Military push in Latin America raises concerns

The United States recently announced a new US-led military alliance to combat drug cartels in Latin America, a move experts described as a bid to reassert hemispheric dominance, potentially undermining regional peace and stability.

The US convened what the White House called the "Shield of the Americas" summit in Florida on March 7. Speaking at the summit, US President Donald Trump announced the formation of a new regional military coalition. He portrayed the effort as a necessary response to drug cartels and transnational gangs that pose an "unacceptable threat" to the hemisphere's national security.

"The only way to defeat these enemies is by unleashing the power of our militaries," Trump said. "We have to use our military. You have to use your military."

However, experts suggested the anti-drug rationale masks broader strategic aims. Cao Ting, director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Fudan University, said, "The summit's emphasis on combating crime in Latin America is a guise to legitimize US intervention in the Western Hemisphere and achieve its goal of increasing control over the region."

The US National Security Strategy, released last year, explicitly states the administration's intention to "restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere".

Niu Haibin, director of the Center for Latin American Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, viewed the summit as a step toward implementing this strategy, establishing a regional security mechanism that serves US interests.

Niu pointed out that the proposed joint military operations are of an "uneven nature", shifting the burden of the drug problem, which involves production, transit, and consumption nations, primarily onto Latin American countries. Also, the use of US military force, he argued, "actually undermines the strategic autonomy of Latin American nations in matters of sovereignty and security".

The summit, held on Saturday, saw attendance from a dozen nations, including Argentina, Honduras, and Panama. Notably absent were regional powers Brazil and Mexico, whose absence experts attribute to concerns that US military operations on their soil could undermine their sovereignty.

Distinct divide

Experts said the summit has highlighted and potentially intensified the region's political fragmentation. Cao pointed to the "growing left-right divide" within Latin America, with the summit revealing a distinct divide between left-leaning and right-leaning governments.

The absence of Mexico and Colombia, critical players in the fight against drug trafficking, raises serious questions about the effectiveness of the newly formed anti-drug mechanism, Cao added.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel condemned the summit as a "reactionary and neocolonial" gathering, which represents "an attack on the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace," and "an assault on the aspirations for regional integration".

Cao said the increased US involvement could put greater pressure on left-wing governments in the region, exacerbate political divisions, and heighten uncertainty.

Echoing this sentiment, Niu noted that previous US military operations in Venezuela have already undermined Latin America's standing as a zone of peace.

"Now, with Washington's high-profile launch of a so-called anti-drug campaign in the region, the US may resort to even more reckless unilateral military actions, which will further threaten regional stability and stir up tensions between Latin American states."

Beyond emphasizing the fight against drug trafficking and crime, Trump also warned at the summit that the US would not allow "hostile foreign influence" to gain a foothold in the Western Hemisphere.

While acknowledging that participating nations may share common ground with the US on combating drug trafficking and transnational crime, experts questioned the level of agreement on broader security threats, particularly those related to alleged "foreign influence".

Niu said the US increasingly uses "pan-securitization", framing everything as a security issue, to justify its interference in Latin America, as seen in its approaches to the Panama Canal and Venezuela.

"This US pan-securitization narrative clashes with Latin American countries' desire to actively participate in globalization and establish more diversified economic and trade partnerships," Niu emphasized. "The US can neither replace nor block this need and trend. Forcing its security strategy could lead to tensions in US-Latin America relations."

Agencies contributed to this story.