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Adjusting U.S. Strategy for Latin America Under President Joe Biden and the
Policy Response of Countries and Organizations in the Area. ABSTRACT
From history to the present, Latin America has always been considered by
American politicians and leaders as a vital space for the development of this
country. Under President Joe Biden, the US has adjusted its policy towards Latin
America in all fields to re-consolidate its position and strength in the face of
increasing competition for influence from China, Russia, and the environment. The
regional political and security environment are has undergone a great deal of
change due to the institutional transition from "right-wing" to "left-wing" in the
period from 2020 to the present. Through the interdisciplinary research method in
international relations, we analyze and evaluate the sources, as well as the research
works of experts to approach the research problem in the most scientific way
possible. The result of the article is to clarify the goals, contents, measures, and
implementation of US policies towards Latin America and the policy responses of
countries and organizations in the region to the policy adjustments of the Joe Biden administration. KEYWORDS
US policy towards Latin America, President Joe Biden, Latin America, the policy
response to US-China competition. Introduction
Latin America spans nearly 20,000 kilometers, from Mexico in the north
(bordering the US states of Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and California) to the
island of Fire and the Strait of Magellan on the border of Chile and Argentina in
the south (Britannica). This region includes 33 countries and territories divided into
three geographical regions: Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. It
has an area of 20 million square kilometers, a population of 665 million (World
Atlas), and is rich in mineral resources, especially tropical forests, fresh water,
crude oil, uranium, and rare piles of the earth (National Geographic). Latin
America has been an area of traditional American influence since these countries
got rid of Western colonial rule. Spain and Portugal in the early 19th century
After four years of tension under former President Donald Trump, the adoption of
the "One Center and the Spokes" policy (Michael Haman and Milan Skolnik,
2021) split the relationship between the US and Latin American countries,
especially leftist countries, and created a space for China and Russia to expand
their spheres of influence, making the US interests in the "traditional zone of
influence" of Latin America significantly affected. From the beginning of 2021
until now, after Mr.Joe Biden took power, the US has gradually adjusted its
strategy and policies towards the region in a more friendly direction, taking
economic and political interests as a priority. This has enabled the US to achieve
several significant benefits, including strengthening relations with the region's
leftist countries, developing robust trade and investment exchange activities; and
maintaining stable defense and security cooperation. But it also poses several
difficulties for the US to face: US policy in Latin America is not clear; it faces
competition with China in terms of economy and trade and causes conflicts with
countries in the region over democracy and human rights (Whitehouse, 2023).
The above achievements and limitations have caused policy reactions in the
opposite direction of the interlacing of countries and organizations in Latin
America with the US. But in general, these countries and organizations are still in
the process of adjusting US policy in the region, either directly or indirectly.
Objectives, contents, and measures in US policy towards Latin America under President Joe Biden.
From the beginning of 2021 up until now, the international context of the Latin
America region has seen many complicated and unpredictable developments, such
as negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, the global economic downturn,
the Russian-Ukrainian conflict; fluctuations in the international energy market,
shortages of food supply, employment issues, climate change, great power
competition, especially between the US, Russia, and China on a global scale, and a
change in Latin American political trends from "right-wing" to "left-wing”. This
has affected America and American policy in Latin America.
Furthermore, the internal situation in the United States faces numerous challenges,
including conflicts between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party over
the 2020 Presidential election (Alexander Bolton, 2022); increased division and
racism (Pew Research Center, 2021); increased US-China competition, particularly
in technology; Russia-US competition in Ukraine, which has strained relations between the two sides...
The above-mentioned external and internal challenges have forced the Joe Biden
administration to make strategic and policy adjustments to the Latin American
region, especially when the policies of the previous administration of Donald
Trump caused divide and conflict between the US and Latin America (Stephania
Taladrid, 2021) and created opportunities for China and Russia to fill the void left
by the US (Diana Roy, 2022). This is also the reason that the Joe Biden
administration is being forced to adjust its policy toward the region (Priscilla
Otero, 2023) to keep up with the trends of international, regional, and internal US
situations, laying the groundwork for the US to form a united front in Latin
America to contain China in traditional and non-traditional security issues (Rocio Fabbro, 2023). As follows: About strategic goals
After taking office, the Joe Biden administration and the United States intend to
achieve the strategic goal of shifting US policy toward Latin America from
"confrontation" to "cooperation" in terms of economic and political cooperation.
The motto "economic interests are the center" (Steven Overly, 2022) ensures the
political position of the US in the region, avoiding unnecessary confrontation. This
helps the US gradually improve its relations with left-wing and left-leaning
countries in Latin America. Create opportunities for the US to expand its influence
in the region and promote strategic competition with Russia and China.
In addition, the US also wants to re-engage its strategy of engaging in Latin
America in terms of technology, environment, climate change, digital economy,
investment, and vaccine diplomacy to make the US a leading country in the war.
Economic development strategy in Latin America according to the "new liberal"
model is based on combining the interests of the US with Latin America
(Whitehouse, 2021). At the same time, creating a legal basis for American
businesses to re-enter the Latin American market. Since then, it has effectively
competed with Chinese enterprises, especially when China has expanded its
economic influence in many countries in the region through the BRI initiative from 2013 until now.
Not only that, but the US also promotes bilateral and multilateral FTA negotiations
with countries in the region within the framework of the Free Trade Agreement of
the Americas (FAAT) and the Americas Partnership for Freedom, promoting
prosperity and helping the US continue to maintain its leadership role in the region,
especially in economy, security, and the military. This is reflected in President Joe
Biden's statement at the 9th Summit of the Americas (June 2022) that: "The United
States is always ready to cooperate in the spirit of listening and respecting each
other with Latin American friends to build an America without distance, solidarity,
and mutual development for common goals and orientations under the motto of
mutual benefit, not just the benefit of one party as before" (White House, 2022).
About the implementation content
The process of adjusting US policy towards Latin America under President Joe
Biden is shown through the following contents:
(1) The US wants to reset its relationship with Latin American countries in the
direction of prioritizing economic cooperation, trade, and investment instead of
class struggle under President Donald Trump (White House, 2023). At the same
time, promote the diversification of relationships with partners in the region,
including left- and right-wing countries, rather than just focusing on right-wing countries like Peru as before.
(2) Strengthening economic and strategic ties with major Latin American countries
such as Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Chile, with commercial interests at the
forefront, using North-South dialogue, South-South cooperation, and the inter-
American, Latin American-American cooperation mechanism as a foundation for
replacing the Donald Trump administration's "Central and Peripheral" policy
(Daniel F. Runde, Meredith Broadbent, and Henry Ziemer, 2022).
(3) Continuing to maintain the policy of democracy and human rights as a tool to
interfere in the internal affairs of Latin American countries (GIGA, 2021). This
policy is promoted by the US through the Latin American Democratic Forum and
NGOs, the Catholic churches controlled by the US, and the Vatican. However, the
US approach has many layers and does not focus solely on Cuba and some ALBA
countries, as it did under Donald Trump.
(4) Promote defense cooperation, defense trade, and defense exchanges with
countries that are allies and partners in the region, especially Brazil, Colombia,
Peru, and Mexico, to maintain military superiority. America here. At the same time,
strengthen the position of 83 US military bases in 20 countries in the region (U.S.
Southern Command, 2022). Consider this a tool to counter Russian and Chinese
influence, and it is dominated by the Southern Command, the Americas Command, and the US Fleet.
(5) Adjusting energy policies with Latin American countries, especially Venezuela,
in the direction of a resumption of cooperative activities in oil and gas exploitation
in this country At the same time, coordinate with countries in the region to develop
clean energy projects in green energy, a clean economy, and digital space according to US standards.
(6) Develop trade policy with Latin America based on the mottos of "equal
opportunity" and "sustained freedom" (Matt Spetalnick, 2023). This policy will
focus on the resumption of bilateral and multilateral FTA negotiations by the US
with countries and organizations in the region and participation in economic and
trade mechanisms dominated by the US in the region and Asia-Pacific, such as
IPEF, CPTPP, APEC, B3W, and BGII. Help the US form an inter-regional
economic order led by it and not by China or the EU.
(7) Strengthen cooperation with NICs in South America on rare piles of earth,
information technology, and 5G and 6G networks (White House, 2022) to reduce
China's technological influence in the region and the technological influence of the
United States in Latin America through initiatives such as China+1, the Global
Technology Initiative, and the American Chip Act.
(8) Promote the new "Monroe Doctrine" in Latin America through the role of the
OAS to re-consolidate the economic and political position of the United States in
the region through the "Inter-American Doctrine" under the motto "Americans and
Latin Americans both benefit" in the new US engagement strategy.
(9) Consider climate change and environmental protection as channels of policy
impact to build the Americas into a clean and green ecological space according to
COP-27 standards (Guy Edwards and Benjamin N. Gedan, 2021), thereby
protecting the sustainability of the Tropical Biosphere Reserve in the Amazon,
Central America, the Caribbean Sea, and the southern United States in the
Mississippi and Missouri River basins of the United States. Thus, it can be seen
that the contents proposed by the administration of President Joe Biden in the
process of adjusting US policy towards Latin America are comprehensive and
diverse, demonstrating the new approach of the US in the fields of economic
development. Regional issues must be addressed to maintain influence and help the
US compete effectively with China and Russia in the region, especially when these
two countries are promoting the policy of expanding influence in Latin America
through the BRI initiative. out and re-engage in Latin America. About implementation measures
The measures that the Joe Biden administration implemented in Latin America are
still based on two traditional approaches: bilateral and multilateral. Bilaterally, the
US promotes diplomatic activities in the region through visits of heads of state and
senior leaders to Latin American countries to strengthen its influence in the region.
These measures take place synchronously, comprehensively, and in-depth, not
unilaterally and rigidly as under Donald Trump. Regarding multilateralism, the US
has stepped up its multilateral diplomatic engagement in the region through
regional, inter-regional, and global mechanisms and organizations led and
dominated by this country, such as OAS, LIMA, APEC, B3W, and new
mechanisms such as IPEF and BGII to reshape a new American order in the region,
thereby creating a basis for the US to implement the new "Monroe Doctrine" in
Latin America. Furthermore, the Joe Biden administration has promoted security
engagement activities in Latin America through multilateral mechanisms such as
the Inter-American Treaty, Western NATO, NATO Americas, and the Inter-
American Defense Council, non-NATO allies, and trilateral and quadrilateral
defense cooperation mechanisms based on the "one axis and spokes" model to
consolidate military influence and prevent Russian and Chinese military
involvement. At the same time, using the role of non-governmental organizations
under the US Department of State such as USAID and NED; Catholic churches;
and regional and international monetary institutions such as the World Bank, IMF,
ADB, Inter-American Development Bank, Federal Bank of the United States... to
compete with the financial institutions that China is developing and implementing
in Latin America, such as the BRICS Bank, the New Development Bank (NDB),
and the Silk Road Fund (SF). Thus, it can be seen that the US approach to Latin
America under President Joe Biden has both inherited the policies of his
predecessor and adjusted to new strategic issues. This allows the United States
policy toward Latin America to become more flexible, rather than rigid and right-
wing, as it was under Donald Trump. This is also a new feature in the Latin
American policy of the Joe Biden administration from the beginning of 2021 to the present.
The process of implementing US policy toward Latin America Policy implementation
After more than two years of policymaking for Latin America, the Joe Biden
administration has implemented the following policies for the region:
On politics and foreign affairs
If under Donald Trump, America's priority for Latin America is to promote
relations with right-wing countries under the motto of "putting the interests of the
United States and democratic countries in the Western Hemisphere at the center,"
Consider countries with different political institutions from the US, such as Cuba,
Venezuela, and Nicaragua, as ideological opponents that cause conflicts and
conflicts of interest between the US and leftist countries, particularly Cuba and
Venezuela, by the time of Joe Biden. In addition, the Joe Biden administration has
also reduced its interference in issues related to intra-bloc integration and policy
choices of Latin American countries; reduced the presence of the Lima Group and
the political mechanisms that are imposed on the region such as the OAS and the
Latin American Dialogue Forum for Freedom and Democracy; and the US has
reconciled its relationship with regional organizations and mechanisms such as
CELAC, MERCOSUR, and ALBA, contributing to creating a new political image
of the US in Latin America under the motto "America is back and ready to go" and
willing to lead a regional order based on the needs and interests of the entire
Americas. Thus, through the implementation of the above policy, the Joe Biden
administration has created a new political and diplomatic cohesion in the region,
putting soft power and friendship as the focus instead of orders. Sanctions,
embargoes, and confrontations that the previous administration of Donald Trump
applied to many countries in the region in the period 2017–2020.
Concerning the economy, trade, and investment
If, under Donald Trump, the US's main priority with Latin America is to strengthen
trade ties with major countries in the region such as Brazil, Argentina, and
Colombia, while taking into account the interests of American capitalists and
ruling elites, ownership in Latin America as the focus, not focusing on the interests
of the middle class or the people, and increasing the conflict between the US and
the majority of countries in the region, especially when this region is suffering
from negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic
recession. However, by the time President Joe Biden was in power, the US had
adjusted its policy towards the region by promoting bilateral and multilateral FTA
negotiations to build a channel for dialogue and cooperation. The new economy
between the US and Latin America; strengthen vaccine diplomacy, technology
diplomacy, and environmentalism to reshape the green and clean economic policy
that President Joe Biden has committed to American voters during the 2020
presidential campaign. Push negotiations to bring Latin America into economic
mechanisms dominated by the US, such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and IPEF.
Furthermore, the US maintains infrastructure reconstruction activities of Latin
American countries through the B3W and BGII mechanisms to build a green,
clean, and high-quality infrastructure system in the region, allowing it to compete
effectively with China's BRI initiative, especially since 20 of the region's 33
countries participate in the BRI (Lucas Chiodi and Thu Nguyen Hoang Anh, 2022).
At the same time, the resumption of multilateral cooperation activities with
MERCOSUR and CELAC aims to create a new impetus for the US trade and
investment relationship in Latin America. About security and defense
If under Donald Trump, America's defense policy priorities with Latin America
focus on big countries in the right-wing Lima Group such as Brazil, Colombia, and
Argentina through the "one center and spokes axes" that the Trump administration
signed with these countries at the Lima Group Summit (2018) in Peru. By the time
of Joe Biden, the United States had completely adjusted this policy by reducing its
involvement in the Lima Group, limiting military cooperation with right-wing
countries, and promoting renegotiation with Brazil on agreements. Defense treaty
signed by the two countries in 2019 within the framework of the alliance
mechanism outside NATO, the United States, and Brazil. In addition, the Joe Biden
administration strengthened security mechanisms in the region, such as the Merina
Initiative, the Andes Initiative, and the Pan-American Initiative, and maintained the
presence of 83 military bases with more than 70,000 troops. Permanent residence
(Vietnam News Agency, 2022, No. 87, pp. 5) to create outposts and props to
prevent Russia and China from expanding their military influence in the region. At
the same time, maintain defense trade activities with major countries such as Brazil
and Colombia and coordinate with these countries to combat human trafficking,
drug trafficking, and illegal immigration through cooperation between the two
countries, US Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Immigration, and Latin American security agencies.
About democracy and human rights
Under Donald Trump, the US is not too focused on democracy and human rights,
taking the interests of the oligarchs and capitalists as a priority in promoting
democracy in the region and focusing on this issue. Cuba, and Venezuela, and
consider these as states that need to be overthrown. By the time of Joe Biden, the
US had made a change in this policy when considering the State Department as the
main human rights promotion agency in the region, taking economic and
commercial interests as a measure to promote the people's livelihood. Owner,
rather than using the policy of embargo and confrontation to promote democracy.
The Joe Biden administration also does not acknowledge the role of right-wing
opposition figures once supported by the Trump administration, such as Juan
Guaido in Venezuela and Bolsonaro in Brazil, or expand relations with new
governing institutions in the US. Latin, regardless of left or right, only focused on the interests of America. Regard technology
Under President Donald Trump, the US attracted Latin American countries to join
the Global Technology Alliance to prevent Huawei, ZTE, and China's technology
dictatorship in the region, especially when the country has deployed in the area 5G
projects, undersea fiber optic cables, and digital infrastructure, affecting US
interests. By Joe Biden's time, the US's strategic priorities had changed when it
attracted Latin American countries to participate in the China+1 policy with the
main focus being: bringing American technology from China to its territory. USA,
Latin American countries, especially Mexico (Peters Goodman, 2023); cooperate
and exploit rare piles of earth with Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina to ensure
technological autonomy; promoting cooperation with technology enterprises of
Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, implementing investment projects in Latin America
(Federico Merke, Oliver Stuenkel and Andreas E. Feldmann, 2021). This, helped
the US strengthen the Chip Act (Whitehouse, 2022) and expand its technological
influence on a global scale, competing with and weakening the Chinese Chip industry.
Relating to environmental issues and halting global change
Different from the Donald Trump administration's disregard for the environment
and climate change, the Joe Biden administration inherited the Obama
administration's environmental legacies and developed them at COP-26 and COP-
27 by working with Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, and Mexico and protecting the
Amazon rainforest and the core region of Central America, enabling the US
economy to rapidly transition from an energy-based economy to a new energy
economy (US Department of State, 2022). This helps the US develop clean energy
such as bioenergy and wind energy, thereby reducing crude oil imports from
Russia, the Middle East, and Venezuela, especially when the confrontation between
the US and Russia is increasing after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian
conflict. Thus, it can be seen that, under Donald Trump, America's policies towards
Latin America are heavily populist, unilateral, local, and geared towards the
interests of the oligarchs and capitalists. Under President Joe Biden, the United
States has implemented policies in Latin America that are synchronous and
comprehensive in all fields, focusing on several key issues of concern to the region
and the world. This shows the fact that the US under Joe Biden has a more flexible
and balanced approach to regional issues, thereby creating a new position for the US in Latin America.
US outcomes after changing its strategies toward Latin America
The US under President Joe Biden has accomplished the following results for Latin
America after more than two years of policy adjustment with the region:
Improve relations with the region's many leftist countries, particularly the ALBA group.
The Joe Biden administration has gradually improved relations with Latin
American left-wing countries, particularly the ALBA group, in many international
and regional issues where the two sides have common interests, such as the US has
improved relations with Latin American leftist countries by not interfering in the
presidential elections in Nicaragua and Ecuador (2021); reducing support for
opposition forces undermining stability. The above policies contribute to
improving the image of the US in Latin America, enabling the two sides to conduct
political dialogues within the framework of the 9th OAS Summit on democracy
and human rights, religious freedom, political regime, etc.
Additionally, the US has been successful in mending fences with nations that were
adversaries under Donald Trump, including Venezuela and Cuba (Sabrina
Rodriguez & Matt Dixon, 2022). This benefits both parties by fostering trade
collaboration and fortifying political and security ties, particularly in the fight
against drug trafficking, organized crime, and illegal immigration. Across
international boundaries from South America, Central America, and Mexico's land
to the United States. Create the Americas Partnership for Freedom and Prosperity
mechanism at the same time to strike a balance between US and Latin American
political objectives within the framework of the new US-led and American-led order.
Additionally, strengthening ties with left-leaning nations in Latin America aids the
US in achieving several objectives, including the resumption of energy cooperation
with Venezuela after nine years of freezing and helping the US economy improve.
improve the domestic energy shortage caused by stopping oil imports from Russia
(John Otis, 2022); cooperate with Brazil to form the Amazon Environmental Fund
worth USD 50 million to protect the Amazon ecosystem (Sarah Brown, 2023);
prevent deforestation that affects the regional and global environment; strengthen
political dialogues with Cuba, Brazil, and Mexico, creating a foundation for US-
Latin American science and technology cooperation to develop; establish a
mechanism for cross-border cooperation between Latin America and America to
combat organized crime and illegal immigration (White House, 2023); From there,
develop a new cooperation policy between the two sides under the motto "Latin
America and America are friends" rather than competitors.
The United States and Latin America have a long history of economic cooperation.
Despite the conflicts and conflicts of interests between the US and Latin America
on many important issues such as democracy, human rights, and political regimes,
under Joe Biden, trade exchanges between the two sides have developed and are
stronger than they were during Donald Trump's rule. According to a report of the
US Department of Commerce (January 1, 2023), in 2022, US-Latin American trade
will reach 381 billion USD, 19 billion USD higher than in 2021 (362 billion USD),
far exceeding China's trade with the region of 345 billion USD (2022). This figure
is forecast to reach 400 billion USD in 2023 (Vietnam News Agency, 2023, No. 30,
p. 11), making the US continue to be the country with the largest trade exchange
with Latin America. Regarding investment, the US is still the country with the
largest total investment capital in the region of more than 20 billion USD (2022),
far exceeding China's 13 billion USD (White House, 2023). These investment
projects focus on infrastructure, digital technology, the green economy, energy, and
combating climate change, which is different from Chinese investment projects
that focus on ports, the sea, and traffic. For example: During the visit to the US by
Brazilian President Lula De Silva (February 2023), the two countries signed 13
cooperation agreements on green agriculture, 5G technology, and rare earth
mining. Earlier, at the 9th Summit of the Americas, the US pledged to invest 582
million USD in the region to tackle climate change (Vietnam News Agency, 2022,
No. 196, pp. 14).In addition, the US has formed rare earth mining alliances with
Latin American countries, helping the Joe Biden administration to promote
technological competition with China and reduce dependence on rare earth
cooperation from this country. As a result, a foundation will be established to assist
the United States and Latin America in developing a single technology market
within the framework of the Americas Partnership for Freedom and Prosperity by
2030. Not only that, but the US also promotes vaccine diplomacy with the region.
According to a US Department of Health report (February 2023), from July 2021
to January 2023, the US provided 1.7 billion doses of Pfizer and Moderna’s
vaccines to Latin America, assisting the region in successfully dealing with the
COVID-19 pandemic and making the US, not China, the region's largest vaccine
supplier, and contributing to Pfizer's and Moderna’s revenue of $ 110 billion, the highest in the world.
In addition, the US also achieved some other results, such as becoming an
important trading partner for 13 of the 33 Latin American countries and the 2nd
largest trading partner for 20 of the 35 countries in the region (White House, USA).
2023); helping the US economy achieve, etc. v many important achievements in
2022, are: and are: unemploymentofa3.5% among 3355%/335 million (the people
(lowest in 50 years), job creation for 12 people , building more than 20,000 km of
highways, 500,000 charging stations… (White House, 2023); building economic
development triangles and quadrilaterals with Latin American countries such as
Guatemala-Mexico-Honduras; Colombia-Panama-Ecuador-Peru (Vietnam News
Agency, 2023, No. 23, pp. 8); reducing Latin America's dependence on investment
and trade with China; and increasing foreign technology investment in the US. In
2022, the US has attracted US$120 billion in technology investment from world
enterprises into the country (Vietnam News Agency, 2023, No. 28; pp. 18), helping
Latin America reopen to tourism after more than 2 years of closure.
In South America, the US has expanded its military and security presence.
According to a report by the US Department. 8)t of Defense (January 2023), by
2022, US def expenditures with 14 countries in the Lima Group will reach more
than 10 billion USD, higher than a billion USD ), and will focus using on modern
weapons with high lethality such as spy planes, automatic rifbattle tanks, etc,
links… (Vietnam News Agency, 2023, No. 35, p.8) Campaigns against the magic
power of the US military in Central and South American countries such as
Colombia, Peru, and Honduras (Amelia Cheatham and Diana Roy, 2022) remained
stable. As a result, in the period from February 2021 to January 1, 2023, US
security forces arrested 8,000 drug smugglers, seized a total of 10,433 kg of drugs,
and earned more than $5 billion (White House, 2023). The US Department of
Defense continues to maintain a military presence and cooperate with Latin
America through its military base (Tamara Lajtman, Anbal Garcia Fernández, and
Silvina Romano, 2023). These facilities help the US develop exploitation strategies
for anti-terrorism operations and pure drug trafficking. simultaneously, in
collaboration with Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, to develop geostationary satellite
protection, military satellite protection, aerospace, and atomic energy to strengthen
the position of nuclear power in the Latin American and American economies. For
example, during the journey of President Lopez Obrador (2022) (Daina Beth
Solomon, Dave Graham, and Matt Spetalnick, 2022) and Joe Biden back to
Mexico (2023) (Pavel López Lazo, 2023), and when President Lula De Silva
(2023) came to the US (Presidencia da Repblica, 2023), the parties signed the
Treaty on maintaining military bases, developing nuclear energy projects, and
building a new AUKUS mechanism in the Nam Dai Atlantic Ocean (2023) with
Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to deal with security techniques coming from the Chinese navy.
The US continues to conduct joint military drills with nations in Latin America,
including drills with 13 nations and 21 nations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific
in 2021, which will involve 23,000 soldiers. By 2022, Latin America will have
12,000 soldiers (Vietnam News Agency, 2022, No. 249, p. 14). The US wants to
strengthen its military influence in the region through these drills and stop leftist
nations from physically allying with Russia and China, which would weaken US influence in the area.
In addition, the US also achieved several results, including forming a pan-
American anti-drug initiative with the Andes and Central America; strengthening
the Inter-American pact with Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina at the 9th Summit of
the Americas (U.S. Department of State, 2022); building a cooperation mechanism
against organized crime and opposition leftist forces in the region; maintaining the
presence of US security coordination agencies in Latin America through special
envoys; and continuing to maintain its position as the largest defense partner of
Latin American countries. Limitations and difficulties of the US when
implementing policies towards Latin America. Besides the achieved results, the
process of implementing US policy towards Latin America also encountered some
difficulties and limitations, as follows:
The US does not have a specific strategy for Latin America, especially in terms of
defense and security. Under President Joe Biden, the US strategic priority is to
compete with China and Russia in Eurasia, Ukraine, and Taiwan, rather than issues
related to Latin America. This makes US policy towards the region, especially in
terms of security and defense, limited and creates opportunities for Russia and
China to increase their influence and fill the power vacuum left by the US in the
region. As an example: During the visit of Cuban President Canel to Russia (2022)
and China (2022), Cuba affirmed that it would support and cooperate with China in
the implementation of the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global
Security Initiative (GSI), and Belt and Road (China Embassy, 2022). And Russia
considers Cuba an important ally and reliable partner in Latin America (the
Russian Government, 2022). This helps China and Russia further strengthen the
bilateral relationship, especially cooperation, in the field of telecommunications
and space technology in South American countries through the construction of
space satellite stations (Julieta Pelcastre, 2022) and Russia's Glonass global
satellite station in Central America (Infobae, 2022).
China is a fierce competitor to American commerce and investment in Latin America.
According to the report of the Latin American and Caribbean Trade Council, in
2022, China will continue to implement many large transport infrastructure
projects, seaports, and piers in the region, such as the Veracruz port project in
Mexico and the Barranquilla port project in the region. Colombia, Chancay in
Peru, and Hutchinson Whampoa in Argentina... these ports not only help China
expand trade activities in Latin America under the BRI initiative, but they also help
China compete in trade with other countries. America in the region (Carlos de
Leon, 2021), especially when China is a major trading partner of 17/33 countries
and territories in Latin America and the number 1 investor in many countries such
as Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. China is also a country with many large mineral
exploitation projects, especially in Chile (copper), Argentina (silver), and Peru
(iron, oil, and gas), and it competes directly with American enterprises in Latin
America. As an example, China's Zijin Mining Group invested $380 million in a
lithium carbonate plant (a non-fuel mineral that the US considers essential to the
country's economy and national security) in the province of Catamarca, Argentina
(February 2022), and China's largest lithium producer, Ganfeng Lithium, also
acquired a part of Argentina's lithium mining project (2021). (Adina Renee Adler and Haley Ryan, both 2022)
Increasing tensions between the US and Latin America over democracy and human rights
The Joe Biden administration's push for a democratic and human rights policy in
Latin America has contributed to increasing tensions between the country and
leftist countries in the region. Because the policy of the Joe Biden administration
only changed in terms of tactics but not in terms of goals and strategy, it did not
change and caused conflicts in policies between the two sides, creating a basis for
China to promote soft power in this region to compete in terms of development
models and options with the US, especially when China considers the export of
China's development model a priority in its foreign policy towards the US with
Latin America (Diana Roy, 2022) after the XX Congress of the Communist Party of China.
Policy responses of countries and organizations in Latin America toward the US
The process of implementing US policy in Latin America encountered mixed
reactions from countries and regional organizations, as follows:
for the Organization of American States
Countries in the OAS have mixed reactions to US policy. While long-standing
Latin American allies such as Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico
strongly support the US policy of engagement in Latin America, left-wing
countries such as Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua are opposed to this involvement.
The proof is that at the 9th Summit of the Americas, only 23 of 35 heads of state
attended, 7 countries did not send leaders to participate, and 5 countries only sent
foreign ministers to attend (Kevin Liptak, 2022). The OAS countries are also
divided over the role and responsibility of the US in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
While Argentina, Colombia, and Peru support the US in this war, Venezuela and
Cuba oppose it. Some other countries that choose a neutral solution are Brazil and
Mexico. This makes the US policy of involvement in the region in terms of
economy, trade, and investment As for politics, there is no consensus on policy (Real Instituto Elcano, 2022). for CELAC and ALBA
Unlike the OAS, the countries in CELAC and ALBA have views that support
political integration in Latin America and oppose the involvement of major
countries in the region, especially the US. However, many CELAC countries, such
as Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, have strong relations with the US and
should support this country's bilateral engagement with the region, particularly in
terms of economy, trade, and investment. Military, private (White House, 2022).
This has caused division within CELAC on issues related to the US. Similarly, the
ALBA countries also have a policy of building the Latin American Social Contract
based on Simon Bolivar's ideas and socialism. However, the ALBA countries
(except Cuba) have close economic relations with the US, so these countries often
choose a neutral solution and do not strongly oppose the US when it intervenes in
Latin America. This makes ALBA an organization that is both anti-American and
wants to take advantage of the US’s role in economic development. For Brazil
Based on the 2019 Brazil-US alliance, Brazil has a politically consistent approach
with the US that supports its involvement in the region under Presidents Bolsonaro
and Silva. However, Brazil is the mainstay of the non-aligned movement, the G77,
and an important partner of Russia and China in the BRICS, the G20, and the
OECD, so it always tends to be neutral on issues related to its interests between the
US, Russia, China, and the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. For Cuba
Cuba is a country that has always strongly opposed the adjustment of US policy
towards Latin America. Because the US maintains the embargo on Cuba and has
not changed its policy toward the country. This is why Cuba strengthens economic
and defense cooperation with Russia and China, relying on these two countries to
protect its sovereignty and reduce US pressure. However, because the Cuban
economy is facing many difficulties and needs external support for reform, the
promotion of cooperation through non-governmental mechanisms with the US is still encouraged. For Mexico
Under President Lopez Obrador, Mexico has always taken an ambivalent approach
to its relations with the United States. Because it is a pillar of CELAC and the left
side of Latin America, Mexico has always promoted the policy of building a united
Latin America without the presence of the US. However, because Mexico is a
neighboring country with a close border with the US, has a high dependence on the
US market (75% of Mexico's trade depends on the US, equivalent to 810 billion
USD) (Vietnam) News Agency, 2023, No. 23, pp. 8), and as a country that shares
interests with the US in many regional and international organizations such as the
OECD, G20, USMCA, and others, it continues to support the US in its main
implementation. An economic policy with Latin America. As a result, Mexico and
the United States have a "two-way" relationship. Conclude
Just as the late US President Monroe once asserted in 1823 that "the rise and
prosperity of the United States must first be tied to Latin America, then to the
Eurasian continent (National Archives), Under President Joe Biden, the United
States has made a major policy adjustment towards Latin America compared to the
period of Donald Trump's administration to strengthen the position of the US in
this region after a period of ups and downs and let China and Russia expand their
influence in the region. This policy adjustment is taking place synchronously in
traditional fields such as economy, foreign affairs, defense, and security, but also in
new fields such as environment, climate change, etc., energy, and technology. This
demonstrates that the United States has recognized its limitations and shortcomings
in Latin America and is determined to fill them with new strategies and policies,
even though the process of implementing this policy has been, is, and will face
many difficulties due to the internal situation of the United States, Latin American
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