Full list of dictators the US has ousted throughout history
Story by Giulia Carbonaro • 4h
When ordering elite troops to storm a fortified compound in Caracas and capture Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro on Saturday morning, President Donald Trump tapped into a long history of U.S. interventions triggering regime changes in countries across the world—albeit one he had harshly criticized in the past.
The U.S. involvement was not always meant to topple a hated dictator or a brutal authoritarian leader, as the country has historically intervened to prevent the spread of communism—as in the cases of Vietnam and Cuba. But it has also often intervened to back grassroots protests and remove strongmen who were causing international disruptions and posing global threats.
Left: Panamanian dictator, Manuel Noriega, at a ceremony commemorating the death of the national hero, Omar Torrijo, in Panama City; center: President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro speaks during a military ceremony commemorating the 200th anniversary of the presentation of the ‘Sword of Peru’ to Venezuelan independence hero Simón Bolívar on November 25, 2025, in Caracas, Venezuela; right: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein smiles January 6, 2001, as he delivers a national address in Baghdad, Iraq.
Left: Panamanian dictator, Manuel Noriega, at a ceremony commemorating the death of the national hero, Omar Torrijo, in Panama City; center: President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro speaks during a military ceremony commemorating the 200th anniversary of the presentation of the ‘Sword of Peru’ to Venezuelan independence hero Simón Bolívar on November 25, 2025, in Caracas, Venezuela; right: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein smiles January 6, 2001, as he delivers a national address in Baghdad, Iraq.
Below, readers can find a list of leaders that the U.S. helped to remove or single-handedly toppled across the world in the past century or so—dictators and not.
There is no official or universally agreed-upon list, and the definition of what constitutes a “dictator” varies—and can be manipulated for political reasons. The U.S. involvement has ranged from full-scale invasions to covert support for coups or decisive diplomatic pressure. Still, historians broadly agree on a core set of cases where U.S. actions were instrumental.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/full-list-of-dictators-the-us-has-ousted-throughout-history/ar-AA1TxUX2?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=HCTS&cvid=695aa9579bd249c1889c7535c7d842cd&ei=16
