Incited by American diplomacy, Garcia Calderon refused to put his signature on the treaty, which would record the transfer of any part of Peruvian territory to Chile. The Chilean military command arrested him. In Santiago it was stated more decisively than before that the peace treaty must certainly include a clause on the mandatory transfer to Chile of the province of Tarapaca and the possible transfer – under certain conditions – of Tacna and Arica, that is, the entire saltpeter zone. Further crude and uncoordinated attempts by American diplomats to intervene in the dispute only embittered the Chileans and the British behind them, complicating the situation for Bolivia and Peru, whose defenders the United States wanted to appear to be.
The failure that Washington policymakers suffered in Chile did not discourage them. In 1889, at the initiative of the United States, the first Inter-American Conference was held. Secretary of State Blaine openly admitted that by convening it, he pursued the goal of ensuring that the United States would continue to have a dominant position in the markets of Latin America.
Only six years passed and another US Secretary of State, Olney, came up with a new interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine: “Today the United States is virtually the complete ruler of this continent, and its conduct is the law in all those matters in which it interferes. Why? Not because they have feelings of pure friendship or goodwill. Not simply because they are a highly civilized nation, or because prudence, right, and justice invariably characterize the conduct of the United States. The fact is that, along with all other reasons, the incalculable resources of the United States, combined with an isolated position, make them masters of the situation…” This statement was made in 1895 during the Anglo-Venezuelan conflict over the boundary between Venezuela and British Guiana.
The success achieved in the Spanish-American War of 1898 stimulated the United States to expand its expansion in all parts of the world. But its main target remained Latin America. The United States began to create an empire of dependent states there. Puerto Rico and Cuba came first, then Panama. A terrible danger awaited the rest of the Latin American countries.