Latin America: Trump celebrates a shift to the right – but the strategy is shaky

Shift to the right in the US sphere of influence

Trump’s wave is spilling over

Since Trump’s return to the White House, Latin America has shifted politically to the right. But whether the US strategy for the continent will work in the long term is more than questionable.

On Sunday has Donald Trump around 4,000 kilometers south of the US capital Washington achieved another big victory. The far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella won the presidential election in Colombia. And Trump was extremely pleased: “Congratulations to ‘El Tigre’ (The Tiger!), the new President of Colombia,” the US President wrote to de la Espriella, who gave himself this animal nickname during the election campaign. Trump said it was “a great honor” to have supported the candidate.

It is no coincidence that the US President is happy with the result. Since returning to the White House, Trump’s government has been operating under the so-called Donroe doctrine Latin America in its sights. According to the National Security Strategy, their goal is to “restore dominance in the Western Hemisphere and protect our homeland and our access to important geographical areas in the region.”

Ultimately it’s about that China In the eyes of the Trump administration, it has gained influence on the continent in recent decades as the largest strategic competitor. This would make them USA “economically disadvantaged” and it “damages them strategically,” says the National Security Strategy. Trump also wants to combat illegal migration and drug smuggling into the USA. But for that he needs allies. And so far things are going quite well for him.

Of the seven presidential elections that Latin American countries have held since Trump took office again, all have been won by right-wing to far-right candidates with the support of the US president. In this way, Trump is building a network of devoted heads of state on the continent who willingly submit to his policies and the self-declared demands of the USA.

Still, Trump is unlikely to achieve his goals. Because so far the US strategy has brought mixed results.

The US approach is three-fold: First, the Trump administration is promoting security cooperation on the continent with ideologically like-minded governments. Second, it exerts influence through both multilateral institutions and private military companies. And thirdly, it relies on economic and military pressure, ranging from high tariffs to threats of attacks as in the case of Cuba, Colombia or Mexico, to real interventions as in Venezuela suffices.