Latin America Courts Trump Through Israel Pivot
SkimNews Take
Latin American capitals scrambling to restore Israel ties expose a hierarchy in which Washington access now outweighs prior Gaza-era positions, suggesting those earlier breaks were contingent rather than foundational to each government's regional posture.
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- Venezuela became the latest to pivot, with its foreign minister announcing the restoration of consular services with Israel for the first time since 2009, following Trump's January military ouster of Nicolás Maduro.
- Colombia's new right-wing president Abelardo de la Espriella recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, making Colombia one of only two nations to do so after the United States during Trump's first term.
- Chile and Honduras restored their ambassadors to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem respectively, for the first time since November 2023, the article reports.
- Analysts tell Responsible Statecraft the primary driver is currying favor with Trump, with each country folding in secondary motives — including Colombia's counter-narcotics pivot after years of Israeli security training, and Venezuela's 'disaster diplomacy' following Israeli earthquake assistance.
- Evangelical Christianity and Christian Zionism have migrated into political rhetoric across the region; in Honduras and Guatemala evangelicals make up roughly 40% of the population, and figures like Javier Milei and Jair Bolsonaro have openly embraced the ideology.
- Israel has worked the region methodically, helping establish pro-Israel caucuses in national legislatures and running public-diplomacy campaigns with influencers, journalists, and the health sector as global opinion turns against the Gaza war.
- Critics warn the gambit could backfire: 'the moment you align yourself with one of the great powers in competition you become a subordinate,' former Chilean cabinet minister Jorge Heine told RS.
Why it matters: For Israel, the Latin American realignment provides diplomatic oxygen at a moment when it faces record global isolation; for Latin American governments, the bet is that Israel-bashing was the price of admission under the previous Washington regime and Israel-embracing is the ticket now. The risk, as critics quoted in the piece argue, is that these countries trade leverage for access — winning rhetorical alignment with Trump but little tangible return, while locking themselves into subordinate status.
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