Latin-American Wars

The Latin American War, or more commonly known as the South American War or the Cartel Wars was a minimal conflict that occurred from 2055 to 2057 between the Federation of the Americas and the "Las Trinidad" Cartel. This "War" was the first of its kind since the War on Terror, and had its roots traced back to The Great Titan War, the Great Collapse, and the War of 2042. Although the conflict was deemed a side show compared to other global events, this would be the conflict that would transform the Federation from an impoverished nation state into a real global superpower.
== History ==
Drug Cartels in South America are nothing new, but as the Great Titan War began to come to a close, the power of these cartels began to increase substantially. Throughout the 2020s and 2030s and the mere collapse of the worlds great powers, many drug and weapons cartels began to smuggle large amounts of illegal cargo through acts of commercial piracy, human trafficking, arms dealing, illicit drug smuggling, and criminal homicide. During the Great Collapse, the United Nations Special Service Unit was eventually deployed into many South American regions to combat the rising power of these drug cartels. However as the global decline of nations across the world increased, the more these cartels capitalized and profited off of peoples misery. 
=== Tensions ===
The tensions between these cartels and the world came to a head in the year 2039, when the nation states of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile officially united together to form the "Federation of the Americas." Right off the bat, the Federation was left in serious question on it's future as it was considered by the world superpowers to be an impoverished nations state. Its biggest opponent however, was the "Las Trinidad" or "The Trinity" Cartel. 
The Trinity Cartel was the largest cartel in the world by that point, and was a main proponent in Fregeta Industries during the War of 2042. As the Federation of the Americas expanded to include Venezuela, and eventually Cuba, the Federation eventually declared that the Las Trinidad Cartel was nothing more than an open revolt against Federation authority. As a result, the Cartel began a campaign of "Guerilla Warfare" against the Federation. This Guerilla War was more like an illegal crime syndicate operation, however the Federation didn't see it that way. That was, until 2055.
== The War begins ==
On February 25th, 2055, Las Trinidad troops launched an direct attack against a Federation Military Convoy in Brazil, in retaliation for a Federation Military raid against a Las Trinidad Safehouse in Rio De Janerio. The Las Trinidad Cartel responded by an attempted attack against Rio De Janario, but a US Air Force Reaper Flight as well as Mercenaries from SPIRE Corporation defeated the Cartel. The Federation Government was understandably p*ssed about all of this, and they enlisted the help of the Bolivia, Uruguay, and Paraguay Governments, as well as support from the United States Government and SPIRE Corporation. 
=== Friendly Invasion ===
On March 1st, 2055, Federation troops with permission from the Bolivia, Uruguay, and Paraguay Governments entered these three countries to hunt down and dismantle the Las Trinidad Cartel. With limited support from the United States Air Force and SPIRE Corporation Mercenaries, the Federation Military used raiding tactics and other convoy tactics to evade Las Trinidad Cartel attacks. US Special Forces were also sent into these regions to assist the Federation Military and there allies to destroy the Cartel. While inevitably the Federation didn't have any choice, the US sending it's own forces into the region to operate basically on there own caused some tense relations between the Federation and the United States Governments.
=== Retreating into the mountains ===
The Las Trinidad Cartel was poorly trained and strictly second division with local triggerman. The armored vehicles and tactics of the Federation Military also made the Las Trinidad Cartel have a disadvantage. In response, the leaders of the Cartel moved there operations to the mountains of Bolivia and began trying to try and ship there operations off continent to try and save there illegal activities. However, the Federation expected this move, and using new and improved topography scanning equipment, the Federation of the Americas was able to hunt down and destroy Las Trinidad compounds and underground tunnels. 
=== The War ends ===
On April 4th, 2057, the Federation of the Americas successfully carried out its first assassination order successfully when Las Trinidad Cartels leader, Ramond Garcia, was assassinated in the Congo after attempting to receive financial backing to move there operation from South America to Africa. The mission caused the complete collapse of the Las Trinidad Cartel, and on April 25th, 2057, the last of the Las Trinidad Cartel compound was raided by Federation troops. 
== Consequences ==
The Latin-American Wars cost the lives of an unknown amount of people. The Federation of the Americas claims that 15,000 people were lost, 70% of them being Las Trinidad. The United States claims that 25,000 people were lost in the war, with most of them being Federation Soldiers. This miscommunication and misteaching caused an unofficial tension between the two countries. After the end of the Latin American Wars, the Federation of the Americas transformed its overall opinions. It went from an impoverished nation state to a legitimate and stable government. After the end of the Private Military Corporation War, the Federation even more transformed itself from a regional power to a real global player on the world scale. 
After the end of the Latin-American Wars, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay voluntarily voted to join the Federation of the Americas. Over the course following the Latin-American Wars, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, and Suriname eventually voted or were bullied into joining the Federation of the Americas. The country was guided by a Devine belief in a greater American State that could encompass the entire Western Hemisphere and eventually would be able to lead a united Earth Government. This way of thinking would eventually lead to it's downfall. 
Adrian Rojas, a commander of the former UNSSU, was put in charge of the Federation's Military during there war against the Las Trinidad Cartel. Adrian Rojas made a very good name for himself, and soon came to be commander of the Federation Armed forces. After the end of the PMC Wars, Adrian Rojas's handling of the wars against SPIRE Corporation allowed him to gain a political foothold. By popular command, Adrian Rojas was sworn in as President of the Federation of the Americas, however he would be one of the main instigators behind the coming Federation-American War.