The Trump administration’s current militaristic approach to Latin America far exceeds its aggressive efforts during his first term, when he had renowned war hawks Eliott Abrams and John Bolton advising him. With his maximum pressure sanctions against Venezuela and Cuba still in place, and since they did nothing but cause mass suffering, leading to mass migration events, Trump has picked a cabinet full of bloodthirsty white nationalists to ensure he wouldn’t look like a total failure during his second term.
With hardliner white nationalists at the head of every major federal agency, including those dealing with foreign affairs, such as Department of State Secretary Marco Rubio and Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, both of whom have dangerous obsessions with Latin America, Trump has positioned the U.S. Navy in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean while deploying U.S. soldiers in various countries in the region. From killing fishermen with drone strikes to kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and killing more than 100 people in the process, the results of the incompetence have been disastrous geopolitically.
After Maduro’s kidnapping, Trump threatened via executive order that any country that ships oil to Cuba, making up for any shortages created by losing access to Venezuelan oil, would face stiff tariffs. That executive order was recently lifted after the U.S. Supreme Court deemed his tariff policy unconstitutional, but only after substantial harm had been done. It’s unclear if the White House will impose new measures against Cuba, but its strategy may be shifting.
The U.S. Navy maintains a presence in the Caribbean, but the Gerald Ford carrier strike group has left and is headed towards Iran. The proverbial gun pointed at the heads of many Latin American countries remains. Threats to the people of those countries coming directly from the White House have led to manipulated elections under duress. Meanwhile, Rubio is planning a trip to a meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), where the U.S., along with Mexico and Venezuela, is an observer country, not an official member.
The meeting will take place on February 25 on the island of St. Kitts and Nevis. Rubio is expected to deliver a message of reassurance that the Trump administration plans to remain engaged in Latin America despite the shift in its focus to the Middle East. He will likely echo the “unifying” colonialist message that framed his recent white Christian nationalist speech at the Munich Security Conference, presumably using Latinidad (shared Latin American history) to articulate his messaging. It’s a foreign policy strategy he’s employed for decades. However, his last trip to Latin America and the Caribbean, over a year ago, didn’t go so well.
Instead of another trip to Latin America for Rubio, Trump has invited his Latin American sympathizers to Florida next month to discuss Latin American affairs, under the guise of countering Chinese influence in the region. While China will certainly come up in the talks, it’s also likely that other regional issues will be a part of the conversation. Those invited are Argentine President Javier Milei, Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele, Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, Honduran President Nasry Asfura, and Paraguayan President Santiago Pena. Noticeably absent are any leaders who aren’t far-right politically or directly aligned with Trump’s dominionist plans for Latin America.
With the threats of tariffs against any country delivering oil to Cuba lifted, the White House is maintaining a full pressure campaign against the island country. By bringing in only Latin American leaders aligned with him, Trump is signaling that the strategy moving forward will remain tense for the region. This will continue to put stability at risk across the Caribbean and South and Central America for the foreseeable future.
The entire hemisphere operating on fear and uncertainty is not sustainable.
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