It’s simple: if you care about problems such as drugs, crime, and illegal migration, you must care about what’s happening in Latin America. But for a long time, the region has taken a backseat in U.S. foreign policy. Until now.
For the first time in nearly 50 years, the United States, under the leadership of President Donald Trump, has made Latin America the top priority of U.S. foreign policy.
One of the most important signals the administration sent was directing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to make his first international trip to Latin America. There, he successfully negotiated with Panama to curb China’s influence over the Panama Canal, leading Panama to rescind its agreement with China’s Belt and Road Initiative. He also secured an agreement with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele for the Central American country to receive criminal deportees to alleviate the U.S. system.
Trump has also made it clear that he will not allow socialist puppets of Cuba and Venezuela to undermine American security interests. He confronted Colombia’s failed socialist president, Gustavo Petro, demanding that Colombia accept two flights of illegal migrants being repatriated from the United States—and Petro paid for it. Trump demonstrated American resolve and embarrassed Petro on the world stage.
The administration has also delivered on its promise to use tariffs to ensure fair treatment from other nations in the Western Hemisphere. After threatening a 25% tariff on Mexican imports, Trump forced Mexico’s socialist president, Claudia Sheinbaum, to deploy Mexican national guard troops to our southern border to curb the flow of fentanyl.
These things matter because they have an impact on the everyday life of Americans — and what a great thing that Trump knows and understands that.
The actions our partners in the western hemisphere take, or the actions they don’t, directly correlate to gang violence in our communities, such as Tren de Aragua members wreaking havoc in Colorado.
It goes hand-in-hand with violent criminals who should never have been here taking the lives of our loved ones, heartbreaking scenarios that are very real to people such as Laken Riley’s family.
It’s tied to the kitchen table, where an empty seat marks the loss of a loved one to an entirely preventable fentanyl-related death.
Trump promised the people he would address the root causes of migration, drug flows, and illegal migration. Promises made, promises kept. This has been the core motto of the administration’s foreign policy toward Latin America—and it’s a motto well-earned.
The first 100 days of any presidency set the tone for the entire term. We didn’t need even a month to see Trump assert that this hemisphere is our sphere of influence and we will not allow our adversaries to take it from us. Not now, not ever.
As Chairwoman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, I am working alongside the president to strengthen relationships with our Latin American partners, establish common ground for mutual benefit with countries that may be skeptical of the U.S., and dismantle the destructive influence of our enemies in the region.
To our allies across the hemisphere—from the courageous democratic movement in Venezuela to the Christians in Nicaragua resisting the regime of Daniel Ortega to the brave freedom fighters confronting the repressive apparatus of the Castro/Díaz-Canel dictatorship in Cuba —know this: the United States stands by your side. We are fighting for you and doing the hard work necessary to create the conditions for freedom and democracy to flourish.
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To those who stand in the way of freedom, who aid and abet cartels, terrorists, and human traffickers, or who ally with China, Russia, and Iran, know this: your days are numbered.
A golden age in America will lead to a golden age for the world. No matter what, liberty and prosperity will prevail.
Maria Salazar is a Republican who represents Florida’s 27th congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is the Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Western Hemisphere Subcommittee
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Publish date : 2025-02-16 21:59:00
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