Trump & Latin America: Foreign Policy Explained

The great shock of 2025 and its immediate effects

Fernando Octavio Hernández Sánchez y Mauricio Bagnis Cabrera

January 2026

A collaboration of the Faculty of Global Studies of the Universidad Anáhuac México

First the United States, the world matters little

Without a doubt, 2025 was marked, among other things, by the return of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States. From the first day of his administration, the magnate shook the international scene with his decisions: from the tariffs he has imposed on partners, allies and rivals alike, his participation in different issues, such as the war between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the conflict between Israel and Hamas, or his determination to regain control over the American continent, all under the argument of making his country great again.

However, beyond Trump’s countless insults, 2025 marked the erosion of the international order built by the United States after the end of World War II: In 1945, Washington promoted the creation of the United Nations (UN) to give the world a means capable of arbitrating differences between countries and promoting peace. Today the UN appears powerless in the face of various violations of International Law and even Trump openly ridiculed the organization during his speech at the General Assembly in September 2025.

At that time, the United States wanted to open the world to free trade while its status as the largest industrial economy opened great business opportunities for American companies in an exchange system based on the hegemony of the dollar. Today, Trump imposes tariffs freely in order to pressure his competitors in his desire to alleviate the United States trade deficit, affecting the credibility of said country as a reliable partner, while promoting a trade war that generates uncertainty for the entire world economy, already affected by the changes that occurred during the pandemic or by the consequences of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

A new international order at the service of Washington

With Trump’s actions, during 2025 Washington stopped acting as guarantor of multilateralism and opted for a strategy of direct exercise of power aimed at reaffirming the supremacy of the United States in an increasingly uncertain international system. This shift occurred in a context where powers such as China and Russia have promoted the reconfiguration of the international system, mainly by promoting the expansion of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and seeking alternatives to the use of the dollar in international transactions. However, it is the United States that contributes most to weakening the existing order, by subordinating it to calculations of immediate power. From his inaugural speech, Trump made it clear that his second term would not be aimed at rebuilding alliances or helping those who require American support, but rather at maximizing Washington’s freedom of action without hesitation.

For years, American foreign policy was characterized by a combination of hyperpresidentialism, economic coercion, punctual use of military force, and taking advantage of the United States’ status as a major partner to impose its interests on its allies, as demonstrated by forcing greater defense spending on members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Now, Trump has governed through executive orders and messages on his social networks, presented as demonstrations that his country is “respected again” around the world.

“Tariffs”, your favorite word

Concerned about the United States’ trade deficit, his country’s enormous foreign debt and the possibility of a world where the dollar is no longer the main currency of reference, Trump has shaken the international economy by unleashing a trade escalation through tariffs against many economies, in addition to threatening additional taxes on any country that does not submit to his designs. Thus, trade ceased to be a technical area in which goods and services are exchanged to become an instrument of strategic pressure, introducing uncertainty in the markets and tensions even between historical allies. With this, the United States is being perceived as a volatile and increasingly unreliable actor whose actions are not only isolating it economically, but are leading some countries to prefer other associations, as has happened with the threats against India that have strengthened New Delhi’s determination to link up with Russia and the BRICS.

From his position as an “unbeatable” businessman, Trump has used threats and acts of pressure to achieve his objectives, acting more like a mafia boss than as the leader of a world power interested in contributing to the stability of world markets. Under Trump, the United States has even shown itself to be a selfish country, as demonstrated by suspending foreign aid that culminated in the closure of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The message is clear: the occupant of the White House is only interested in rebuilding the US economy and avoiding the dollar debacle, while the world must get used to living without US support, since it is time for the White House to prevent the world from continuing to “take advantage of the generosity” shown by all the “weak” presidents who preceded it.

The arrest of foreign oil ships and the capture of Maduro also show that the magnate has lost all modesty in his attempt to reimpose United States control over Latin America.

In North America, this logic showed that even the most institutionalized exchange relationships could be reconfigured under pressure. Its formal partners in the Mexico, United States and Canada Agreement (T-MEC) have faced tariff threats for issues ranging from trade to combating drug trafficking. The message was clear: agreements do not guarantee stability; political alignment yes. In Canada, this dynamic transformed the country’s leadership, prompting a change in orientation from association with Washington to the adoption of a discourse openly critical of its neighbor; In Mexico, so far, the current government has managed to avoid Trump’s trade pressure, but it is still exposed to the possibility of military intervention under the argument that it is necessary to put an end to the Mexican drug cartels that flood the United States with drugs. Following recent events in Venezuela, Mexico should not underestimate the scope of such a threat or seek protection solely in international norms.

The world in check

In 2025, Europe experienced a period of adjustment. Since 1945, the continent has been the main bastion of American hegemony, articulated through NATO, while such condition was justified by the protection provided by Washington to its allies. In 2025, this scenario changed as Trump not only intensified pressure to raise military spending to 5% of GDP, but also publicly questioned the value of collective defense commitments and has threatened some European countries for not giving in to his demands, whether Spain for refusing to meet the military spending quota agreed upon in NATO or Denmark for not ceding Greenland to him. With this, not only has European geostrategic dependence on Washington become evident, but there is even a glimpse of a fracture within the European bloc that could lead to the weakening of the European Union.

The war in Ukraine continues, but with less and less advantage for kyiv. Not only has Ukraine given ground to the Russian offensive, but the public confrontation between Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky and the Mineral Resources Agreement between the United States and Ukraine have made it clear that Washington’s aid was not unconditional, but rather blackmail favorable to American interests. Furthermore, it is clear that Trump is unable to reach an agreement with Vladimir Putin to end the war, while the magnate seems inclined to give in to Moscow’s territorial and strategic pretensions towards Ukraine, which not only represents kyiv’s abandonment of its neighbor, but has also fueled distrust among Europeans themselves. Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary, has already sown discord among Europeans by openly presenting the war as a conflict where Ukraine has no chance of victory while characterizing the support provided by European countries to kyiv as a guarantee of bankruptcy for Europe.

In the Middle East, Trump’s actions have also generated great controversy as his government has revealed itself to the entire world as the main support for Israel in its fight against Hamas and Iran, while seeking to preserve the goodwill of the petro-monarchies. From Washington, Trump not only advocates for a criminal pardon against Benjamin Netanyahu, while absolving the Israeli Prime Minister of all the destruction caused by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, but also promises to turn such territory into a tourist complex, while launching threats against Iran, Hamas or any other group that antagonizes Tel Aviv’s interests in said region. Invariably, this has linked the international community’s criticism of Israel for its military actions against Hamas to the image of the United States, further isolating Washington in these times when Trump has attracted repudiation from locals and foreigners.

In the Western Hemisphere, Trump began 2026 by intensifying pressure against Venezuela, while continuing to launch threats against Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, while openly supporting any Latin American government willing to align with Washington. The recent arrest of foreign oil ships and the capture of Nicolás Maduro also show that the magnate has lost all modesty in his attempt to reimpose United States control over Latin America.

Without a doubt, it is the exercise of power by a power led by a megalomaniacal leader obsessed with fulfilling the divine mission of reestablishing the world hegemony of the United States, although unable to foresee the counterproductive consequences that his actions are causing for his country and the world. In such a scenario, 2026 appears to be a year in which global stability will be at increasingly greater risk.

FERNANDO OCTAVIO HERNÁNDEZ SÁNCHEZ is a full professor at the Faculty of Global Studies at the Universidad Anáhuac México. Follow him on X at @FdOHdzSanzoo1. MAURICIO BAGNIS CABRERA is a student studying International Relations at the Universidad Anáhuac México. Follow him on X at @maubagnis.

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Last modified: January 22, 2026