Trump to Meet Petro: 'Détente' or Damage Control?
The Financial Times hails a Trump-Petro meeting as a 'dramatic détente.' Petro, a former guerrilla, has consistently challenged US drug policy and criticized Israel's actions in Gaza, leading to predictable D.C. hostility. Yet, suddenly, Trump is keen to engage. One might ponder if this 'détente' has less to do with genuine respect and more with a calculated move to destabilize Biden's standing in
a region historically treated as America's backyard. The US has a long, bloody history of coup orchestration and intervention against Latin American leaders who dare to assert national sovereignty, from Allende in Chile (1973) to attempts against Chávez in Venezuela (2002). So, is this a new era of respect, or is it the oldest trick in the book – co-opt, neutralize, or, if that fails,
delegitimize? The same outlets now calling it 'détente' would be screaming about 'authoritarianism' if Petro ever truly aligned with 'non-democratic' powers. The hypocrisy is deafening, leaving one to wonder whether the praise or the critique is more performative.