The main reason why the United States was so interested in the security of Latin America is because the Latin American countries were so close to the US, meaning that if they were invaded by European powers it would post a threat to the US.
The difference was that they ought more thing then they did
It was Poland that Germany overtook very quickly in the Phony War, since although the Allies quickly declared war after the German invasion of Poland, no direct action was immediately taken.
