I have spent a lot of time all across this hemisphere from top to bottom. I lived for sixty years in the United States in the Midwest, the Northeast and now the West. Granted, I have not lived in the Deep South (unless you count being born in Florida) nor have I lived in the Northwest. But I have travelled throughout the continental United States and visited each and every state of the union at least twice. I have also lived for sixty years years in Latin America and traveled extensively on business from Mexico down to Tierra del Fuego. Of the 25 countries in the region the only ones I haven’t visited are Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana (though with all the times I have watched Papillon, I might as well have…). I even have the distinction of once having set foot in Paraguay, which is not so easy to do. Even the Caribbean nations have not eluded my grasp as I served for two years on the United States Caribbean Basin Initiative and had to visit all of the islands as part of a government mission to promote economic development. For a bit more than two years I lived in Canada and spent time in every province (except Prince Edward Island, which I managed to visit on a motorcycle ride two years ago). I was based in Toronto, but set up banking offices in Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary, and did business with all the provincial governments along the way. I even spent time in Alaska back in the days when my bank handled a big chunk of the Alaska Permanent Fund, which is one of the most unique wealth funds in the world, used to hold the Alaskan oil royalties for the benefit of Alaskan residents. Of all the places in the U.S., I have spent the least time in Hawaii. Hawaii is technically part of the Western Hemisphere, though just barely. The Western Hemisphere is defined as everything west of the Prime Meridian (0° longitude) and east of the 180° longitude line (the International Date Line, with some adjustments). So while Hawaii is unambiguously in the Western Hemisphere by the standard definition, it occupies a unique position as America’s Pacific outpost, and its cultural and geographic identity is often more associated with the broader Pacific/Oceania region than with the Western Hemisphere concept that people typically associate with the Americas. The one place in the Western Hemisphere I have not visited is Greenland (though I have sailed past it on the North Atlantic). Greenland is predominantly Western Hemisphere, geographically North American, but politically connected to Europe, so maybe it doesn’t count so much.
My whole point in this diatribe is to suggest that I am reasonably well-positioned to consider what constitutes the Western Hemisphere, the area that the so-called Donroe Doctrine wants to address in terms of the American sphere of influence. I think its safe to say I have spent a considerably greater amount of time getting to know the hemisphere, working in the hemisphere, and living all across the hemisphere than Donald Trump. I have a decent understanding of how the relationship between the “Big Brother” of the United States has been perceived both north and south of us. During the 50s and 60s in Latin America, we were absolutely the ugly Americans. There was enough Yankee-Go-Home in the mindset when we chose to interfere in local politics of exerted undue economic pressure through our post-colonial sway. Places like Mexico and the Caribbean mostly liked our tourism dollars in those days, so they tolerated our tendency to dominate the culture. They were also more concerned about modernizing themselves than about retaining their indigenous heritage. In Venezuela (where I lived for four years and still have family ties), the reaction to us had everything to do with oil and its extractive value to us. The sensibilities of the South American continent were far more oriented towards Europe as the links to their colonial past were still quite strong. The reaction to the famous trip that Robert F. Kennedy took to Latin America in 1961 was typical of their sentiment about us. RFK faced criticism during and after his 1961 tour to Latin America when he went as U.S. Attorney General. His youth and inexperience combined with his blunt “American” style made Latinos question how anyone could “know” a region after only 5-6 weeks of visiting it. Imagine what they think of Donald Trump’s sense that he knows what’s best for Latinos? He has only visited once or twice and only to places of like-mindness like Argentina. And as for Greenland, Donald Trump has never set foot on the island (not in Denmark for that matter), despite his rantings that he knows what’s best and has to happen to Greenland.
Based on the recent activities in the region, Latin American reactions to Trump’s Venezuela operation have been sharply divided along ideological lines. There has obviously been strong opposition from leftist/progressive leaders. Brazilian President Lula declared that the operation “crossed an unacceptable line” and created “an extremely dangerous precedent,” noting it “recalls some of the worst moments of interference” and “threatens the preservation of the region as an established zone of peace.” Colombian President Gustavo Petro called it an unjustified act of aggression , and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum advocated for dialogue and negotiation as “the only legitimate means for resolving conflicts.” Chile’s Gabriel Boric and Uruguay’s Yamandú Orsi both expressed concern over implications for U.S.-Latin America relations. Notably, these leaders criticized the operation as a matter of sovereignty despite not being particularly supportive of Maduro (several had forcefully criticized his authoritarianism, especially after Venezuela’s contested 2024 election). But then, there was support for Trump’s actions by center-right/far-right leaders. Argentine President Javier Milei (who is about as much in Trump’s pocket as slugger can be) claimed Trump’s actions represent the promotion of freedom on the continent, while leaders from Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, and Chile’s president-elect rejoiced at Maduro’s ousting, claiming it was necessary to end authoritarian rule. El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele has been oddly quiet, possibly to avoid tensions between the U.S. and China given El Salvador’s increasing dependency on trade with Beijing. The operation has raised broader concerns about U.S. military action elsewhere in the hemisphere, particularly regarding Colombia and Mexico. The ugly American has now returned.
Trump’s triumphant narrative about the Donroe Doctrine and his domination of the western hemisphere is not working at home, either. A new CNN poll released Friday shows that fifty-eight percent of Americans believe that Trump’s first year in office has been a failure. Americans worry most about the economy, but concerns about democracy come in a close second. The numbers beyond just those issues also continue to be bad for Trump. Sixty-six percent of Americans think Trump doesn’t care about people like them. Fifty-three percent think he doesn’t have the stamina and sharpness to serve effectively as president. Sixty-five percent of Americans say Trump is not someone they are proud to have as president.
I’m not sure the United States can ever be too popular in most of Latin America given the huge disparity between it and its neighbors, but we have had times of good relations with Mexico and certainly could again. The very troubling rift has occurred with Canada, who is now cutting deals with China out of necessity (given Trump’s insistence of treating Canada like a red-haired step-child). And as for Greenland, a lot of the island may be in the Western Hemisphere and Trump may like to think that it is part of our sphere of influence, but the cost to our relationship with NATO and the EU, not to mention the vast majority of the American electorate make Greenland as far outside our sphere of influence as anywhere in the world at the moment.