The United States government has intensified its actions in Latin America and made the continent one of its priorities, with interventions in favor of its allies and pressure against its adversaries.
The movement became even more evident this Friday (5) with the publication of the new National Security Strategy, a document regularly published by the White House which sets out its military priorities.
The government of President Donald Trump claims to want to put an end to mass migration around the world, make border control “the main element of security” in the United States and relaunch the Monroe Doctrine in Latin America, which the text calls the “Trump corollary”.
Before the end of his first year in the White House, Trump is already accumulating different measures to strengthen his influence in the region, particularly in countries that have recently had national elections or have new elections in the offing.
From increasing the military presence in the Caribbean Sea to putting pressure on Nicolás Maduro to intervening in the Argentine currency market to save Javier Milei, Trump’s treatment varies depending on political affinities with each country’s leader.
Nayib Bukele, from El Salvador, has become a totem of the far right on the continent, due to his uncompromising policy of fighting crime, with mass incarcerations. Trump received him in the Oval Office of the White House, offered his support and said he was grateful that El Salvador had welcomed and detained immigrants deported by the United States.
Milei may not have gotten a photo in the Oval Office during her visit to the White House, but she was rewarded by the U.S. Treasury with a financial rescue package. This measure helped stabilize the Argentine currency and avoid a currency crisis on the eve of the national legislative elections in October, which ended up favoring the Argentine president’s political group.
To justify its support, the Trump administration said the alliance would benefit American businessmen and guarantee access to natural resources. “Argentina is fighting for its life. Do you understand what that means? They have no money, they have nothing,” the American told a reporter.
The US president has repeatedly criticized his Democratic rivals for ignoring Latin America, paving the way for the development of Chinese influence in the region.
This reformulation bears the imprint of Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who celebrated the election of Rodrigo Paz, in Bolivia, after two decades of victories of Evo Morales’ MAS (Movement for Socialism). In Chile, the ultra-right José Antonio Kast is betting on an anti-immigration policy similar to that of the United States to beat the head of government Jeannette Jara in the elections next Sunday (14).
“The difference between the Monroe Doctrine and the Trump Corollary lies in the context. In the first case, the United States was a rising power, in search of new markets; today, it is a declining power, surpassed in terms of commercial relations by China in almost all countries of South America”, assesses Thomas Posado, assistant professor at the University of Rouen, in France.
At the same time, the White House has been tough on the continent’s left-wing leaders. The main target is Maduro, with the offer of rewards for the dictator’s capture and the possibility of direct military action in Venezuela, following attacks on boats suspected of drug trafficking. Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who will leave office next year, has also been targeted by sanctions.
The Republican has openly supported Nasry Asfura, one of the candidates in elections in Honduras, where the close count keeps the right-wing politician a few thousand votes ahead of his opponent, Salvador Nasralla.
Posado considers that in the fight against drug trafficking, Trump’s ideological bias is absolute. “Neither Petro nor Maduro has been convicted by the US justice system after a trial, unlike former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted of drug trafficking by a federal jury in New York and has now been pardoned (by Trump).”
Nor have there been similar actions against Ecuador, governed by ally Daniel Noboa and which in recent years has become a major drug trafficking route.
He considers that the prospect of a ground attack against Venezuela does not seem to be the most likely scenario. “The 15,000 American soldiers deployed in the Caribbean do not have the capacity to invade a country of almost a million square kilometers, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers,” assesses the political scientist, author of the book “Venezuela: from Revolution to Collapse”, published by Presses Universitaires du Midi.
Challenges Trump still faces include maintaining good relations with one of his major trading partners, Mexico, led by President Claudia Sheinbaum, which has managed to avoid more drastic measures but has been embroiled in clashes with its neighbor over immigration and the fight against drug trafficking.
The Lula government was initially the target of Trump’s strategy, especially after the sanctions and tariffs applied to the country. Recently, however, Trump’s position began to change and he met with the Brazilian and began negotiations to remove the tariffs.
Posado adds that in the long term, White House policies are unlikely to improve the living conditions of Latin Americans. “Trump has managed to control the Republican Party thanks to an isolationist discourse in the face of losses in Iraq and Afghanistan; discussions of open war (in Venezuela) are rejected by the electorate and could cost him votes,” he said.