The Justice Department recently brought charges against Russians who sought to influence American voters. These efforts seek to increase division and to weaken American support for Ukraine. Moscow’s attempts at sowing disinformation in the election are a problem, but there is something even more troubling being discussed behind closed doors in Washington: Russia has established a foothold in Latin America.
The DOJ reports meddling in American elections but also interference in Germany, Mexico and Israel in an attempt to destabilize and weaken their relationship with the United States.
While we focus on protecting our homeland, Moscow is using covert methods in our hemisphere to divide Latin American countries from Washington. The Russian campaign is both a very flashy and yet a covert endeavor to turn Latin America states into enemies of the United States.
This summer Russia sought to gain media attention with a flotilla of its warships 30 miles from Florida’s coast. This display of military prowess intended to remind American policymakers of the Cuban Missile Crisis and how close the world came to nuclear war. While the Pentagon minimized the military exercises, government officials were privately concerned about this public gesture as this flotilla was clearly a part of Moscow’s plan to influence Latin America.
Opinion
Russia laments its lost superpower status. In the late 1990s, former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov articulated a plan to increase Moscow’s influence, not by promoting Russia, but by eroding American weight in the world and bring about multipolarity. He sought to use information, bribes, crime, and other indirect means to achieve this goal. Russian hybrid warfare emerged from this strategy.
Later, in 2005, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the Munich Security Conference and voiced Russia’s complaints with American leadership and his plan to establish a new international multipolar international order where great powers would have equal status. Hybrid warfare is the tool Putin uses to achieve this objective.
Russian political philosopher Aleksandr Dugin was tasked with creating a strategy for combating U.S. influence in Latin America. His main tool has been the use of false and politicized information to undermine American legitimacy. Moscow is able to access Latin American populations through its media — RT and Sputnik, which are available everywhere except for Costa Rica and Uruguay.
Through these outlets, it continuously undermines support for international norms, Ukraine and the United States. Furthermore, Russian diplomats, businessmen and organized crime figures are building networks with Latin American elites through camaraderie, bribery and coercion. The U.S. Institute of Peace published a report on Russian influence in Latin America in 2023 which showed that Moscow established relationships with its historical left-wing partners as well as far-right politicians. The report warned that Moscow has been very successful in its efforts to decrease American influence in Latin America through its connection to local elites.
Moscow’s Latin American efforts focus particularly on Mexico, where it has a substantial diplomatic staff. Since Mexico strategically borders the United States and is wary of U.S. influence, it is no surprise that Mexico would have close links to Putin’s Russia. Putin uses these relationships as an opportunity to strengthen Moscow’s covert influence operations in the Americas.
As Moscow’s diplomatic staff in Mexico City has grown by dozens in the past few years, the American intelligence community is concerned that this expansion has increased Russia’s ability to spy on the United States. One even greater concern is that Mexico’s support for Washington is declining due to Russia’s courtship of Mexican elites who challenge U.S. power.
Russia also supports cartels and organized criminal groups that threaten American national security on the southern border. Both American intelligence officers and government officials worry that unless Washington develops a strong plan to combat Russian influence in Latin America, Moscow will be able to seriously undermine the US as a global power.
Moscow’s efforts have already spread disinformation and helped promote American critics and weaken our regional allies. The United States needs to respond quickly or it will find itself more isolated in Latin America and the world.
G. Doug Davis is a full professor of political science at Troy University and Michael Slobodchikoff is a professor of political science and the founding director of the Center for Eastern and Central European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at Troy University.
Part of our series The Unraveling of Latin America. This essay discusses Russia’s growing influence in Latin America and how they are undermining the U.S.
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Publish date : 2024-10-27 19:30:00
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