Historically, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has occupied a relatively peripheral position on the global geopolitical chessboard. Its history is characterized by a precarious balance between the imperialist ambitions of great powers and its own internal political instability. This pattern appears to repeat throughout the region, despite the varying degrees of difference between the economies and societies of the countries south of the Rio Grande.

The 20th century marked the period of the United States’ near total and undisputed hegemony over the continent. Under the pretext of combating the supposed dangers of the communist threat, the presence of its powerful northern neighbor resulted in constant political and economic intervention across LAC. In this context, a series of seemingly unrelated events fundamentally altered the dynamics of U.S. relations with the region. The fall of the Soviet Union forced the United States to rethink the justification for its global policing role. The struggle against communism was replaced by the defense of democracy and human rights as the primary American paradigm. Subsequently, the War on Terror, launched after the 9/11 attacks, completely reconfigured U.S. international relations, further shifting its strategic focus toward the Middle East. Collectively, this  marked the beginning of an apparent and relative withdrawal from LAC by the United States.

However, history teaches that power thrives in a vacuum. The global rise of a China hungry for new markets and natural resources since the turn of the century has led to an aggressive increase in the Asian power’s presence in the region. Predictably, this has alarmed the American political elite. Regardless of the administration in power, containing Chinese influence has become a strategic priority for both Republicans and Democrats. Ironically, the materialization of these fears regarding Chinese supremacy in the LAC region has been exacerbated during the leadership of the president who has pursued the most aggressive foreign policy in recent years.

For decades, much of the United States’ global influence stemmed not only from its military and economic might but also from subtler factors. These........

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