Earlier this month, a sudden surge in U.S. military activity was witnessed in the Caribbean, marked by an attack on a civilian vessel. The official narrative positions this striking display of force as a deterrence action against narcotic stakeholders in the region. However, numerous analysts argue that this overt display of power and the continuing naval detachment are parts of a concerted campaign against Nicolás Maduro, the standing President of Venezuela. The United States government, without providing substantial proof, has labeled this socialist ruler critical of the U.S. as a key component in the illicit drug trade.
The U.S. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, emphasizes that the government will harness ‘every asset that the American military has’ to bring about changes in power. This intention to unseat Maduro sheds light on a prevalent but mostly unnoticed trend of U.S. intervention in Latin American territories. U.S. authorities and conservative elements within the nations have regularly aimed to eliminate leftist leadership, seen as a challenge to their authority and financial influence.
The recent opposition to ‘Pink Tide’ administrations has resulted in a wave of new interventionist tactics, misinformation, and legal skullduggery. The naval attack authorized by President Trump underlines this development, posing a significant risk to the principles of self-governing and democratic norms throughout much of Latin America.
The existing round of political strife dates back to the early 2000s when the ‘Pink Tide’ administrations assumed control, opposing both U.S. supremacy and unfettered capitalism. Progressive leaders such as Evo Morales, the pioneering Indigenous head of state of Bolivia, instituted social welfare initiatives and fostered regional unity to combat U.S. dominance. The rise of Morales in 2005 was a particular cause of concern for U.S. representatives.
His forward-thinking reforms were misrepresented as an impetuous blow to international investment possibilities. Simultaneously, the U.S. was reportedly channeling funds to embolden opposition forces. Dust settled in 2012 when forces, backed by the U.S. aid agency USAID, overthrew Fernando Lugo, the reformist president of Paraguay, who had stood with impoverished peasants in land disputes and campaigned for agrarian reform.
Across Latin America, U.S. support was extended to opposition-controlled civic and governmental structures in order to sway the power dynamics against leftist rule. In several nations, right-wing counterparts replaced open hostility against the left with more subtle strategies of legal combat and misinformation warfare. They initiated a ‘lawfare’ in courts and media, inhibiting progressive leaders through judicial mistreatment and character defamation.
These tactical lawfare operations eventually set off a chain effect of coups undermining the position of progressive governments. Brazil and Ecuador emerged as templates for local elites and U.S. officials aiming to dissipate the ‘Pink Tide.’ Lenín Moreno, the Ecuadorian President, too took up the cause of lawfare against the left following his ascend to power in 2017.
His predecessor, Rafael Correa and the Citizen Revolution Movement (RC), dramatically reduced poverty levels and commissioned robust social welfare initiatives. However, Moreno defied Correa and his former comrades by launching a crackdown on them, purging the judiciary, and enforcing austerity.
Leaders of the RC were subjected to threats of violence, police surveillance, and incarceration, leading many to seek asylum. Particularly, the instances of Brazil and Ecuador provided a roadmap for conservatives in Argentina, which later became the hotspot of lawfare. Between 2003 and 2015, CFK and her spouse navigated Argentina out of an economic downturn and reduced poverty, while resisting the implementation of austerity measures suggested by the IMF.
CFK became the subject of over 650 legal allegations. A single ally of Macri was responsible for initiating 74 lawsuits against her. This situation led a panel of prominent international legal authorities, including Baltasar Garzón, to rule that CFK was enduring ‘judicial persecution.’ Militaristic interference never fell out of favor as a mode of regime displacement. Instead, U.S. and local authorities moved to isolate the remaining leftist strongholds, employing judges where feasible, and military where required.
The tumult caused by the 2019 coups revealed an ominous trend. More recently, the government has sought to rejuvenate connections with local conservatives in the region and flagrantly targeting progressives. For instance, in April, President Daniel Noboa of Ecuador utilized forceful tactics to consolidate his re-election bid. Noboa pursued his campaign without the mandatory leave of absence and unlawfully accessed public finances to fund his campaign.
Across Latin America, conservative populists maintain an unabashed alliance against progressive movements. Of all the figures, President Javier Milei of Argentina embodies the right’s reactionary outrage and connections with Washington most prominently. The naval expedition targeting President Maduro of Venezuela fits into this overarching narrative.
Pushing the boundaries of lawfare, U.S. leaders advocate for regime overhauls on the tenuous assertion that Maduro is involved in drug trafficking. Yet the evidence supporting this claim is weak, leading to Secretary of State Rubio exhibiting an explosively defensive response when posed with contrasting conclusions. To sum it up, Trump’s strong-armed campaign against Venezuela is nothing more than a repetition of past policies.
For the past two decades, the United States and the Latin American right have made concerted efforts to eliminate threats to their traditional benefits and control. Systematic lawfare against the left has carved a path for potent reactionaries, while reinforcing social disparities and wreaking long-lasting damage on governmental institutions.
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