In Latin America, the road to Trump's heart goes through Israel
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- Venezuela announced Monday it would restore consular services with Israel for the first time since 2009, following Trump's January ouster of President Nicolás Maduro — a break from Chavismo's longstanding anti-imperialist tradition that Tulane professor David Smilde called "quite significant."
- Colombia's new right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella declared recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, making Colombia only the second nation (after the US) to do so.
- Chile and Honduras restored their ambassadors to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem respectively earlier this month, the first time since November 2023.
- Latin American analysts attribute the pivot primarily to leaders seeking favor with the Trump administration — "In the end, the main interest for all of these countries is the United States," College of Mexico professor Marta Tawil Kuri told RS — rather than ideological or economic motivations.
- Israel has conducted deliberate diplomatic outreach including establishing pro-Israel caucuses in national legislatures across the region, plus public diplomacy with influencers, journalists, and the health sector, according to Quincy Institute research associate Lee Schlenker.
- Latin America's strong presidential systems mean foreign policy shifts sharply with each election cycle — unlike the US, where support for Israel has remained stable across administrations.
- Former Chilean cabinet minister Jorge Heine warned the gambit could backfire: aligning with a great power means "you become a subordinate. And then you are treated as such."
Why it matters: Latin American governments are treating Israel as a low-cost diplomatic gift to Washington, but Chilean former ambassador Heine cautions that the move reduces them to subordinates of the US with little tangible benefit. The pattern is accelerated by strong presidential systems that let individual leaders reset foreign policy overnight — and by evangelical Christian Zionism, which makes up roughly 40% of the population in Honduras and Guatemala.
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