Introduction: Writing the History of Revolutionary Transnationalism and Militant Networks in the Americas

Abstract

It is difficult to think of any Latin American revolutionary movement in the latter half of the twentieth century that was not a product of its transnational connections in some way or another. Practical considerations very often made these ties essential. Militants needed funds, refuge and publicity to survive and these invariably came from outside a country’s national borders. The increasingly hostile environment of the Cold War, with its upswing in military dictatorships and technologically advanced counterinsurgency programs made the search for support and sponsorship even more urgent. As Cold War violence uprooted militants from their home countries, many also joined revolutionary movements elsewhere, carrying the lessons and ideas derived from local experiences with them. Other militants actively proselytized abroad, taking their revolutionary cause across borders, serving as armed insurgents and internationalists. In turn, transnational ties – both forced and voluntary – provided inspiration and intel-lectual nourishment for nationally or locally framed movements. In at least three instances – that of the Caribbean Legion, the Junta Coordinadora Revoluciona-ria (JCR) and the Batallón América – revolutionary militants also established explicitly transnational regional organizations.