The United States has been involved in many military and clandestine interventions throughout its history. These interventions are done through well-coordinated military operations in response to developing situations or through clandestine operations; intelligence or military actions carried out in such a way that the operations go unnoticed by the general population or specific enemy forces.Â
The 19th century formed the roots of United States interventionism, which was largely driven by economic opportunities in the Pacific and Spanish-held Latin America. The early decades of the 20th century saw a number of interventions in Latin America by the U.S. government. And since then the United States has continued to intervene in foreign countries through bomb attacks, sabotage and attempted regime change.
Here are the United States (U.S.) military and clandestine interventions in foreign countries since 1798.
Year | Country | Intervention summary |
1798-1800 | France | Undeclared U.S. naval war against France, U.S. Marines land in Puerto Plata |
1801-1805 | Tripoli | War with Tripoli (Libya), called “First Barbary War” |
1806 | Spanish Mexico | U.S. military force enter Spanish territory in headwaters of the Rio Grande |
1806-1810 | Spanish and French in Caribbean | U.S. naval vessels attack French and Spanish shipping in the Caribbean |
1810 | Spanish West Florida | U.S. troops invade and seize Western Florida, a Spanish possession |
1812 | Spanish East Florida | U.S. troops seize Amelia Island and adjacent territories |
1812 | Britain | War of 1812, includes U.S. naval and land operations |
1813 | Marquesas Island | U.S. forces seize Nukahiva and establish first U.S. naval base in the Pacific |
1814 | Spanish (East Florida) | U.S. troops seize Pensacola in Spanish East Florida |
1814-1825 | French, British and Spanish in Caribbean | U.S. naval squadron engages French, British and Spanish shipping in the Caribbean |
1815 | Algiers and Tripoli | U.S. naval fleet under Captain Stephen Decatur wages “Second Barbary War” in North Africa |
1816-1819 | Spanish East Florida | U.S. troops attack and seize Nicholls’ Fort, Amelia Island and other strategic locations. Spain eventually cedes East Florida to the United States |
1822-1825 | Spanish Cuba and Puerto Rico | U.S. Marines land in numerous cities in the Spanish island of Cuba and also in Spanish Puerto Rico |
1827 | Greece | U.S. Marines invade the Greek islands of Argentiere, Miconi and Andross |
1831 | Falkland/Malvinas Islands | U.S. naval squadrons aggress the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic |
1832 | Sumatra, Dutch East Indies | U.S. naval squadrons attack Qallah Battoo |
1833 | Argentina | U.S. forces land in Buenos Aires and engage local combatants |
1835-1836 | Peru | U.S. troops dispatched twice for counter-insurgency operations |
1836 | Mexico | U.S. troops assist Texas war for independence |
1837 | Canada | U.S. naval incident on the Canadian border leads to mobilization of a large force to invade Canada. War is narrowly averted |
1838 | Sumatra, Dutch East Indies | U.S. naval forces sent to Sumatra for punitive expedition |
1840-1841 | Fiji | U.S. naval forces deployed, U.S. Marines land |
1841 | Samoa | U.S. naval forces deployed, U.S. Marines land |
1842 | Mexico | U.S. naval forces temporarily seize cities of Monterey and San Diego |
1843 | China | U.S. Marines land in Canton |
1843 | Ivory Coast | U.S. Marines land |
1846-1848 | Mexico | Full-scale war. Mexico cedes half of its territory to the U.S. by the Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo |
1849 | Ottoman Empire (Turkey) | U.S. naval force dispatched to Smyrna |
1852-1853 | Argentina | U.S. Marines land in Buenos Aires |
1854 | Nicaragua | U.S. Navy bombards and largely destroys city of San Juan del Norte. U.S. Marines land and set fire to the city |
1854 | Japan | Commodore Perry and his fleet deploy at Yokohama |
1855 | Uruguay | U.S. Marines land in Montevideo |
1856 | Colombia (Panama Region) | U.S. Marines land for counter-insurgency campaign |
1856 | China | U.S. Marines deployed in Canton |
1856 | Hawaii | U.S. naval forces seize small islands of Jarvis, Baker and Howland in the Hawaiian Islands |
1857 | Nicaragua | U.S. Marines land |
1858 | Uruguay | U.S. Marines land in Montevideo |
1858 | Fiji | U.S. Marines land |
1859 | Paraguay | Large U.S. naval force deployed |
1859 | China | U.S. troops enter Shanghai |
1859 | Mexico | U.S. military force enters northern area |
1860 | Portuguese West Africa | U.S. troops land at Kissembo |
1860 | Colombia (Panama Region) | U.S. troops and naval forces deployed |
1863 | Japan | U.S. troops land at Shimonoseki |
1864 | Japan | U.S. troops landed in Yedo |
1865 | Colombia (Panama Region) | U.S. Marines landed |
1866 | Colombia (Panama Region) | U.S. troops invade and seize Matamoros, later withdraw |
1866 | China | U.S. Marines land in Newchwang |
1867 | Nicaragua | U.S. Marines land in Managua and Leon in Nicaragua |
1867 | Formosa Island (Taiwan) | U.S. Marines land |
1867 | Midway Island | U.S. naval forces seize this island in the Hawaiian Archipelago for a naval base |
1868 | Japan | U.S. naval forces deployed at Osaka, Hiogo, Nagasaki, Yokohama and Negata |
1868 | Uruguay | U.S. Marines land at Montevideo |
1870 | Colombia | U.S. Marines land |
1871 | Korea | U.S. forces land |
1873 | Colombia (Panama Region) | U.S. Marines land |
1874 | Hawaii | U.S. sailors and marines land |
1876 | Mexico | U.S. Army occupies Matamoros |
1882 | British Egypt | U.S. troops land |
1885 | Colombia (Panama Region) | U.S. troops land in Colon and Panama City |
1885 | Samoa | U.S. naval force deployed |
1887 | Hawaii | U.S. Navy gains right to build permanent naval base at Pearl Harbor |
1888 | Haiti | U.S. troops land |
1888 | Samoa | U.S. Marines land |
1889 | Samoa | Clash with German naval forces |
1890 | Argentina | U.S. sailors land in Buenos Aires |
1891 | Chile | U.S. sailors land in the major port city of Valparaiso |
1891 | Haiti | U.S. Marines land on U.S.-claimed Navassa Island |
1893 | Hawaii | U.S. Marines and other naval forces land and overthrow the monarchy. |
1894 | Nicaragua | U.S. Marines land at Bluefields on the eastern coast |
1894-1895 | China | U.S. Marines are stationed at Tientsin and Beijing. A U.S. naval ship takes up position at Newchwang |
1894-1896 | Korea | U.S. Marines land and remain in Seoul |
1895 | Colombia | U.S. Marines are sent to the town Bocas del Toro |
1896 | Nicaragua | U.S. Marines land in the port of Corinto |
1898 | Nicaragua | U.S. Marines land at the port city of San Juan del Sur |
1898 | Guam | U.S. naval forces seize Guam Island from Spain and the U.S. holds the island permanently |
1898-1902 | Cuba | U.S. naval and land forces seize Cuba from Spain |
1898 | Puerto Rico | U.S. naval and land forces seize Puerto Rico from Spain and the U.S. holds the island permanently |
1898 | Philippines | U.S. naval forces defeat the Spanish fleet and the U.S. takes control of the country |
1899 | Philippines | U.S. military units are reinforced for extensive counter-insurgency operations |
1899 | Samoa | U.S. naval forces land |
1899 | Nicaragua | U.S. Marines land at the port city of Bluefields |
1900 | China | U.S. forces intervene in several cities |
1901 | Colombia/Panama | U.S. Marines land |
1902 | Colombia/Panama | U.S. forces land in Bocas de Toro |
1903 | Colombia/Panama | With U.S. backing, a group in northern Colombia declares independence as the state of Panama, secure protectorate and canal |
1903 | Guam | U.S. Navy begins development in Apra Harbor of a permanent base installation |
1903 | Honduras | U.S. Marines go ashore at Puerto Cortez |
1903 | Dominican Republic | U.S. Marines land in Santo Domingo |
1904-1905 | Korea | U.S. Marines land and stay in Seoul |
1906-1909 | Cuba | U.S. Marines land. The U.S. builds a major U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay |
1907 | Nicaragua | U.S. troops seize major centers |
1907 | Honduras | U.S. Marines land and take up garrison in cities of Trujillo, Ceiba, Puerto Cortez, San Pedro, Laguna and Choloma |
1908 | Panama | U.S. Marines land and carry out operations |
1910 | Nicaragua | U.S. Marines land in Bluefields and Corinto |
1911 | Honduras | U.S. Marines intervene |
1911-1941 | China | The U.S. builds up its military presence in the country to a force of 5000 troops and a fleet of 44 vessels patrolling China’s coast and rivers |
1912 | Cuba | U.S. sends army troops into combat in Havana |
1912 | Panama | U.S. Army troops intervene |
1912 | Honduras | U.S. Marines land |
1912-1933 | Nicaragua | U.S. Marines intervene. A 20-year occupation of the country follows |
1913 | Mexico | U.S. Marines land at Ciaris Estero |
1914 | Dominican Republic | U.S. naval forces engage in battles in the city of Santo Domingo |
1914 | Mexico | U.S. forces seize and occupy Mexico’s major port city of Veracrus from April through November |
1915-1916 | Mexico | An expeditionary force of the U.S. Army under Gen. John J. Pershing crosses the Texas border and penetrates several hundred miles into Mexican territory. Eventually reinforced to over 11,000 officers and men |
1914-1934 | Haiti | U.S. troops land, aerial bombardment leading to a 19-year U.S. military occupation |
1916-1924 | Dominican Republic | U.S. military intervention leading to 8-year occupation |
1917-1933 | Cuba | Landing of U.S. naval forces. Beginning of a 15-year occupation |
1918-1920 | Panama | U.S. troops intervene, remain on “police duty” for over 2 years |
1918-1922 | Russia | U.S. naval forces and army troops fight battles in several areas of the country during a five- year period |
1919 | Yugoslavia | U.S. Marines intervene in Dalmatia |
1919 | Honduras | U.S. Marines land |
1920 | Guatemala | U.S. troops intervene |
1922 | Turkey | U.S. Marines engaged in operations in Smyrna (Izmir) |
1922-1927 | China | U.S. naval forces and troops deployed during 5-year period |
1924-1925 | Honduras | U.S. troops land twice in two-year period |
1925 | Panama | U.S. Marines land and engage in operations |
1927-1934 | China | U.S. Marines and naval forces stationed throughout the country |
1932 | El Salvador | U.S. naval forces intervene |
1933 | Cuba | U.S. naval forces deployed |
1934 | China | U.S. Marines land in Foochow |
1944 | Japan | U.S. Navy bombs and occupies Japan |
1945-1949 | China | U.S. forces flew tens of thousands of Nationalist Chinese troops into Japanese-controlled territory and allowed them to accept the Japanese surrender |
1946 | Iran | U.S. troops deployed in northern province of Iran |
1946-1949 | China | Major U.S. Army presence of about 100,000 troops, fighting, training and advising local combatants |
1947-1949 | Greece | U.S. forces wage a 3-year counterinsurgency campaign |
1948 | Italy | Heavy CIA involvement in national elections |
1948-1954 | Philippines | Commando operations, “secret” CIA war |
1949 | Syria | A coup aided by the CIA overthrow an elected parliamentary government in Syria, which had delayed approving an oil pipeline requested by U.S. international business interests in that region |
1950-1953 | Korea | Major U.S. forces engaged in war in Korean peninsula |
1950-1953 | China | U.S. and UN forces fought communist Chinese and North Korean troops in the Korean War, which saw South Korea successfully defended from invasion |
1953 | Iran | CIA overthrows government of Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh |
1954 | Vietnam | Financial and materiel support for colonial French military operations, leads eventually to direct military involvement |
1954 | Guatemala | CIA overthrows the government of President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman |
1955-1970s | Tibet | CIA arms an indigenous insurgency in order to oppose the invasion and subsequent control of Tibet by China |
1958 | Lebanon | U.S. Marines and army units totalling 14,000 land |
1958 | Panama | Clashes between U.S. forces in Canal Zone and local citizens |
1958 | Indonesia | CIA sponsors a failed revolt against Indonesian President Sukarno |
1959 | Haiti | U.S. Marines land |
1959 | Cuba | CIA attempts to depose Cuban president Fidel Castro through the Bay of Pigs Invasion |
1960-1965 | Democratic Republic of Congo | CIA-backed overthrow and leads to assassination of Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba |
1961 | Dominican Republic | CIA supports the overthrow of Rafael Trujillo. After a period of instability, U.S. troops invades the Dominican Republic in Operation Power Pack |
1961-1973 | Vietnam | Gradual introduction of U.S. military advisors and Special Forces |
1961 | Cuba | CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion |
1962 | Cuba | Nuclear threat and U.S. naval blockade |
1962 | Laos | CIA-backed military coup |
1963 | Ecuador | CIA backs military overthrow of President Jose Maria Valesco Ibarra |
1964 | Panama | Clashes between U.S. forces in Canal Zone and local citizens |
1964 | Brazil | CIA-backed military coup overthrows the government of Joao Goulart and Gen. Castello Branco takes power |
1964-1973 | Laos | U.S. troops fought at the request of the governments of South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia during the Vietnam War against the military of North Vietnam and against Viet Cong, Pathet Lao, and Khmer Rouge insurgents |
1965-1975 | Vietnam | Large commitment of U.S. military forces, including air, naval and ground units numbering up to 500,000+ troops. Full-scale war, lasting for ten years |
1965 | Indonesia | CIA-backed army coup overthrows President Sukarno and brings General Suharto to power |
1965 | Congo | CIA backed military coup overthrows President Joseph Kasavubu and brings Joseph Mobutu to power |
1965-1966 | Dominican Republic | 23,000 U.S. troops land |
1965-1973 | Laos | Bombing campaign begin, lasting eight years |
1966 | Ghana | CIA-backed military coup outs President Kwame Nkrumah |
1966-1967 | Guatemala | Extensive counter-insurgency operation |
1969-1975 | Cambodia | CIA supports military coup against Prince Sihanouk, bringing Lon Nol to power. Intensive bombing for seven years along border with Vietnam |
1970 | Oman | Counter-insurgency operation, including coordination with Iranian marine invasion |
1970-1973 | Chile | CIA-backed military coup ousts government of President Salvador Allende. Gen. AugU.S.to Pinochet comes to power |
1971-1973 | Laos | Invasion by U.S. and South Vietnamese forces |
1972-1975 | Iraq | CIA arms Kurdish rebels fighting the Ba’athist government of Iraq |
1975 | Cambodia | U.S. Marines land, engage in combat with government forces |
1976-1992 | Angola | U.S. military and CIA operations |
1977 | Pakistan | The United States stages a coup in Pakistan, overthrowing the regime of socialist Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and the Pakistan Peoples Party |
1980 | Iran | Special operations units land in Iranian desert. Helicopter malfunction leads to aborting of planned raid |
1981 | Libya | U.S. naval jets shoot down two Libyan jets in manoeuvres over the Mediterranean |
1981-1992 | El Salvador | CIA and Special Forces begin a long counterinsurgency campaign |
1981-1990 | Nicaragua | CIA directs exile “Contra” operations. U.S. air units drop sea mines in harbors |
1982-1984 | Lebanon | U.S. Marines land and U.S. naval forces fire on local combatants |
1983-1984 | Grenada | U.S. military forces invade Grenada and oust the government |
1983-1989 | Honduras | Large program of U.S. military assistance aimed at conflict in Nicaragua |
1984 | Iran | Two Iranian jets shot down over the Persian Gulf |
1986 | Libya | U.S. aircraft bomb the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi, including direct strikes at the official residence of President Muamar al Qadaffi in response to Libyan involvement in international terrorism |
1986 | Bolivia | U.S. Special Forces units engage in counter-insurgency |
1987-1988 | Iran | U.S. naval forces block Iranian shipping. Civilian airliner shot down by missile cruiser |
1989 | Libya | U.S. naval aircraft shoot down two Libyan jets over Gulf of Sidra |
1989 | Philippines | CIA and Special Forces involved in counterinsurgency |
1989-1990 | Panama | 27,000 U.S. troops as well as U.S. naval and air power used to overthrow government of President Manuel Noriega |
1990 | Liberia | U.S. troops deployed |
1990-1991 | Iraq | Major U.S. military operation, including naval blockade, air strikes; large number of troops attack Iraqi forces in occupied Kuwait |
1991 | Haiti | CIA-backed U.S. military coup ousts President Jean-Bertrand Aristide |
1991 | Kuwait | The U.S. intervenes in Kuwait after a series of failed diplomatic negotiations |
1992-1994 | Somalia | U.S. special operations forces intervene |
1992-1994 | Yugoslavia | Major role in NATO blockade of Serbia and Montenegro |
1992-1996 | Iraq | Control of Iraqi airspace in north and south of the country with periodic attacks on air and ground targets |
1993-1995 | Bosnia | Active U.S. military involvement with air and ground forces |
1994-1996 | Haiti | U.S. troops depose military rulers and restore President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to office |
1995 | Croatia | Krajina Serb airfields attacked |
1996-1997 | Zaire (Congo) | U.S. Marines involved in operations in eastern region of the country |
1996 | Iraq | CIA involved in the failed 1996 coup attempt against Saddam Hussein |
1997 | Liberia | U.S. troops deployed |
1998 | Sudan | Air strikes destroy country’s major pharmaceutical plant |
1998 | Afghanistan | Attack on targets in the country |
1998 | Iraq | Four days of intensive air and missile strikes |
1999 | Yugoslavia | Major involvement in NATO air strikes |
2001 | Macedonia | NATO troops shift and partially disarm Albanian rebels |
2001 | Afghanistan | Air attacks and ground operations oust Taliban government and install a new regime |
2002-2003 | Iraq | Invasion with large ground, air and U.S. naval forces ousts government of Saddam Hussein and establishes new government |
2003-Present | Iraq | Occupation force of 150,000 U.S. troops in protracted counter-insurgency war |
2004 | Haiti | U.S. Marines land. CIA-backed forces overthrow President Jean-Bertrand Aristide |
2006-2007 | Somalia | U.S. launches air strikes on suspected Islamists |
2011 | Libya | The U.S. intervenes in the Libyan Civil War by providing air power to rebel forces. CIA to carries out a clandestine effort to provide arms and support to the Libyan opposition. Muammar Gaddafi ultimately gets overthrown and killed |
2012-2017 | Syria | CIA operatives and U.S. special operations troops trains and arms nearly 10,000 Syrian rebel fighters |
2013-2014 | Iraq | U.S. intervenes into Iraq and begin airstrikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) |
2019 | Venezuela | The U.S. considers military intervention, with reports on ongoing U.S. clandestine operations in the country |
2020 | Iran | A U.S. drone strike at Baghdad airport kills Qasem Soleimani, top general and one of the most powerful men in Iran |
Is this going to stop anytime soon though?