US Revives Monroe Doctrine to Counter China in Latin America — SkimNews
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- The 2025 National Security Strategy identified China's presence in Latin America and the Caribbean as a challenge to U.S. hegemony, citing Beijing's grip on raw materials, regional supply chains, infrastructure projects, and financial arrangements like loans-for-oil and currency swaps.
- The Trump administration is pursuing a three-pillar counter-China strategy: a revamped Monroe Doctrine, a 'Greater North America' concept stretching to Greenland and Iceland, and the Shield of the Americas security alliance with 19 regional countries.
- CK Hutchison was ousted from managing the Balboa and Cristóbal ports on either side of the Panama Canal after a Panamanian judge ruled against the Hong Kong company; BlackRock's bid to acquire the rights was blocked when Beijing refused.
- Chancay Port in Peru — operated by Chinese shipping giant Cosco — drew a $1.5 billion U.S. commitment to modernize the nearby El Callao military base, while Panama announced it will dismantle 13 Huawei telecom towers and Chile halted a transoceanic fiber optic cable to China.
- Mexico has come under direct Trump administration pressure on President Claudia Sheinbaum to impose tariffs on Chinese auto parts, electric vehicles, shoes, home appliances, and textiles, with the White House framing Mexico as a backdoor for Chinese goods into North America.
- Latin American governments have rolled back Chinese economic footholds: Bolivia halted lithium contracts with China at the Uyuni Salt Flat, Mexico nationalized the Bacanora lithium project in 2022, and Argentina banned Huawei from fiber optic work around the Vaca Muerta oil deposits.
- China is now the region's second-largest trading partner and biggest lender, having financed hundreds of infrastructure projects over 25 years — the deep economic footprint Washington is now actively working to unwind.
Why it matters: China is the region's second-largest trading partner and biggest lender, having financed hundreds of infrastructure projects over 25 years; the U.S. is now actively working to unwind that footprint. The Shield of the Americas alliance with 19 countries formalizes Washington's willingness to use economic, military, and political pressure to force a binary choice between the two powers on Latin American governments.
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