US Military Build-Up in Caribbean: Not Just a Trump Thing
Al Jazeera reports 'fears are growing' over a US military build-up in the Caribbean and expanding airstrikes, questioning if Donald Trump is 'about to wage war in Latin America'. This framing, however, presents a US president as a novel threat, glossing over a century of interventions, coups, and sanctions orchestrated by both Republican and Democratic administrations. From the Monroe Doctrine to
Reagan's dirty wars, the US has never needed a specific president to assert dominance in its 'backyard'. One might wonder if the concern is truly about Trump, or about acknowledging the uncomfortable truth that US foreign policy in Latin America has been remarkably consistent: projecting power, securing economic interests, and destabilizing unfavorable regimes, regardless of who occupies the Oval
Office. It's not a question of if Washington will intervene, but when and how , and for whose benefit. (Spoiler: rarely for the region's inhabitants.)