What happened in this Geopolitics story?

A wave of new right-wing Latin American leaders has reversed years of progressive governments' diplomatic isolation of Israel over the Gaza war, moving embassies to Jerusalem and restoring ambassadors in a realignment tied to Trump, evangelical voters, and Israeli lobbying.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**Colombia's Abelardo de la Espriella**, inaugurated in August, reversed predecessor Gustavo Petro's Gaza-era break with Israel by announcing a Jerusalem embassy, re-appointing ambassadors, recognizing Israeli control over the Golan Heights, and launching visa-free travel between the two countries.

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**Brazil's Senator Flavio Bolsonaro** launched his presidential campaign standing beside Argentine President Javier Milei, sported Israeli flags at rallies, and played a video message from PM Benjamin Netanyahu calling him "a great champion of the friendship between our peoples" — a role for a foreign leader experts called "unheard of in Latin America."

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Latin America's Right-Wing Shift Rebuilds Israel Ties — SkimNews

By Al Jazeera · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-10-17

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Colombia's Abelardo de la Espriella, inaugurated in August, reversed predecessor Gustavo Petro's Gaza-era break with Israel by announcing a Jerusalem embassy, re-appointing ambassadors, recognizing Israeli control over the Golan Heights, and launching visa-free travel between the two countries.
Brazil's Senator Flavio Bolsonaro launched his presidential campaign standing beside Argentine President Javier Milei, sported Israeli flags at rallies, and played a video message from PM Benjamin Netanyahu calling him "a great champion of the friendship between our peoples" — a role for a foreign leader experts called "unheard of in Latin America."
Argentine President Javier Milei, elected in 2023, pledged to move his embassy to Jerusalem, refused to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN, and declared himself "proud to be the most Zionist president in the world."
Bolivia's Rodrigo Paz, Chile's Jose Antonio Kast, Honduras's Nasry Asfura, and Venezuela all reversed their predecessors' anti-Israel postures this year — restoring ambassadors, ending nearly two decades of Venezuelan antagonism under Maduro and Chávez, and appointing envoys who publicly call themselves "proud Zionists."
The realignment is driven by a "convergence" of Trump-aligned regional politics, Christian Zionism (around 40% of populations in Honduras and Guatemala are evangelical), and Israeli-government-backed lobbying through Florida pastor Mario Bramnick's Latino Coalition for Israel, which has met with leaders in Guatemala, El Salvador, Brazil, Panama, Chile, and Costa Rica.
Brazil's Evangelical Parliamentary Front includes more than 40% of the Chamber of Deputies and more than a quarter of the Senate — a bloc large enough to become the country's third-largest party if it formalized.
Closer ties also unlock access to Israeli military and security resources such as Pegasus spyware, military jet sales, and force training, according to the Washington-DC-based Center for Economic and Policy Research.

Why it matters: The pivot pulls Latin American governments into Trump's Shield of the Americas regional bloc and unlocks Israeli security technology like Pegasus, while evangelical voter blocs — over 40% of populations in Honduras and Guatemala — gain unprecedented leverage over foreign policy. The reversal is unusually abrupt because weak, politicized diplomatic institutions let new presidents overturn years of predecessor policy in months, as Petro's multi-year break with Israel was undone by de la Espriella within weeks of taking office.