The Monroe Doctrine, declared in the 19th century “America for Americans,” which established the United States as the dominant power in Latin America and ushered in an era of intervention in the region, is alive and well. The new US National Security Strategy, announced on Friday, specifically calls for the return of those principles to “restore US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere.” With Trump’s “corollary”: a “reasonable and robust restoration” of the “strength and priorities” of the United States, according to the text.
The National Security Strategy is a formal document that outlines the geopolitical priorities of each president, and is published in the first months of each administration. Trump’s second term places a very strong focus on the American continent as the biggest priority. He considers controlling it necessary to protect the American homeland. It has two goals: to ensure border security, “the fundamental element of national security,” and, without specifically mentioning it, to counter China’s growing influence in what is once again called the Backyard US.
The text asserts that “the United States must have superiority in the Western Hemisphere as a condition of our security and prosperity, a condition that allows us to confidently assert ourselves in the region where and when we need it.”
To achieve this, its goals are to “recruit and expand” the alliance with partners in the region, either expanding already existing relationships or attracting others by “strengthening” its attractiveness as a preferred partner in economics and security, as stated in the document. These allies with similar ideology will cooperate, as the Donald Trump administration has suggested, to impose American goals; Controlling migration, stopping the flow of drugs, and enhancing stability and security. “We will recruit regional champions who will help create acceptable stability in the region, even beyond the borders of these partners, stop illegal immigration and confront gangs.
Those governments, parties and political movements “lined up almost” Through its “principles and strategy,” they would be rewarded, promised the document, which did not name any potential beneficiaries. “But we must not forget the governments with different ideas with whom we still share interests and who want to cooperate with us.”
The strategy also anticipates, among other things, a “re-adjustment” of increased military presence in the region, suggesting that the huge presence the United States maintains in the Caribbean, which has not stopped growing since August, may be longer than some experts have calculated. This will not be limited to a potential operation in Venezuela.
The document plans to strengthen the presence of the Navy and Coast Guard to enhance surveillance against illegal immigration and drug entry and “establish or expand access to strategically important points.” It also mentions “selective deployments,” including “the use of lethal force when necessary.”
This greater military power will be combined with “commercial diplomacy,” in which the United States cooperates with partners in the region to identify strategic resources — a possible reference to raw materials such as rare earths or critical minerals, the acquisition of which has become one of Washington’s top priorities — strengthen supply chains and strengthen local economies, so that they can obtain more American products and “become more attractive markets for American trade and investment.”
The Trump administration is particularly focused on Beijing’s cooperation with Latin American countries in areas such as infrastructure construction and control of strategic assets. “The terms of our alliances, and the terms under which we provide any kind of assistance, must be conditional on limiting the influence of a foreign adversary, from control of ports, military installations and key infrastructure to the acquisition of strategic assets, and must be understood from a broad perspective.”
He realizes that this influence exercised by China and other countries “will be difficult to reverse,” given “the political alliance between some Latin American governments and some foreign agents.” But we must remember that the relationship between countries with competing powers to the United States, in most cases, is not of an ideological nature, but rather merely commercial, and thrives on low costs and little regulation. He notes that Washington should, among other things, use its “capacity for financial and technological pressure to induce countries to reject this” low-cost foreign assistance.
“We will deny non-Hemispheric competitors the ability to station forces or other threatening capabilities, or to possess or control strategically vital assets in the Western Hemisphere,” the document said.
“The United States must also resist and reverse measures such as selective taxation, unfair regulation, and expropriation that harm American companies. The terms of our agreements, especially with the countries that depend on us the most and, therefore, over which we have the greatest influence, must be single-supplier contracts for our companies. At the same time, we must do everything possible to expel foreign companies that build infrastructure in the region,” concludes the expanded section dedicated to Latin America in the official text.