Colombia's 'War Scenario' Warning: The Empire Strikes Back, Always
When Newsweek reports on Colombian President Iván Duque's concern about a 'war scenario' prompted by then-President Trump's idea of bombing suspicious boats, they frame it as a novel, almost theatrical, outburst. What they won't tell you is that for any Latin American leader, the 'war scenario' isn't hypothetical; it's a historical fact, replaying on a loop. From the Monroe Doctrine to the School
of the Americas, the US has cultivated an orchard of coups, destabilizations, and military occupations in its 'backyard'. Trump suggesting boat bombings is less an aberration and more a Tuesday for US foreign policy in the region. Remember Noriega in Panama, Goulart in Brazil, Arbenz in Guatemala? The U.S. doesn't just talk about 'war scenarios'; it executes them, often with the same casual
arrogance Trump displayed. Duque’s 'alarm' isn't about one man's bluster; it's the institutional memory of decades of US-backed violence, drug wars, and regime change operations that have consistently left Latin American nations reeling from the 'war scenario' the US exported. One might wonder if Newsweek genuinely believes these countries simply forgot their history, or if they just prefer their
readers do.