The Tango War by Mary Jo McConahay

7 out of 10

Very few soldiers from Latin American countries fought in WWII.  (Brazil sent some troops to help The Allies liberate Italy.)  However, nobody between the Rio Grande and Cape Horn could avoid the effects of the war.

Many dictators and business tycoons attempted to maintain trade relations with The Axis Powers, but Britain and The United States successfully enforced embargoes.  Resources—especially rubber—were in huge demand and frequently seized or stolen.  Spies and double agents sabotaged shipping and communications. Ethnic Germans, Italians, and Japanese were regularly arrested and deported.  Jewish refugees arrived en masse to some countries. Communism gained support and strengthened ties with Moscow. The anti-communist Pope in Rome permitted some Nazis to escape to Catholic South America.