2F-Adversaries: Latin American States (1991-2001)

This collection covers military equipment used by Latin American nations in incidents that involved hostile actions against U.S. military personnel or civilians during my time in service.

While the formal governments of most Latin American countries participated in the War on Drugs and cooperated with U.S. drug interdiction efforts, there were notable exceptions where military interceptors engaged U.S. aircraft operating in sovereign airspace. These confrontations occurred when national defense forces saw U.S. operations as a violation of their sovereignty. Some of the relevant aircraft in these incidents include:
- F-16A Fighting Falcon (Venezuelan Air Force)
- Kfir C2 (Columbian Air Force)
- Mirage F.1JE (Ecuadorian Air Force)
- Su-22M Fitter-J (Peruvian Air Force)

One of the most significant incidents occurred in 1996, when Cuba shot down two civilian Cessna 337 aircraft over international waters near Cuba. Cuba claimed the aircraft were supported by the U.S. military, with a history of dropping leaflets over Cuban airspace, and asserted the right to destroy them. This led to a significant international dispute, prompting President Bill Clinton to declare a state of national emergency and take action to prevent further hostile incidents. The Cuban aircraft involved included:
- MiG-23UB Flogger-C (Cuban Air Force)
- MiG-29UB Fulcrum-B (Cuban Air Force)