The following is a guest post by Victoria Giron, an intern in the Serial & Government Publications Division from the University of Virginia. Victoria majors in Foreign Affairs and is fluent in Spanish. She spent her summer working with the Latin American newspaper portfolios.
Many people who learn about World War II are taught about the participation of the United States and Great Britain in the Allied war effort. While most people may be aware that the greater Allied war effort involved the participation of many European countries, few people know that several Latin American countries were also formal allies in World War II.
There were important developments in U.S. foreign policy that affected the way that Latin American countries viewed the war. First, the Good Neighbor Policy was enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a policy of non-intervention that emphasized cooperation and trade to maintain friendly relations with the southern hemisphere. Second, the Office of Inter-American Affairs (OIAA) was created in 1940 to coordinate the activities of the U.S. government in Latin America. The OIAA hoped to increase economic cooperation and interdependence between the United States and Latin America. The Office also became heavily involved in disseminating information through the radio, motion picture, and press media.

“Saludo de ‘El Mundo Libre’ a la Pressa Americana [A Greeting From ‘El Mundo Libre’ to the American Press],” El Mundo Libre (San Salvador, El Salvador), March 30, 1941.

“Solidaridad Continental [Continental Solidarity],” La Voz de Chihuahua (Chihuahua, Mexico), April 13, 1941.

“Rutas Vitales Para Los Aliados [Vital Routes for the Allies],” Actualidad (Guatemala, Guatemala), October 18, 1941.
After Pearl Harbor, many Latin American nations were shocked and showed their solidarity by declaring war on Japan and the other Axis powers. On January 1, 1942, twenty-six nations signed the “Declaration of the United Nations.” The declaration was an agreement among signing nations to uphold the Atlantic Charter, to employ all their resources in the war against the Axis powers, and to promise that no nation would try to seek a separate peace with any Axis nation. Eight Latin American nations were among the original signatories: Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.

“Otros Paises de America Estan Entrando al Estado de Guerra [Other American Countries are Entering a State of War],” Diario Latino (San Salvador, El Salvador), December 9, 1941.

“En la Escuela de Aviacion [At the Aviation School],” Las Noticias (Los Mochis, Mexico), June 3, 1943.
While Latin American countries are often overlooked allies to the United States and to the Allied war effort, as we can see, the war reached practically every country and their support played a role in the success of winning the war.
Additional Resources:
Records of the Office of Inter-American Affairs, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration.
Remembering the “Aztec Eagles”, National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.