Inside the Trump admin’s plan to control the Western Hemisphere
Image: Molly Riley
President Trump’s recent embrace of military interventionism in Latin America has led to widespread speculation about the potential for the US to exert similar control elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere.
Since Saturday’s US military raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump has renewed threats against Colombia, criticized Mexico’s leadership, and predicted Cuba’s government would fall.
- Trump also redoubled his previous demand to take over resource-rich Greenland from Denmark, potentially by “utilizing the US Military,” per White House comments yesterday.
It’s all part of the “Donroe Doctrine”
“We’re in the business of having countries around us that are viable, successful and where the oil is allowed to freely come out,” Trump told reporters on Sunday, referring to a national-security strategy the president has dubbed the “Donroe Doctrine.”
- According to the Trump admin’s National Security Strategy, published in December, the “Donroe Doctrine” represents a more aggressive reinterpretation of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine.
- President Monroe’s initial strategy established the entire Western Hemisphere as America’s sphere of influence, warning against any further interference from Europe.
The new “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine asserts that the US is justified to intervene in nations across the Western Hemisphere in order to counter the influence of “extra-hemispheric” powers like Russia, China, and Iran, as well as to “to protect our homeland and our access to key geographies throughout the region.”
Trump’s plan faces tests ahead
Regional experts say the US gov’t will likely face complications while overseeing Venezuela, a country of 28 million people that’s twice the size of California, with the potential for chaos if clear lines of leadership aren’t established quickly.
- Additionally, the Trump admin’s renewed comments in recent days about taking control of Greenland have been met with fierce pushback from Denmark, a NATO ally in control of the semiautonomous territory, as well as other European leaders.
- Danish PM Mette Frederiksen this week said any US military operation to seize Greenland would spell the end of the NATO military alliance.
Zoom out: Some analysts suggest America’s new strategy in the Western Hemisphere could embolden other major world powers, particularly China and Russia, to also push for more control over regions they view as problematic.
But other experts disagree, noting that those world powers already appear to feel unconstrained when it comes to gaining control over neighboring countries.
📊 Flash poll: In general, do you support or oppose the Trump admin’s new “Donroe Doctrine” regarding US influence in the Western Hemisphere?
See a 360° view of what pundits are saying →
Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that no matter how much Venezuelans deserved to see Nicolás Maduro out of power, the result must not be that force can be used by the world’s biggest powers—including China and Russia—whenever it suits them.
- Others contend that Trump’s strike in Venezuela and push for a new “Donroe Doctrine” represents a victory for Russia, and a likely fatal blow to the new world order of law, justice and human rights that was heralded in the wake of World War II.
- “As Trump and Rubio eye Cuba and Colombia, danger grows for new era of interventionism” –Miami Herald Editorial Board
- “Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’ hands Putin go-ahead he wants” –M. Gessen, NY Times
- “Venezuela and the trouble with the Donroe doctrine” –Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that those arguing the “Donroe Doctrine” signals some new thinking in the White House that would abandon Taiwan or Ukraine to China and Russia are falsely interpreting Trump’s new strategy, which is tough on Russia/China.
- Others contend that the US can almost certainly get whatever we need from Greenland without violating a friendly country’s sovereignty, or straining a world-historical alliance in NATO to the breaking point, and Trump should try to avoid making those things happen.
- “What the ‘Donroe Doctrine’ does and doesn’t mean” –Washington Examiner Editorial Board
- “How Trump can get Greenland — without grabbing it by force” –Rich Lowry, NY Post
- “Invade Greenland? Why?” –WSJ Editorial Board
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