At the start of his second term, President Trump inherited an America in retreat across the globe and in our own hemisphere. He faced a similar challenge during his first term. At the time, I, among others, successfully advocated a return to the Monroe Doctrine as the cornerstone for U.S. policy. President Trump can now cement his legacy in Latin America by recommitting to this foundational principle of U.S. foreign policy leadership.
For two centuries, President Monroe’s commitment to shielding the Western Hemisphere from external powers has served the United States and the region well, though faith in the Monroe Doctrine showed signs of waning in recent years. President Reagan contained the expansion of communism in the region and contributed to the end of the Cold War while Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush used it to promote hemisphere-wide expansion of trade and security. Together, this presidential leadership led to greater peace, prosperity, and democracy on our side of the globe. By contrast, President Obama’s approach to Latin America allowed despots, criminals, and terrorists to thrive and fester while U.S. policy overlooked the needs of average citizens throughout the hemisphere. In fact, President Obama’s secretary of state, John Kerry, declared, “The era of the Monroe Doctrine is over.”
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