When English speakers speak English, American refers to people from the USA. Spanish speakers from South America are the only ones who complain about this, but

When English speakers speak English, American refers to people from the USA. Spanish speakers from South America are the only ones who complain about this, but they are free to use whatever terms they would like, when speaking Spanish. If it makes you feel better, you can tell yourself that American is just a short way of saying United States of American, if you want.