The Banana Wars 1903
On March 23, 1903, undocumented US troops invaded in Honduras. Their mission was to “protect the American consulate and the steamship wharf” at Puerto Cortez during a period of revolutionary activity. During the late 19th century, US multinationals such as the United Fruit Company, later known as Chiquita Brands International, had invested heavily in banana plantations and their supporting infrastructure. In his book, “Bananas: How the United Fruit Company Shaped The World”, author Peter Chapman wrote that the company was “more powerful than many nation states … a law unto itself and accustomed to regarding the [Central American national] republics as its private fiefdom.”
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