Like Latin America in the Cold War ? Because it's very easy for you to talk about "self-governance" when we have foreign military in our borders or until we do as Washington says. The truth is the United States acts like the informal heir of the British Empire and a blend of the HRE. Everything is "swell" until you stop being submissive to DC diktats.
Not to mention your past governments (such as JFK, Nixon, Johnson and recently Bush-Obama) used the same reasoning and excuse to cause misery in any angle of the world that didn't want to follow your line.
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Egypt
- Guatemala
- Nicaragua
- Iran
- Cambodia
- Both South and North Vietnam
- Laos
- Indonesia
- Bolivia
- Colombia
- Iraq (multiple times at least!)
- Domincan Republic, notably in 1961
- Syria (1949 and 2011-now)
- Brazil (though to a much lesser degree)
- Afghanistan
And these are just a few of.
The reality is your country's governments and intelligence service are out for their own interest and you have helped the world in a positive way only twice, the two world wars against the Germans.
The facade of self-governance is just an excuse. It's self governance ONLY when it's comfortable for your elites interests.