Maritime Affairs Program (MAP) Handbill Spotlight

Recent Events

Under the Trump Administration, Washington has begun to actively reinforce its own presence across the Caribbean and Latin America. Over the past two months, U.S. military and law enforcement agencies have intensified anti-narcotic operations in the Caribbean, including multiple strikes on suspected smuggling vessels and the deployment of Naval warships, Marine units, and even the F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico. These operations align with a recent report on the White House’s new National Security Strategy, which places greater emphasis on homeland security above any other regions or domains.

This approach has generated tensions with regional actors. Venezuela has responded by deploying Iranian-provided missile boats, a symbolic but pointed signal of resistance. Meanwhile, concerns about legality and proportionality of U.S. strikes have been raised by neighboring states, highlighting the risks of escalation embedded in this new operational model.

Keep In Mind

Although the immediate framing is counter-narcotics, the deeper context is also the long-term contest for influence between Washington and Beijing. China’s role in Latin America remains rooted in infrastructure, financing, and port development, providing critical capital for governments facing economic and budgetary constraints. The U.S., by contrast, is projecting its presence through security operations, alliance-building, and regulatory initiatives.

For decades, Latin America has been a strategic backwater for U.S. policymakers, who assumed Washington’s geographic proximity and political relationships were sufficient to anchor its influence. China’s growing economic footprint in the region—particularly through trade, infrastructure, and port development—has challenged this assumption. Several large-scale Chinese investments in port terminals across South America have triggered concerns in Washington. While these projects are commercially justified within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), U.S. analysts worry they could be leveraged for dual-use purposes, offering Beijing potential logistical footholds in the Western Hemisphere.

For regional states, the calculus is pragmatic: rejecting Chinese capital without equivalent alternatives from the U.S. is politically and economically untenable. Unless Washington can match China’s scale of infrastructure investment, its warnings about strategic vulnerabilities may lack resonance. Ultimately, the issue of ports symbolizes more than logistics—it encapsulates the evolving U.S.–China rivalry in Latin America, where influence is contested not just through ships and bases, but through capital, credibility, and long-term presence.