This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Lightning Jay is an assistant professor of Teaching, Learning and Educational Leadership at Binghamton University, State University of New York, and Ana L. Ros is an associate professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, Latin America at Binghamton University, State University of New York
Many of our college freshman students will have seen and read about the Jan. 3, 2026, U.S. military operation in Venezuela that of its leader, Nicol谩s Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores. The U.S. has charged Maduro and Flores . Maduro and Flores are imprisoned in New York City, .
Some freshmen this semester will likely say Maduro鈥檚 unusual arrest . Others may view it as a decisive step in the U.S.鈥檚 .
That鈥檚 in part because the U.S has no national curriculum, and high school history courses often rely on teachers鈥� discretion, even . This results in history being taught a lot of different ways across schools.
As scholars of and , we know that most American high school students learn about the ancient civilizations in Latin America and a few other key flash points in history.
But few, we suspect, will understand Maduro鈥檚 arrest as part of a long history of the U.S.鈥檚 interventions in Latin America, stretching back to the in the 1800s. President James Monroe introduced this foreign policy in an 1823 speech, saying that the U.S. would not allow European colonization or interference in the .
Nicol谩s Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are seen in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad on Jan. 5, 2026.
A partial, skewed history
In high school world history courses, teachers in the U.S. often rely on case studies and examples to indicate .
High school students are likely to learn about the Inca, as representatives of pre-Columbian Latin America. They read about Spanish conquistadors such as Hern谩n Cort茅s, who , and Francisco Pizarro, the Incas in the early 1500s.
They will learn about how most Latin American countries, , Argentina, Colombia , in the early 1800s.
Often, students learn about these countries鈥� fights for independence, with the case example of the . They may learn about , the grand Venezuelan military officer and liberator who played a decisive role in the independence movements of countries including Venezuela, .
Students also often learn about more recent eras, including the Cuban missile crisis, a dangerous tipping point between the U.S. and the Soviet Union that brought the world in 1962.
But overall, in U.S. history courses the U.S. is typically the main character and Latin America is where the .
An example of this narrative includes the U.S.鈥檚 failed attempt to overthrow the Cuban government in 1961, during the invasion.
What US high school students miss
It is no surprise that students who learned of Latin American history in high school would have many questions about Maduro鈥檚 recent arrest 鈥� including is.
A fuller exposure to Latin American history would include, among other things, lessons about , which has long shaped the politics, economies and societies of Latin America. This is a U.S.-government supported policy that promotes less internal government intervention and more free-market capitalism.
Even though most Latin American countries achieved independence just 30 to 40 years after the U.S., not all presidential administrations in the U.S. fully accepted these nations鈥� freedom.
In 1904, Theodore Roosevelt added an additional text called a corollary , stating that the U.S. could intervene in the internal affairs of any Latin American country in cases of wrongdoing.
By the late 1800s, the U.S. had than and annexed . It also began occupying Cuba in 1898, and control over the island.
The U.S. militarily and politically then that gave Panama independence from Colombia. Panama鈥檚 independence led to a treaty that let the U.S. the Panama Canal for nearly a century.
A political cartoon from 1898 criticizing American foreign policy shows Uncle Sam riding a bicycle with globes of the western and eastern hemispheres for wheels.
A strong influence
Overall, the U.S. intervened in Latin America from 1898 to the mid-1990s.
Some of these interventions involved coups against democratically elected officials 鈥� including Jacobo 脕rbenz Guzm谩n in 1954 and in 1973. These coups often led to civil wars or enduring military regimes that the U.S. claimed .
Chile was then among the countries 鈥� including Argentina and Uruguay 鈥� that implemented economic policies in the 1970s that kept markets open to foreign businesses and governments, fostering dependence on wealthier nations.
Some Latin American countries, , in the 1990s.
The U.S. and international financial institutions loans that promoted austerity 鈥� meaning raising taxes and cutting public spending 鈥� and market liberalization, which reduces governmental restrictions over an economy. These loans stabilized some economies in the short term, but also made other problems, such as inequality and debt, worse.
In the early 2000s, several countries, , Bolivia, leaders who advocated for alternatives to this U.S.-backed economic policy. Ultimately, though, their reforms were often limited and not politically stable.
A more complete history
During a Jan. 4, 2026, press conference, President Donald Trump used a new term, the 鈥淒onroe Doctrine,鈥� to describe his administration鈥檚 plans to claim dominance in the Western Hemisphere.
One day later, Vice President : 鈥淭his is in our neighborhood,鈥� he said in an interview about Maduro鈥檚 capture. 鈥淚n our neighborhood, the United States calls the shots. That鈥檚 the way it has always been. That鈥檚 the way it is again under the president鈥檚 leadership.鈥�
Learning a more complete version of Latin American history in high school won鈥檛 prevent our college students from bringing questions to class about the U.S.鈥檚 capture of Maduro, and why Trump will 鈥渞un鈥� Venezuela.
But this knowledge might help our students ask more complex, nuanced questions, such as whom national security strategies actually benefit the most.
Understanding Latin America is not merely a requirement for interpreting headlines about Venezuela but a prerequisite for Americans to understand themselves and their place in the world.
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