Some Leaders Counterattack, Others Concede, and a Few Look Away
Latin America navigates a minefield of economic and military threats since Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
No country in “our hemisphere,” as the White House refers to the Americas, has escaped what many consider the return of U.S. interventionism.
“Every Latin American country has an asymmetric position with the United States. This is a foundational position,” explains Alejandro Frenkel, a professor of International Relations at the University of San Martín in Argentina.
“Whatever Trump Wants”
Argentine President Javier Milei “does whatever Trump wants and whatever Trump wants,” explains Michael Shifter, an analyst at the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue center to AFP.
In need of strong support to aid his efforts to revive Argentina’s struggling economy, Milei became a fervent Trump ally and offered U.S. manufacturers preferential access to his country’s market.
Trump lifted restrictions on Argentine beef imports in a trade agreement, the details of which have not been fully disclosed, and granted Argentina a lifeline worth billions of dollars.
Another loyal Trump supporter in the region is Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, famous for curbing gang violence and not hesitating to make his country the first to receive migrants expelled during Trump’s second term.
Human rights groups accuse Bukele of torture and other illegal excesses, but in exchange for receiving migrants, 200,000 Salvadorans obtained a temporary extension to remain in the U.S. and maintain the crucial flow of remittances.
Meanwhile, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa agreed to receive deported migrants from the U.S. and sided with Washington regarding military deployment in the Caribbean and attacks against alleged drug traffickers in the region.
In return, Noboa achieved greater U.S. cooperation in combating criminal gangs.
“Rude and Ignorant”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a leftist, has openly confronted the real estate mogul.
He called Trump “rude and ignorant” and compared him to Adolf Hitler.
Petro denounced the Trump administration’s treatment of migrants and labeled the over 80 deaths of alleged drug traffickers in U.S. attacks in the Caribbean and Pacific as “extrajudicial killings.”
Bogotá distanced itself from Washington and drew closer to Beijing through China’s New Silk Roads.
As a response, the Trump government imposed sanctions on Petro, accusing him of drug trafficking.
The White House removed Bogotá from a list of allies in the fight against drug trafficking, but Colombia escaped harsher penalties, possibly due to Washington’s anticipation that the right would return to power in Colombia’s 2026 presidential elections.
Another leftist, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has also had run-ins with Trump.
According to Oliver Stuenkel, a professor of international relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo, Brazil’s response has been more “pragmatic and firm.”
Lula denounced Trump’s imposition of punitive tariffs on Brazilian imports as “foreign interference,” a response to the trial against his right-wing ally Jair Bolsonaro for alleged coup plotting.
“If this had happened 25 years ago, when the U.S. was its primary trading partner, ‘Brazil would have had to make significant concessions,'” Stuenkel said.
“But now ‘Brazil exports more to China than to the U.S. and Europe combined.'”
Silent Diplomacy
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has fewer options, as her country exports over 80% of its goods to the U.S.
Sheinbaum responded to Trump’s rhetoric about Mexican drug cartels and migration with closed-door agreements, what analysts call “silent diplomacy.”
Mexico avoided some of the fury from the tariff war by increasing intelligence exchange, drug seizures, and cartel leader arrests.
However, Mexico maintained its stance of “non-subordination” when Trump opened the door to attacks on drug traffickers within Mexican territory.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino also walks a tightrope, having withdrawn his country from China’s Belt and Road Initiative at Washington’s request.
Mulino also allowed the sale of ports owned by a Hong Kong-based conglomerate in the Panama Canal following Trump’s threat to regain control of this vital trade route.
“Not Provoking the U.S.”
Venezuela fears that the large-scale U.S. naval deployment in the Caribbean aims to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro.
Maduro, accused by a significant portion of the community of committing electoral fraud in the last two presidential elections, has few allies or economic supporters.
Caracas agreed to release U.S. prisoners while Washington allowed Chevron to continue operating in the country, which holds the world’s largest known oil reserves.
Venezuela prepares for what it considers a U.S. threat while “trying hard not to provoke the U.S.,” said Guillaume Long, a principal researcher at the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research and former Ecuadorian Foreign Minister.
