Trump admin tries to pivot from Iran to Latin America

Last week, the US military carried out a strike in Venezuela that killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, also known as “Niño Guerrero,” the founder of Tren de Aragua. The strike was carried out with cooperation from the Venezuelan government, now led by Delcy Rodriguez. War Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday that Americans should expect more strikes of that type in Latin America, potentially in Guatemala and Ecuador.

The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed that drug cartels like Tren de Aragua have staged an “invasion” of US. The US has now dubbed these groups as terror organizations. Hegseth said they will be carrying out further strikes targeting these organizations, which he compared to US military operations in the “War on Terror” in the Middle East and Afghanistan. He referred to this effort as the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition.

When the coalition was first proposed earlier this year, analysts observed that military power alone will do little to achieve the Trump administration’s stated goals of reducing the flow of drugs to the US. For example, Mexico has been using their military against their cartels for decades and have accomplished little.

The US military is also continuing its months-long campaign targeting boats in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean which they claim are smuggling narcotics to the US. Two such strikes were carried out this week on Tuesday and Thursday. These strikes have killed over 200 people since they began in September.

Whither Cuba?

Since January, the US has imposed a crushing economic and energy blockade on Cuba, seeking to push the communist-run island nation to enact changes in its economic system. This week, the Cuban government enacted a raft of reforms aimed at significantly liberalizing their economy, allowing more private industry and investment. The legislation is based on models in China and Vietnam, which are communist-run countries with booming market economies. The reforms will be rolled out gradually. However, any potential growth will be severely hampered if the US continues its energy and economic blockade.