User:Maxpando/sandbox4

Throughout its history, the United States has been involved in a number of operations to change the governments of other states. This list documents known instances of regime change operations that had American involvement.

Categories of regime change

• Invasion (external group enters country) - <>
• Rebellion (internal group rises up) - <>
• Military coup (military turns on government) - <>
• Constitutional procedure (one official attempts to remove another) - <>
• Election (government challenged in election) - <>

Degrees of American involvement

  Intervention (carried out by American troops) - <>

  Orchestration (carried out by locals but planned by American officials) - <>

  Coordination (carried out by locals and planned together with American officials) - <>

  Support (planned and carried out by locals with American monetary, material, or verbal support) - <>

Outcomes

  Success (American-backed leader replaces American-opposed leader) - <>

  Other result (American-opposed leader removed but American-backed leader does not take power) - <>

  Failure (American-opposed leader remains in power) - <>

Countries

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Era of American imperialism (1893-1941)

The first instances of American involvement in regime change occurred as the country emerged as a great power and generally involved supporting American business interests in nearby countries in Central America and the Caribbean, either overthrowing leaders seen as opposing them or restoring political stability to regimes the United States supported.

Year	Country	American-opposed leader	American-backed leader	Reasoning	Method	American Involvement	Result
1893	Hawai'i	Queen Liliʻuokalani Kalākaua	Committee of Safety leader Lorrin Thurston	The Queen's attempt to replace the 1887 constitution with a new constitution that would lower its strict property requirements for voting and remove its granting of voting rights to foreigners, depriving American and European business owners of their effective control of the Hawaiian government	Rebellion	U.S. Minister to Hawaii John Stevens ordered the deployment of marines to nominally protect American lives and property in the country after the revolt broke out at the request of its leaders, most of whom were American citizens, compelling the Queen to step down rather than risk conflict with the American troops in her country by arresting them	Success
1899	Philippines	President Emilio Aguinaldo	Annexation	Desire to install a pro-American government as reward for winning the Spanish-American War, as well as fears a truly independent Philippines would soon fall to another colonial power like the increasingly powerful Japan	Invasion	The United States invaded the Philippines and eventually captured Aguinaldo and his government, allowing for the annexation of the Philippines as a territory of the United States	Success
1906	Cuba	President Tomás Estrada	Military occupation	Political instability by liberal protesters caused by the conservative Estrada's rigging of the 1905 Cuban general election in his own favor, threatening American interests in the country	Rebellion	After deeming his position untenable, the United States pressured Estrada to resign, giving the United States the pretext to reoccupy the country under the Platt Amendment, which it maintained for three years until new elections were held under its supervision	Success
1909	Nicaragua	President José Santos Zelaya	Atlantic Coast Governor Juan José Estrada	Promised economic concessions from the more conservative Estrada and existing tensions with Zelaya over his willingness to pursue a canal funded by Germany or Japan that could compete with the American-funded Panama Canal	Rebellion	The United States funded Estrada's rebellion, cut off diplomatic relations with Nicaragua following the killing of two Americans who participated in the rebellion, and deployed troops to nominally protect American citizens and property, ultimately leading Zelaya to resign amidst pressure from other liberals hoping to reach an agreement with the Americans, though they selected his close ally José Madriz to replace him rather than Estrada	Other result
1910	Nicaragua	President José Madriz	Atlantic Coast Governor Juan José Estrada	Madriz's ties to his predecessor José Santos Zelaya, who had been forced to resign under American pressure the year prior	Rebellion	When Estrada's forces were on the verge of defeat, the United States deployed more forces to the country to protect Estrada's strongholds despite claiming to be neutral; this enabled a counter-offensive by Estrada that eventually seized the capital, leading Madriz to resign	Success
1912	Nicaragua	Supreme Head of Government Luis Mena	Ousted President Adolfo Díaz	Capture of American-owned assets by Mena's forces as he attempted to consolidate control of the country after seizing power from Díaz, as well as his stated opposition to continued American financial domination of Nicaragua	Invasion	American troops invaded the country, defeating Mena, restoring Díaz to power, and occupying the country for most of the next twenty years	Success
1913	Mexico	President Francisco Madero	General Victoriano Huerta	Policies from Madero that threatened American business interests in the country like lifting restrictions on labor organizing	Military coup	U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Henry Lane Wilson hosted Huerta and rebel leader Félix Díaz at the American embassy in Mexico City, where they signed an agreement on cooperation to overthrow Madero, who would shortly afterwards be killed by Huerta's forces	Success
1914	Mexico	President Victoriano Huerta	Chihuahua Governor Pancho Villa	Political instability caused by Huerta's counter-revolutionary policies, as well as opposition to his killing of his predecessor Francisco Madero	Rebellion	The United States placed an arms embargo on the country, provided supplies to Villa's rebel faction fighting Huerta's government, and occupied Veracruz to prevent German-supplied weapons from reaching Huerta, ultimately forcing him to step down, though the anti-American Coahuila Governor Venustiano Carranza replaced him instead of Villa	Other result
1914	Dominican Republic	President José Bordas	Former Chamber of Deputies President Ramón Báez	Political instability caused by Bordas' rigging of the June 1914 elections in his favor	Rebellion	The United States convinced Bordas to resign so fair elections could be held, supporting Báez as provisional president to oversee them	Success
1915	Haiti	Cacos leader Rosalvo Bobo	Military occupation	Bobo's killing of and seizure of power from President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam in a revolt targeting the growing American economic influence over the country	Invasion	The United States invaded the country and occupied it for almost twenty years	Success
1916	Dominican Republic	Caudillo Desiderio Arias	Ousted President Juan Isidro Jimenes	Political instability in the country threatening its ability and willingness to pay back its debts to European and American creditors and a desire to secure American control over neighboring Haiti	Invasion	American troops invaded the country, quickly seizing control and forcing Arias into exile, though Jimenes resigned rather than comply with the demands of the occupying Americans, leading the United States to occupy the country for eight more years	Success
1926	Nicaragua	President Emiliano Chamorro	Former President Adolfo Díaz	Political instability by liberal rebels caused by Chamorro's seizure of power from Carlos José Solórzano, a more moderate conservative who was willing to work with the liberals	Rebellion	The United States pressured Chamorro to resign in favor of Díaz, who had previously served as a pro-American President of the country and was living in the United States, and then deployed troops to the country to suppress the liberal rebels who still refused to recognize his government	Success
1933	Cuba	President Gerardo Machado	Secretary of War Alberto Herrera	Significant political instability caused by Machado's increasingly despotic policies towards his political opponents including rigging the 1928 presidential election	Military coup	U.S. Ambassador to Cuba Sumner Welles attempted to negotiate a peaceful transfer of power to a government amenable to both Machado and the opposition, but as Machado resisted stepping down, threatened military intervention under the Platt Amendment and restructuring of the Cuban military to compel military leadership to turn on Machado	Success
1934	Cuba	President Ramón Grau	Army Chief of Staff Fulgencio Batista	Progressive revolutionary policies pursued by Grau that hindered American interests in the country, including unilaterally abrogating the Platt Amendment allowing American military intervention in the country	Military coup	U.S. Ambassador to Cuba Sumner Welles conspired with Batista on his plan to force Grau's resignation, which he ended up succeeding in pursuing	Success

World War II (1941-47)

During World War II, the United States began taking a more global approach to its regime change operations, generally targeting regimes that were part of or seen as associated with the Axis powers.

Year	Country	American-opposed leader	American-backed leader	Reasoning	Method	American Involvement	Result
1941	Panama	President Arnulfo Arias	Secretary of Government Ricardo de la Guardia	Arias' nationalist policies opposing American influence in the country and his seeming ties to the Axis powers as former Panamanian ambassador to Italy	Military coup	Ahead of the coup, American officials, including President Franklin Roosevelt expressed support for Arias' removal as the country moved closer to joining World War II	Success
1944	Bolivia	President Gualberto Villarroel	Ousted President Enrique Peñaranda	Villarroel's coup against Peñaranda, a close ally of the United States in World War II, and his collaboration with the antisemitic Revolutionary Nationalist Movement, leading to the perception he was supportive of the Axis powers	Constitutional procedure	The United States led all the other countries of the Americas apart from Argentina in withholding recognition from Villarroel's government until he made clear his continued commitment to the war effort and removed all members of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement from his government, at which point the United States finally recognized him and abandoned the restoration of Peñaranda	Failure
1945	Germany	Führer Adolf Hitler	Military occupation	German declaration of war on the United States and concerns about German domination of Europe	Invasion	The United States in collaboration with its allies invaded Germany and its occupied territories until it agreed to unconditionally surrender, after which point it was occupied until a new form of government could be established, though Germany would ultimately remain divided due to tensions between the United States and Soviet Union	Other result
1945	Japan	Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō	Military occupation	Japanese attack against the United States at Pearl Harbor and concerns about Japanese domination of East Asia	Invasion	The United States and its allies attacked Japanese-occupied territories and Japan itself until it agreed to unconditionally surrender, after which point it was occupied until a new form of government was established	Success

Cold War (1947-89)

The Cold War was the era in which the United States most prolifically pursued regime change operations, generally attempting to target governments perceived as communist or sympathetic to communism throughout the world.

Year	Country	American-opposed leader	American-backed leader	Reasoning	Method	American Involvement	Result
1949	Syria	President Shukri al-Quwatli	Army Chief of Staff Husni al-Za'im	Seeming instability of al-Quwatli's after losing the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, risking the prospect of communists or other extremists seizing control	Military coup	American officials conferred with Za'im ahead of the coup and U.S. Ambassador to Syria James Hugh Keeley Jr. allegedly proposed the idea to him to do so	Success
1949	Albania	Party of Labour First Secretary Enver Hoxha	Free Albania National Committee Chair Mid'hat Frashëri	Hoxha's communist government aligned with the Soviet Union and the country's strategic position as well as vulnerability in being the only Soviet-aligned country in the Mediterranean	Rebellion	The CIA and MI6 funded, trained, and transported insurgents into the country to attempt to foment a revolution, but this failed to materialize and all insurgents were captured or killed until they finally stopped being sent	Failure
1949	China	Chair Mao Zedong	Ousted President Chiang Kai-shek	Mao's communist government aligned with the Soviet Union in the most populous country in the world and forcible seizure of power through civil war, forcing Chiang's government into exile on the island of Taiwan	Invasion	The United States provided military aid to the exiled nationalist Chinese government through the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, trained the nationalist army for coastal raids with the CIA, and coordinated on plans to re-invade the mainland, though the plans were ultimately abandoned as the United States wanted to avoid Chinese intervention in the Vietnam War	Failure
1949	Panama	President Daniel Chanis	National Police Chief José Antonio Remón	Political instability caused by Chanis' refusal to overturn a Supreme Court decision harming Remón's business interests	Military coup	The United States helped pressure Chanis to accept his resignation in favor of Remón's preferred government to avoid bloodshed	Success
1950	Korea	Workers' Party Chair Kim Il Sung	Ousted President Syngman Rhee	Kim's invasion to oust Rhee from power in the south of the country and communist ideology	Invasion	The United States invaded Korea to restore Rhee to power with control over the entirety of the country, but ultimately reached a stalemate after China intervened that resulted in the country being split between Kim and Rhee	Other result
1953	East Germany	Socialist Unity Party Chair Walter Ulbricht	Former Ravensbrück concentration camp officer Erna Dorn	Ulbricht's communist government aligned with the Soviet Union and opposed to the American-backed West German government, as well as opportunity posed by an increase in East German work quotas without a pay increase	Rebellion	The American-owned radio station Radio in the American Sector in West Berlin helped publicize the demands of the rebels opposed to the work quota increase and their planned demonstrations, though the harsh East German military response eventually crushed the rebellion	Failure
1953	Iran	Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh	Former Minister of the Interior Fazlollah Zahedi	Growing ties between Mosaddegh and the communist Tudeh Party and Mosaddegh's consolidation of power by dissolving Parliament	Constitutional procedure	CIA officer Kermit Roosevelt Jr. helped plan the removal of Mosaddegh, convincing the Shah to dismiss him in favor of Zahedi and financing the protesters that eventually forced Mosaddegh to recognize the decree	Success
1953	Philippines	President Elpidio Quirino	National Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysay	Quirino's desire for a peaceful negotiated settlement with the communist Hukbalahap rebels in the country rather than continuing the violent repression he had been pressured by the United States to impose on them thus far	Election	CIA agent Edward Lansdale secretly ran Magsaysay's successful presidential campaign and American officials publicly sowed doubt in Quirino's election conduct to damage his popularity	Success
1954	Guatemala	President Jacobo Árbenz	Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Castillo	Árbenz's seeming ties to communism with his legalization of the communist Guatemalan Labour Party and seizure of land belonging to the American-owned United Fruit Company, the country's largest landowner	Rebellion	The CIA funded, armed, and trained a force under Castillo to invade Guatemala and engaged in arms embargo of the country, making its support of Árbenz's ouster sufficiently clear to compel the Guatemalan Army to refuse to fight for fear of otherwise having to fight an American invasion, forcing his resignation	Success
1954	North Vietnam	President Hồ Chí Minh	President Ngô Đình Diệm	Hồ's close ties with the communist Soviet Union and China, as well as planned elections to reunify the country that he was expected to win		The United States provided advisors and funding to South Vietnam to prop up its government and eventually directly went to war with Hồ's forces, conducting air strikes against them and engaging in land battles with them, but Vietnam eventually reunified under the control of Hồ's followers	Failure
1955	Costa Rica	President José Figueres	Ousted President Rafael Ángel Calderón	Figueres' affiliation with the Caribbean Legion dedicated to overthrowing the American-backed dictators of Latin America, having himself overthrown Calderón after his rejection of the results of the 1948 presidential election, and economic policies based on the New Deal	Invasion	The American-backed government of Nicaragua hosted Calderón and his supporters, allowing them to invade Costa Rica across its border, and the CIA and other American-backed leaders allegedly provided air support to the rebels, though they abandoned this support once revealed, allowing the government to defeat them	Failure
1957	Indonesia	President Sukarno	7th District Wirabuana Military Commander Ventje Sumual	Sukarno's close ties with the Indonesian Communist Party and visits to China and the Soviet Union	Rebellion	The CIA armed rebels dissatisfied with the Java-based government's treatment of other ethnic groups and directly participated in bombing raids against Indonesian targets until American aviator Allen Lawrence Pope was captured, revealing American involvement and forcing the CIA to withdraw	Failure
1957	Syria	President Shukri al-Quwatli	Former President Adib Shishakli	Elevation of pro-Soviet communist figures in al-Quwatli's government, leading to fears of Syria becoming a Soviet satellite state and from there enabling the spread of communism to other American allies in the region	Invasion	The United States publicly declared their fears that the Syrian government would be come communist imminently if action was not taken and coordinated with its allies Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan on a joint invasion, though the plan was ultimately abandoned due to Soviet threats to attack Turkey if it launched the invasion, threatening to bring the United States into war with the Soviet Union	Failure
1958	Laos	Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma	Independent Party Leader Phoui Sananikone	Souvanna's formation of a coalition government with the communist Pathet Lao and unwillingness to devalue the Laotian currency to stem inflation, worried about the consequences it would have for the Laotian people	Constitutional procedure	The United States suspended aid payments to Laos, which paid for its whole military budget, signaling to American allies in the parliament to bring down the government through a vote of no confidence, which successfully installed Phoui as Prime Minister, enabling him to purge Pathet Lao members from the government and military	Success
1959	Laos	Prime Minister Phoui Sananikone	Defense Minister Phoumi Nosavan	Phoui's firing of unelected American-backed right-wing ministers from the Committee for the Defence of National Interests including Phoumi due to their gradual seizure of power over the government, as well as Phoui's unilateral extension of his term in office until the scheduled 1960 Laotian parliamentary election despite his term expiring	Military coup	The United States military and CIA both pressured Phoui to elevate members of the committee in his government despite them being unelected prior to the coup, and Phoumi stated privately that he had American support for overthrowing Phoui	Success
1960	Congo-Léopoldville	Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba	President Joseph Kasa-Vubu	Lumumba's enlistment of Soviet military advisors to assist in campaigns against Belgian-backed separatists in the south of the country, leading to concerns they could facilitate a communist takeover	Constitutional procedure	The CIA bribed Kasa-Vubu to dismiss Lumumba as Prime Minister and coordinated plans with Army Chief of Staff Joseph-Désiré Mobutu to enforce the dimissal and assassinate Lumumba through station chief Larry Devlin	Success
1960	Laos	Captain Kong Le	Former Defense Minister Phoumi Nosavan	Kong's willingness to allow the communist Pathet Lao into the government and accept Soviet aid while criticizing American influence in the country	Rebellion	The CIA provided financial backing, training, and air support to Phoumi's forces and the United States suspended aid to Laos until Phoumi reclaimed power	Success
1961	El Salvador	Junta of Government President Miguel Ángel Castillo	Armed Forces Chief of Staff Aníbal Portillo	Castillo's legalization of the Communist Party of El Salvador and unwillingness to cut off relations with Cuba	Military coup	The United States expressed its support for military officers, disgruntled by their lack of influence in Castillo's government, overthrowing him	Success
1961	Cuba	Prime Minister Fidel Castro	Brigade 2506 Commander Pepe San Román	Nationalization of the assets of American companies in Cuba by Castro	Invasion	The CIA recruited and trained a force of Cuban exiles to invade Cuba with the intent of overthrowing Castro's government with direct American air support approved by President John F. Kennedy himself, though as the invasion force lost its initiative, Kennedy called off further air support to avoid publicly acknowledging American involvement	Failure
1961	Dominican Republic	Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo	Brigadier General Antonio Imbert	Trujillo's attempted assassination of Venezuelan President Rómulo Betancourt, which enraged other Latin American countries more crucial to the United States, and his subsequent legalization of the Dominican Communist Party to attempt to secure Soviet support	Assassination	The CIA conferred with the plotters and provided the weapons used to successfully assassinate Trujillo, though his son Ramfis Trujillo maintained control of the country for several more months, killing most of the plotters	Other result
1963	Iraq	Prime Minister Abdul-Karim Qasim	Ba'ath Party Iraqi Branch General Secretary Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr	Qasim's overthrow of the pro-American monarchy, severing of security relationships with the United States and its ally the United Kingdom, and seizure of the assets of the Anglo-American-owned Iraq Petroleum Company	Military coup	The CIA supported the coup plotters with money and equipment and allegedly assisted in planning the coup, having already been working to orchestrate its own coup	Success
1963	Guatemala	President Miguel Ydígoras	Minister of Defense Enrique Peralta	Ydígoras' decision to allow free elections where the popular left-wing former President Juan José Arévalo would be allowed to run	Military coup	The United States gave support to the coup plotters	Success
1963	Ecuador	President Carlos Julio Arosemena	Navy Commander Ramón Castro	Arosemena's support for Fidel Castro's revolution in Cuba and insults directed at U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador Maurice Bernbaum	Military coup	The United States gave support to the coup plotters	Success
1963	Dominican Republic	President Juan Bosch	General Elías Wessin	Policies by Bosch that were seen as communist, including breaking up estates, promoting secularism, codifying workers' rights, and constraining the military	Military coup	The United States expressed skepticism towards Bosch, tacitly endorsing his removal, though it did not recognize Wessin's seizure of power	Success
1963	Honduras	President Ramón Villeda	Minister of Defense Oswaldo López	The likelihood that Liberal nominee Modesto Rodas would win the upcoming presidential election being held by Villeda and pursue policies that would damage American business interests in the country	Military coup	The United States maintained a close relationship with the Honduran military, threatened to withhold aid from Villeda if he was not tougher on communism, and had the FBI investigate communist influence in Villeda's Liberal Party, though it did not recognize López's seizure of power	Success
1963	South Vietnam	President Ngô Đình Diệm	Presidential Military Advisor Dương Văn Minh	Unpopularity caused by Diệm's favoritism to Catholicism over the majority religion of Buddhism, including raids of Buddhist pagodas, threatening to allow the communist Việt Cộng to garner public support	Military coup	U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. conferred directly with the coup plotters and CIA officer Lucien Conein provided funds for them to carry it out	Success
1964	Brazil	President João Goulart	Army Chief of Staff Humberto Castelo Branco	Goulart's refusal to support an invasion of Cuba, economic policies damaging American businesses in Brazil, and fears that communists in his government would launch their own coup	Military coup	U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Lincoln Gordon coordinated directly with coup plotters and the CIA provided them with supplies	Success
1964	Bolivia	President Víctor Paz	Vice President René Barrientos	Rift between the revolutionary Paz and his more left-wing Vice President Juan Lechín over who would lead their Revolutionary Nationalist Movement party in the 1964 Bolivian general election, providing an opportunity to oust both	Military coup	The United States heavily pressured Paz to grant greater powers to the army, which had been weakened significantly after Paz's Bolivian National Revolution, to repress left-wing insurgents supporting Lechín, giving the army enough power to oust Paz as well	Success
1965	Dominican Republic	President Francisco Caamaño	Government of National Reconstruction President Antonio Imbert	Alleged threat to Americans of violence caused by Caamaño's seizure of power and alleged ties of Caamaño to communism given his association with the progressive former President Juan Bosch, previously overthrown with tacit American support	Rebellion	The United States invaded the country, which quickly resulted in Caamaño agreeing to peace and negotiations with Imbert's forces on a new government, which would be led provisionally by Héctor García-Godoy rather than either of them	Other result
1965	Indonesia	President Sukarno	General Reserve Commander Suharto	Sukarno's partnership with the Soviet Union and China as well as local Indonesian communists against the American-backed United Kingdom and its former colonial possession, the newly independent Malaysia	Constitutional procedure	The United States provided Suharto with lists of suspected communists to target, coordinated with him on carrying them out, and provided financial and military support, allowing him to remove many prominent Sukarno supporters from power and then be appointed president in his place	Success
1965	Congo-Léopoldville	President Joseph Kasa-Vubu	Army Chief of Staff Joseph-Désiré Mobutu	Political instability in the country after Kasa-Vubu dismissed Prime Minister Moïse Tshombe and attempted to replace him with Évariste Kimba, who did not have majority support in the Chamber of Deputies	Military coup	The CIA provided support for the coup	Success
1965	France	President Charles de Gaulle	Seine-Maritime Senator Jean Lecanuet	De Gaulle's opposition to American hegemony, including removing the United States dollar as France's reserve currency, refusing to participate in military exercises for the American-led NATO alliance, suspending participation in the European Economic Community to halt trade negotiations with the United States, criticizing American wars in Vietnam and the Dominican Republic, and aligning with the Soviet Union to the point of receiving direct Soviet electoral support	Constitutional procedure	The United States provided financial support to Lecanuet's campaign as he supported stronger relations with the United States, but he ended up coming in a distant third	Failure
1966	Ghana	President Kwame Nkrumah	Major General Joseph Arthur Ankrah	Nkrumah's growing ties with communist leaders around the world	Military coup	The United States was aware of the coup plot and restricted economic aid to the country to put more pressure on Nkrumah	Success
1967	Greece	Prime Minister Panagiotis Kanellopoulos	Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos	Expectation that the left-wing Andreas Papandreou's Centre Union party would win the 1967 Greek general elections being held by Kanellopoulos, enabling Papandreou to potentially seize power	Military coup	The United States was receptive to existing plans for a coup should the Centre Union win the election, but supported the coup plotters after they seized power early instead	Success
1969	Panama	Colonel Boris Martínez	National Guard Commander Omar Torrijos	Martínez's authoritarian tendencies after seizing power the year prior, as well as his skepticism of American influence in the country and agrarian reform policies that seemed communist	Military coup	The United States expressed opposition to Martínez, tacitly backing the coup against him	Success
1970	Cambodia	Chief of State Norodom Sihanouk	Prime Minister Lon Nol	Sihanouk's willingness to cooperate with the communist North Vietnamese and Viet Cong from South Vietnam, allowing them to import aid through Cambodian ports and utilize Cambodian territory	Military coup	Nol contacted the CIA about his proposed coup, which was not disclosed to Sihanouk making clear their tacit support, and several American military intelligence agents are suspected to have been involved	Success
1970	Chile	President Salvador Allende	General Roberto Viaux	Allende's socialist economic policies threatening American businesses in the country and his willingness to cooperate with communist countries like Cuba	Military coup	The CIA recruited and supplied military officers to help overthrow Allende, though they only succeeded in removing the constitutionalist Army Commander-in-Chief René Schneider, which turned public opinion towards constitutionalism, leading to the arrest of the plotters	Failure
1970	Costa Rica	President José Figueres	Free Costa Rica Movement leader Bernal Urbina	Figueres' decision to establish diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union to address economic issues in the country	Invasion	The San José CIA station chief Earl Williamson planned an invasion of Costa Rica with far-right groups in Guatemala, smuggling in weapons to that end, with the knowledge of Ambassador Walter C. Ploeser, but these plans were abandoned after the Miami Herald publicly revealed them, forcing Williamson to be recalled	Failure
1971	Bolivia	President Juan José Torres	Colonel Hugo Banzer	Torres' left-wing policies, including empowering labor unions, nationalizing American companies, and establishing a People's Assembly representing workers and peasants	Military coup	The American-dominated World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank refused to provide financial aid to Bolivia to put pressure on Torres while President Richard Nixon's administration directed financial and advisory assistance to Banzer	Success
1972	Ecuador	President José María Velasco	Army Commander Guillermo Rodríguez	Velasco's crackdown on American fisherman in Ecuadorian waters and risk of the unpredictable populist Assad Bucaram winning the elections Velasco was due to hold	Military coup	The United States cut off all military and economic aid to the country until Velasco's removal	Success
1973	Chile	President Salvador Allende	Army Commander-in-Chief Augusto Pinochet	Allende's socialist economic policies threatening American businesses in the country and his willingness to cooperate with communist countries like Cuba	Military coup	The CIA funded anti-Allende propaganda and President Richard Nixon and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger coordinated with coup plotters	Success
1975	Zaire	President Mobutu Sese Seko	Ground Forces Chief of Staff Daniel Katsuva Wa Kasivwira	Mobutu's increasingly independent foreign policy, including breaking off relations with Israel, as well as his nationalization of foreign businesses	Military coup	The coup plotters were all educated and trained in the United States, but ended up being arrested before they could act on their plot	Failure
1975	Angola	President Agostinho Neto	National Liberation Front President Holden Roberto	Neto's communist policies after achieving control of the country following independence from Portugal and his close ties to the Soviet Union	Rebellion	President Gerald Ford authorized financial support, equipment, and military advisors to support Roberto's rebel forces, though after this was discovered by Congress, it was blocked by the Clark Amendment	Failure
1975	Australia	Prime Minister Gough Whitlam	Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Fraser	Whitlam's disagreements with American foreign policy, including withdrawing from the Vietnam War, cutting off ties between the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the CIA, and threatening not to renew leases of military bases to the United States in the country	Constitutional procedure	The CIA funneled money to Governor-General of Australia John Kerr to support him dismissing Whitlam and installing Fraser, and Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher formally apologized for American involvement in the dismissal	Success
1975	East Timor	President Francisco Xavier do Amaral	Annexation by Indonesia	Fears that Amaral's center-left party would eventually create a communist government in the newly-independent country, as well as a desire to maintain good relations with the staunchly anti-communist Indonesia, which supported annexation to avoid the rise of secessionism and communism in its periphery	Invasion	Indonesian President Suharto met with President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger the day before the invasion to confirm their support and the United States provided the vast majority of the Indonesian weapons used in the invasion	Success
1976	Argentina	President Isabel Perón	Army General Commander Jorge Rafael Videla	Rise of guerilla warfare during Perón's presidency and concerns she could not contain it	Military coup	The United States privately expressed support to the military for a coup	Success
1976	Jamaica	Prime Minister Michael Manley	Leader of the Opposition Edward Seaga	Manley's close relationship with Cuba and support for its intervention to support the communist Angolan government in the Angolan Civil War	Rebellion	The CIA provided weapons to supporters of Seaga's Labour Party to use to attempt to overthrow the government and assassinate Manley, but he was able to successfully crack down on the violence and win the 1976 Jamaican general election	Failure
1979	Kampuchea	People's Revolutionary Council Chair Heng Samrin	Prime Minister Pol Pot	Samrin's forced seizure of power and alignment with the Soviet-backed Vietnamese	Rebellion	The United States supported continued recognition of Pot as the legitimate representative of Cambodia in the United Nations and provided material support to rebel forces aligned with him, but at the end of the Cold War abandoned its desire to overthrow the Cambodian government, which ended up forming a coalition government that did not include Pot	Other result
1979	Nicaragua	President Anastasio Somoza	Democratic Union of Liberation leader Violeta Chamorro	Human rights violations by Somoza to stay in power, including the murder of American journalist Bill Stewart	Rebellion	The United States cut off all aid to Somoza's government and prevented other countries like Israel from continuing to aid him as well, leading to his downfall, and attempted to moderate the influence of the communist Sandinista National Liberation Front within the rebel forces, though this quickly failed	Other result
1979	El Salvador	President Carlos Humberto Romero	Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Adolfo Arnoldo Majano	Romero's perceived inability to deal with growing left-wing protests in the country supported by the newly communist Nicaraguan government to the south	Military coup	Coup plotters secured American support prior to launching the coup and received immediate recognition and financial assistance	Success
1979	Afghanistan	People's Democratic Party General Secretary Babrak Karmal	Jamiat-e Islami leader Burhanuddin Rabbani	Soviet intervention to support Karmal's communist government	Rebellion	The United States sent financial assistance and military equipment directly to Rabbani's mujahideen fighters, who eventually succeeded in ousting the communist government	Success
1980	Turkey	Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel	Chief of the General Staff Kenan Evren	Political instability in the country due to stark ideological divisions, leading to daily assassinations of political figures from both the left and right	Military coup	The United States had some awareness of the plot beforehand and allegedly considered the plotters to be affiliated with American interests	Success
1980	Jamaica	Prime Minister Michael Manley	Leader of the Opposition Edward Seaga	Manley's close relationship with Cuba and support for its intervention to support the communist Angolan government in the Angolan Civil War	Election	The CIA provided weapons to supporters of Seaga's Labour Party and amidst the frequent gun violence, Seaga was able to secure victory in the election	Success
1980	El Salvador	Revolutionary Government Junta Chair Adolfo Arnoldo Majano	Foreign Minister José Napoleón Duarte	Majano's support for left-leaning economic and political reforms	Military coup	The United States placed pressure on Majano to step down, first as chair of the junta and then as a member of it entirely	Success
1981	Panama	Maximum Leader Omar Torrijos	Military Intelligence Chief Manuel Noriega	Torrijos' support for left-wing leaders in Chile and Cuba and arming of left-wing guerilla forces in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, as well as his desire to gain full control of the Panama Canal from the United States	Assassination	The CIA allegedly placed a bomb in Torrijos' plane that resulted in its crash and Noriega, a prior CIA partner, helped cover this up	Success
1981	Nicaragua	Junta of National Reconstruction Coordinator Daniel Ortega	Nicaraguan Democratic Force President Adolfo Calero	Oretga's alleged funding of communist revolutions in other countries	Rebellion	The CIA provided direct funding and arms to the anti-government Contras at the direction of President Ronald Reagan, but this violated the Boland Amendment passed by Congress, which forced this plan to be abandoned once found out	Failure
1981	Libya	Brotherly Leader Muammar Gaddafi	National Front for Salvation Secretary-General Mohammed Magariaf	Gaddafi's opposition to American foreign policy, including opposing the American ally of Israel, occupying portions of American-backed Chad, asserting territorial claims to the nearby Gulf of Sidra, and supporting militant groups in Western Europe, most notably allegedly those behind the West Berlin discotheque bombing	Assassination	The United States supported the National Front for the Salvation of Libya opposition group from its formation and placed other forms of pressure on the country, culminating in directly bombing it in 1986 while specifically targeting the command center where Gaddafi was believed to be among other targets, though he emerged unharmed, after which point the regime change effort was largely abandoned	Failure
1981	Seychelles	President France-Albert René	Ousted President James Mancham	Fears of potential threats to the American military base on the nearby island Diego Garcia after René overthrew the former pro-American President James Mancham and pursued socialist domestic policies	Rebellion	The United States had advance knowledge of the coup plan the South African officials and Seychellois exiles who carried it out and expressed support for it, though the plotters ended up being discovered before it could be carried out	Failure
1982	Suriname	National Military Council Chair Dési Bouterse	Former National Army Supreme Commander Surendre Rambocus	Bouterse's socialist leanings, including establishing diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union, Cuba, and North Korea	Military coup	The United States and its ally the Netherlands cut off aid to Suriname to attempt to destabilize the government after Rambocus' coup failed and he was killed, but ultimately abandoned overthrowing Bouterse after he agreed to expel Cuban diplomats in the wake of the American invasion of Grenada, not wanting to face invasion himself	Failure
1982	Guatemala	President Fernando Romeo Lucas	General Efraín Ríos	Lucas' military losses to left-wing rebel forces in the country and loss of popularity after rigging the 1982 presidential election in favor of his Defense Minister Ángel Aníbal Guevara	Military coup	The United States expressed support for the coup that installed Ríos	Success
1982	Chad	President Goukouni Oueddei	Armed Forces of the North Commander Hissène Habré	Goukouni's decision to seek peace with socialist Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and allow greater Libyan influence over Chad	Rebellion	The United States provided significant funding, military aid, and organizational advice to Habré's forces through the CIA	Success
1983	Guatemala	President Efraín Ríos	Defense Minister Óscar Humberto Mejía	Ríos' growing unpopularity due mostly to his devotion to Protestantism in the Catholic-majority nation	Military coup	The United States expressed support for the coup	Success
1983	Grenada	Revolutionary Military Council Chair Hudson Austin	Governor-General Paul Scoon	Austin's desire to align the country more closely with the Soviet Union after seizing power, as well as nominally the threat posed to Americans in the country by the violence resulting from his seizure of power	Invasion	The United States invaded the country and overthrew Austin's government	Success
1986	Angola	President José Eduardo dos Santos	National Union for Total Independence President Jonas Savimbi	Dos Santos' close ties to the Soviet Union and hosting of Cuban troops to fight Savimbi's rebel forces	Rebellion	President Ronald Reagan publicly authorized military assistance to be sent to Savimbi's forces, though Savimbi failed to achieve victory and was gradually cut off from aid following the end of the Cold War	Failure
1987	Fiji	Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra	Army Chief of Staff Sitiveni Rabuka	Bavadra's opposition to the American military presence in Fiji	Military coup	The United States enabled and supported Rabuka's seizure of power	Success

Post-Cold War (1989-present)

Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has had a less directed policy of regime change, targeting various categories of leaders including some remaining from the Cold War era that it still opposed, some seen as associated with terrorism, some seen as excessively inhumane, and some seen as excessively authoritarian.

Year	Country	American-opposed leader	American-backed leader	Reasoning	Method	American Involvement	Result
1989	Chile	President Augusto Pinochet	Coalition of Parties for Democracy Presidential Nominee Patricio Aylwin	Pinochet's growing authoritarianism, damaging his standing among the American public	Election	The United States expressed support for the restoration of democracy in Chile and prominent Americans assisted the opposition campaigns against Pinochet	Success
1989	Panama	Panama Defense Forces Commander-in-Chief Manuel Noriega	President-Elect Guillermo Endara	Noriega's involvement in drug smuggling and growing ties with Cuba, as well as his rigging of the 1989 Panamanian general election	Invasion	The United States invaded the country to depose Noriega and install Endara as the elected President	Success
1990	Nicaragua	President Daniel Ortega	National Opposition Union Presidential Nominee Violeta Chamorro	Existing tensions with Ortega from the Cold War	Election	The United States Congress directly allocated funds to Chamorro's campaign and the government indicated it would end its embargo of Nicaragua if she was elected	Success
1990	Bulgaria	President Petar Mladenov	Union of Democratic Forces Chair Zhelyu Zhelev	Mladenov's communist ideology and Zhelev's support for closer relations with the United States	Election	The United States expressed support for Zhelev's party in the election, though he still did not achieve victory	Failure
1990	Chad	President Hissène Habré	Patriotic Salvation Movement leader Idriss Déby	Habré's unpopularity caused by an unwillingness to embrace democracy and the brutal killings of certain ethnic groups in the country, as well as the end of the Cold War reducing the need to back his government	Rebellion	The American-aligned French forces in Chad did nothing to resist Déby's seizure of power, demonstrating the United States' tacit endorsement of it	Success
1991	Iraq	President Saddam Hussein	Former Ambassador to the United Nations Salah Omar al-Ali	Fears Saddam would continue conquering territory in the Persian Gulf following his successful invasion of Kuwait, which would give him control of 65% of the world's oil supply	Military coup	President George Bush directly encouraged the overthrow of Saddam as the Gulf War drew to a close, hoping for a swift military coup to oust him, but this failed to materialize and instead rebellions began by Shia and Kurdish rebels, but the United States feared their success could lead to the collapse of the Iraqi state or increased Iranian influence in the country, so declined to provide support, enabling Saddam to crush them	Failure
1991	Albania	Party of Labour First Secretary Ramiz Alia	Democratic Party Chair Sali Berisha	Alia's communist ideology and Berisha's professed support for closer relations with the United States and its affiliated international institutions	Election	The National Endowment for Democracy directly funded supporters of the Democratic Party and promised economic aid and humanitarian assistance to Albania if Berisha was elected, but he still lost the election	Failure
1991	Haiti	President Jean-Bertrand Aristide	Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Raoul Cédras	Threat of Aristide's populist policies to Haitian elites associated with previous American-backed dictatorship and his unwillingness to condemn violence by his supporters	Military coup	The CIA trained many of the coup plotters and the United States quickly recognized the new government once installed	Success
1993	Somalia	Somali National Alliance Chair Mohamed Farrah Aidid	Interim President Ali Mahdi Muhammad	Attacks by Aidid's forces against United Nations forces	Invasion	The United States participated in a battle to capture Aidid in Mogadishu, but failed to do so	Failure
1994	Haiti	Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Raoul Cédras	Ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide	Haitian refugee crisis caused by Cédras' policies and American public support for restoring democracy in Haiti	Invasion	The United States invaded the country with other international partners to force Cédras to step down and allow Aristide to return to power	Success
2000	Ecuador	Colonel Lucio Gutiérrez	Vice President Gustavo Noboa	Forced removal of neoliberal President Jamil Mahuad by Gutiérrez and indigenous leftist protesters opposed to his policy of adopting the United States dollar as Ecuador's currency	Military coup	American officials discussed whether to support Mahaud's restoration and threatened economic sanctions to get other military officers to remove Gutiérrez	Success
2000	Yugoslavia	President Slobodan Milošević	Democratic Opposition Presidential Nominee Vojislav Koštunica	Damaged relations with the United States during the Yugoslav Wars	Rebellion	The State Department and National Endowment for Democracy provided funding to Koštunica's campaign	Success
2001	Afghanistan	Supreme Leader Muhammad Omar	Ousted President Burhanuddin Rabbani	Omar's refusal to extradite al-Qaeda Emir Osama bin Laden to the United States for his involvement in the September 11 attacks	Invasion	The United States invaded the country and installed a new government initially under Rabbani while continuing to fight Omar's Taliban for twenty years before withdrawing in 2021, allowing them to retake control	Other result
2002	Venezuela	President Hugo Chávez	Army General Commander Efraín Vázquez Velazco	Chávez's nationalization of Petróleos de Venezuela, the country's largest oil company, and cooperation with countries opposed by the United States like Cuba and Iraq	Military coup	American officials met with opposition leaders in the lead-up to the coup and expressed support for the new government until its collapse	Failure
2003	Iraq	President Saddam Hussein	Iraqi National Congress President Ahmed Chalabi	Existing tensions following the Gulf War, as well as fabricated allegations of weapons of mass destruction and ties to al-Qaeda	Invasion	The United States invaded the country, set up a new government, and captured, tried, convicted, and executed Saddam	Success
2004	Haiti	President Jean-Bertrand Aristide	National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation and Reconstruction of Haiti Commander Buteur Métayer	Aristide's demand for reparations from France, a close American ally, to compensate Haiti back for the money it was forced to pay for its citizens' freedom	Rebellion	American officials pressured Aristide to step down rather than face the wrath of the rebels and evacuated him out of the country against his will	Success
2005	Kyrgyzstan	President Askar Akayev	People's Movement of Kyrgyzstan leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev	Akayev's rigging of the 2005 Kyrgyz parliamentary election in his favor, as well as existing tensions with the Soviet-era leader	Rebellion	The State Department provided funds and resources to the Kyrgyz opposition groups that pressured Akayev into stepping down	Success
2005	Uzbekistan	President Islam Karimov	Akromiya leader Akrom Yoʻldoshev	Uzbek troops firing on anti-Karimov protesters, as well as existing tensions with the Soviet-era leader	Rebellion	American organizations pulled out of Uzbekistan and the United States condemned the government's actions and imposed sanctions, tacitly backing the protesters, though Karimov remained in power	Failure
2007	Somalia	Islamic Courts Union Chair Sharif Sheikh Ahmed	Transitional Federal President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed	Fears that the Islamic Courts Union would harbor Islamic extremists like al-Qaeda	Invasion	The United States confirmed support for Ethiopia's planned invasion to remove the Islamic Courts Union before it occurred and sent special paramilitary forces to participate	Success
2009	Honduras	President Manuel Zelaya	Honduran Armed Forces Commander Romeo Vásquez Velásquez	Zelaya's closeness with American adversaries like Cuba and Venezuela and his attempt to hold an illegal referendum appointing a constitutional assembly that would allow him to remain President indefinitely	Military coup	U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton worked to stall efforts by other Latin American countries to support Zelaya's restoration	Success
2011	Egypt	President Hosni Mubarak	Defense Minister Muhammad Tantawi	Political instability in the country caused by Mubarak's repressive policies	Rebellion	American officials publicly called on Mubarak to embrace a political transition towards democracy, eventually resulting in his resignation	Success
2011	Libya	Brotherly Leader Muammar Gaddafi	National Transitional Council Chair Mustafa Abdul Jalil	Human rights violations by Gaddafi against protesters as well as existing tensions with his government dating back to the Cold War	Rebellion	The United States directly intervenes with its NATO allies to institute a no-fly zone and naval blockade of the country, as well as bombing government forces until the rebels seized control of the country	Success
2011	Syria	President Bashar al-Assad	Syrian National Coalition President Moaz al-Khatib	Human rights violations by Assad against protesters as well as existing tensions with his government dating back to the Cold War	Rebellion	The United States provided military aid to Syrian rebels and militarily intervened in the civil war itself several years later in a limited capacity, though it eventually abandoned the goal of overthrowing Assad	Failure
2014	Ukraine	President Viktor Yanukovych	Fatherland Parliamentary Leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk	Human rights violations by Yanukovych against protesters and existing tensions over his choice to align more closely with Russia over the American-aligned European Union	Rebellion	The United States imposed sanctions against Ukrainian officials involved in suppressing the revolution, American senators rallied alongside Ukrainian protesters, and American officials discussed Yatsenyuk as the preferred replacement for Yanukovych	Success
2019	Venezuela	President Nicolás Maduro	National Assembly President Juan Guaidó	Irregularities with the 2018 Venezuelan presidential election and existing tensions due to Maduro's socialist policies	Rebellion	American officials monitored the uprising and attempted to ascertain whether key figures in the government would be willing to turn on Maduro while also imposing sanctions on the economy to put pressure on Maduro, though he ultimately maintained sufficient loyalty to remain in power	Failure
2019	Bolivia	President Evo Morales	Senate Second Vice President Jeanine Áñez	Morales' alleged rigging of the 2019 Bolivian general election in his favor, as well as existing tensions with Morales due to his criticisms of American foreign policy	Rebellion	The American-influenced Organization of American States was responsible for the report on the election that resulted in Morales' resignation as well as other senior members of his party, allowing Áñez to gain power	Success
2020	Venezuela	President Nicolás Maduro	Former Army Major General Clíver Alcalá	Irregularities with the 2018 Venezuelan presidential election and existing tensions due to Maduro's socialist policies	Invasion	American officials were aware of the invasion attempt and some notable Americans including President Donald Trump's former security guard Jordan Goudreau participated in the planning of it, though it failed to achieve any of its goals	Failure
2020	Belarus	President Alexander Lukashenko	Presidential candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya	Lukashenko's rigging of the 2020 Belarusian presidential election in his favor, as well as existing tensions due to his closeness with Russia	Rebellion	The United States through the National Endowment for Democracy allegedly helped spur the protests and directly condemned the conduct of the election, though Lukashenko with Russian aid would withstand this	Failure