed forces facing a huge US force within weeks of throwing into the war.
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The US has had a very long history of ensuring the Europeans (or Japanese) gain little military strength in Latin America. US military intervention has been frequent. From 1914 to 1928 both Haiti and Nicaragua were occupied by US combat units, and Mexico was briefly invaded in 1914. Grenada was invaded in the 1980s, and a plan for atacking Nicaragua was well advanced before being canceled.