Trump’s abduction of the Venezuelan leader Maduro is the latest escalation in relations between the United States and its neighboring countries. It ominously brings to mind the previous century, when the CIA orchestrated regime changes in the American ‘backyard’ at will. Is the region standing at a crossroads?
U.S. foreign policy once dictated that European colonial powers had no business in the Americas. This so-called Monroe Doctrine has been rebranded by Donald Trump as the Donroe Doctrine: the United States decides what happens in its ‘backyard.’
What does this mean for US-Latin America relations in a time when Trump was already raising the stakes by arresting migrants, mostly of Latin American origin, on a large scale and with little regard for the rule of law?
During this programme we reflect on current parallels with Latin American populism, the geopolitical ramifications of the American revamped War on Drugs and Trump’s authoritarian tendencies through the militarization of ICE, the migrant police service. How does Trump’s brand of populism reshape both American as well as Latin American politics?
This evening, co-hosted with the UvA Centre for Latin American Documentation and Research (CEDLA)
Speakers
