The U.S. will cut assistance to Colombia and enact tariffs on its exports because the country's leader "does nothing to stop" drug production, President Trump said on Sunday. The move comes on the heels of military strikes against so-called “Venezuelan drug boats,” and publicly acknowledging covert action against the Maduro regime.
Ken Roberts, a professor of government with a specialization in Latin American politics says the move is the latest in a string of escalating tensions between the U.S. and countries in Latin America.
Roberts says: "In recent weeks it has become clear that the U.S. is returning to a very familiar pattern of interventionism in Latin America in Donald Trump's second presidency. What is novel is publicly announcing the authorization of covert activities (obviously a contradiction in terms) against the Maduro regime in Venezuela, and the pairing of these covert activities with lethal military attacks on civilian boats off the Venezuelan coast for alleged involvement in drug trafficking.
“President Trump is now threatening to take action against Colombia as well. Latin American countries have often joined together to oppose unilateral U.S. interventionism in the past, but political divisions between left-wing and right-wing governments in Latin America create uncertainties about the region's response to this new assertiveness in Washington.”
