The United States and Venezuela during the First World War
Cordial Relations of Suspicious Cooperation
H. Micheal Tarver, Lexington Books, 2021, 270 pages
Book Review published on: December 22, 2025
H. Micheal Tarver’s The United States and Venezuela during the First World War: Cordial Relations of Suspicious Cooperation is a well-researched and scholarly work, and also concise and easy to read. The book covers the history of U.S.-Venezuela international relations preceding and through World War I with emphasis on the history and political culture of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Venezuela.
The book is centered on the evolving relationship between the governments of Venezuela and the United States over the course of the war. At the start of the war, the United States was seen, especially by its sister republics in the Americas, as the global champion of neutral nations. By early 1917, the United States was aligned with the Entente after breaking off diplomatic relations with the German Empire. By the end of 1917, the United States was an active combatant in the war. As U.S. policy toward the warring European nations changed, the United States tried with varying levels of success to convince its North and South American neighbors to follow similar foreign policies. Despite the efforts of the United States, Venezuela remained steadfastly committed to neutrality throughout the war.
Tarver provides the reader background into the history and culture of South America leading to the rise of Gen. Juan Vicente Gomez as the president of Venezuela in 1908 and his dictatorship that ruled Venezuela up to, during, and long after the end of the World War I. The author explores Venezuela’s relations with U.S. and European powers. For the decades leading up to the war, Venezuela had close financial and commercial ties to the German Empire. Although Gomez and his supporters’ sympathies leaned heavily in favor of Germany, Venezuela remained neutral. Venezuelan leaders were concerned about internal instability and possible external intervention by the United States, Great Britain, or France if Venezuela sided with Germany. The writer delves into changes in U.S. law and policy that enabled U.S. finance and commerce to supplant European influence as those warring nations’ resources were consumed by their war efforts. As U.S. influence and interests in Latin America increased during the war, Venezuela’s refusal to follow U.S. policy led to concern and suspicion on the part of both countries, but never to the level to push the South American nation away from its policy of neutrality.
While only a corollary resource for World War I enthusiasts, for students of foreign affairs or South and North American history, The United States and Venezuela during the First World War: Cordial Relations of Suspicious Cooperation is a valuable resource. The book examines at length the diplomatic, economic, and informational efforts between Venezuela and the United States, as well as by European powers in the war, to affect the policies and actions of the two American nations. Modern readers should find interesting and reflective Tarver’s discussions of efforts by various people and states to achieve what we today would call information advantage. This book provides insights into the events and policies that continue to shape relationships between western hemisphere states and what is generally considered today’s suspicious, uncordial, and uncooperative relationship between the United States and Venezuela.
Book Review written by: Lt. Col. Darin J. Fox, Retired, U.S. Marine Corps, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas