Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues recently held a hearing to discuss U.S. actions in Latin America since President Donald Trump took office in 2025. The omission of U.S. election interference, its participation in backing and militarily supporting far-right autocrats in the region, and its targeting of leftist leaders with false accusations of being tied to international criminal enterprises was notable.
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Similarly, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a similar hearing titled “Confronting Haiti’s Terrorist Gangs: The Gang Suppression Force and the Path Ahead,” days ago. In both hearings, the Senior Official at the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the Department of State, Michael Kozak, participated as a witness. Like the Senate hearing, the questions were mostly softball queries focused on how U.S. policy is being implemented in the region, and not necessarily the policies themselves. While this hearing was meant to focus on Haiti, lawmakers expanded the discussion to cover the intersections of the White House’s positions in the region.
Most consequential was how both sides of the political aisle seemed to have the same general mentality about U.S. dominion over the hemisphere. Their only differences were apparently focused on how it should be done. Democrats seemingly preferred to be more covert about it as Republicans were all too keen about controlling the entire region. Republicans’ overt use of militaristic rhetoric to force countries to only do business with the United States and its European allies, and the little pushback that language received, should also be noted.
The Senate Hearing
Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) opened with a narrative positing U.S. ownership of the region and exacting control over who Latin American countries do business with. Curtis referred to the “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine as a pretext to force the U.S.’s will on the Western Hemisphere, which includes Canada. When Curtis focused on Chinese investments and praised U.S. military aggression in the region, he inadvertently made the U.S. appear as the aggressive imperialist force that it is. Curtis also blamed Maduro for mass migration out of Venezuela, but conveniently ignored Trump’s role in regional mass migration events due to the “maximum pressure” sanctions during his first term.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) followed Curtis by speaking about how Latin America views the Monroe Doctrine in a very negative way. However, Kaine then praised the kidnapping of Nicolas Maduro and then spoke about how the United States must do more to influence the region. He did not mention U.S. interference in several elections over the last two years, nor did he mention the debate about whether Maduro was ever duly elected. Coincidentally, days later, the White House declassified documents related to Venezuela’s election meddling capabilities. In that release, they included a note from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), highlighting the agency’s lack of evidence of election interference in Venezuela between 2004 and 2020, disputing any claims of a Chavez or Maduro “dictatorship.”
“...while the intelligence validated significant concerns about foreign-linked voting technology vendors, it did not definitively confirm that large-scale electronic fraud was successfully executed in specific Venezuelan elections, with CIA’s baseline assessments maintaining that other factors better explained electoral outcomes,” the declassified CIA note reads. “The reporting on advanced techniques like we provided concerning insight into alleged Venezuelan government capabilities and intent, but came from limited sourcing.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) then questioned the only witness, Michael Kozak. Scott opened his questioning by mentioning the 2024 Venezuelan election. Despite the data that is often referred to never being validated, Scott suggested that Maduro interfered. Scott, a hardliner against Cuba, focused on giving Cuban Americans in Florida “hope,” while never discussing the suffering on the island imposed by U.S. sanctions and an oil blockade. Kozak responded to Scott by promoting the false narrative that the Cuban government is stealing resources. Kozak’s focus was on rationalizing the oppression of Cubans on the island. Scott’s questioning ended with both men parroting the widely debunked stories of Cuba “trafficking” doctors.
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-IL) began questioning Kozak about Venezuela’s resources and where the money from the sale of the country’s resources is going. Kozak then explained how Venezuelan money is held in accounts controlled by the United States and how the country must seek permission to spend it. Rosen then highlighted how many of the firms licensed by the U.S. government have histories of bribery and corruption. Kozak didn’t provide any answers other than that a private corporation, KPMG, is monitoring the transactions. The questioning ended with a discussion about U.S.-provided earthquake relief. The growing U.S. and Israeli military presence under the guise of that earthquake relief was not mentioned.
Sen. Kaine then questioned Kozak about boat strikes in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean and how many of those killed were fishermen, some of whom survived the initial attacks only to be killed with a second strike. He then highlighted how the presence of guns or drugs on a boat is not a targeting criterion. Kaine then raised questions about how anyone is supposed to know that the people killed were drug smugglers or what justifies their killing if they were, exposing how easily innocent civilians are being killed. Kozak was adamant about justifying the boat strikes. Kaine responded by focusing on the importance of due process.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) questioned Kozak about Maria Corina Machado and the Trump White House blocking her from returning to the country multiple times. Shaheen then questioned Kozak about Trump antagonizing Canada and creating a divide between the two countries. Kozak responded as if it wasn’t a big deal and began to play “he said, she said” about the rhetoric between leaders of the two countries. He continued to rationalize the aggressive stance against Canada; Shaheen wasn’t going to let it go unchecked.
Conclusion
Both hearings’ focus, as is common, was on getting countries in the region to align with the United States rather than China or other economic powers. Again, the portrayals maintain a baseline that posits that the U.S. has providence over countries in the region and should impose its will on them. The bipartisan nature of these narratives in both hearings points to how lawmakers on both sides are wholly bought into the U.S.’s imperialist aims, both regionally and globally.
While several Democrats have spoken out and continue to speak out against U.S. actions toward Latin America, the broader party has largely remained silent, despite the insurmountable legal questions regarding the White House’s unilateral policies. Kozak, who was Assistant Secretary of State during Trump’s first term, has a reputation for making misleading claims and outright lying about Latin American countries to justify aggressive actions against them. Anyone praising him, whether Republican, Democrat, or otherwise, should be alarming.
I am an independent freelance journalist and have written hundreds of articles on policing, immigration, race, and Latin America. My work has been featured in outlets such as Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, Latino Rebels, The Wire, and more. I am also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support my work, become a paid subscriber or donate via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App.
Corporate Dems are saps.
It’s disappointing to hear that Democrats are mostly okay with US intervention in Latin America.