U.S. Interventions and Regime Repression in Latin America: The Political Epidemiology of Fatal and Non-Fatal Injuries, 1846–2026

This article presents a political-epidemiological framework to examine the long-term human impact of United States interventions in Latin America from 1846 to 2026. Using sources like historical records, truth commission documents, human rights reports, and epidemiological data, the study estimates that over 500,000 people have been affected, including deaths, injuries, and forced disappearances. The findings indicate that most harm does not occur during direct military actions, but rather after, through regime changes, authoritarian rule, and systematic repression. Instead of viewing interventions as isolated events, the study sees them as processes that reshape political power, resulting in extended periods of injury and death. The article proposes political epidemiology as a normative-empirical framework for global-justice analyses and introduces the concept of political injury epidemiology to capture population-levels harm produced by political power systems. By linking foreign intervention, regime consolidation, repression, and health outcomes, the study reframes foreign intervention as a major structural factor influencing injustice and population health.

Key words: Global justice; human rights; political epidemiology; regime repression; foreign interventions