According to the Department of State Rewards Program, foreign electoral interference is broadly defined to cover foreign agents or governments influencing US elections. The definition includes acts that are meant to sway an election. While the law doesn’t apply to US presidents, it does highlight that President Donald Trump admitted to meddling in Honduras’ and Chile’s elections, by the US’s own definition.
His endorsements, his threats to cut funding agreements, to end remittances, and that there would be “hell to pay” if his candidates didn’t win all qualify.
Combined, the White House’s actions result in open election interference. In the past, attempts to hide more elaborate efforts were common. Trump unwittingly shows us how it’s done. Casting doubts about the integrity of the elections weeks before they occurred is where the meddling begins. Then it progresses to casting doubt about the results, and inevitably leads to an electoral coup or a violent military overthrow of entire governments.
Trump’s actions during his first term exposed many of the strategies that have been employed for decades. Nothing his previous administration did with John Bolton and Elliott Abrams at the helm was covert. Instead, they raised many questions about the US government trying to cast doubt on elections in other countries, such as Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and beyond. With the help of the US media that often repeats the government’s statements about other nations with little to no validation, it makes those efforts much easier to disguise, as noted under President Biden. In his second term, Trump destroyed decades of propaganda efforts.
The lies about Venezuela and Nicolás Maduro, drug smuggling, manufactured cartels, making bilateral agreements with world leaders with alleged ties to drug smuggling and releasing some of the most notorious drug smugglers in Latin American history fall in line with the lies about Latin American and Caribbean immigrants, how many so-called “criminals” have been taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and almost insurmountable amounts of propaganda that doesn’t hold up to basic scrutiny.
The quickness with which the US came out in support of José Antonio Kast after Chile’s election was notable, as it followed the broad support he had from Trump administration officials. It should also be noted that Kast is an avowed supporter of Augusto Pinochet, Chile’s last dictator; his brother was a minister under Pinochet, and his father was a member of the Nazi party. His policy agenda mimics that of Argentine President Javier Milei, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, and Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda, using identical rhetoric.
“The United States congratulates President-Elect José Antonio Kast of Chile on his electoral victory,” reads a Department of State readout. “Under his leadership, we are confident Chile will advance shared priorities to include strengthening public security, ending illegal immigration, and revitalizing our commercial relationship. The United States looks forward to working closely with his administration to deepen our partnership and promote shared prosperity in our hemisphere.”
Meanwhile, the threats against Latin American countries continue to mount after Paraguay agreed to allow US troops into the country, which aims to threaten Colombia from the South in what is referred to as a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The justification for the agreement is dubious, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio attempted to defend it by suggesting the pact was to address terrorism that isn’t quite terrorism.
“If you look at the fundamental problem in the hemisphere, the most serious problem we have in our hemisphere is these transnational terrorist organizations, who are not ideologically terrorists in many cases but are financial and economic in their basis, but nonetheless are operating as terrorist organizations and threaten the stability and security of the region,” Rubio said at the signing of the accord.
Similarly, after Venezuela cut off fuel supplies to Trinidad and Tobago for assisting the US in the seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker, the island nation has agreed to allow the US military to use its airports in the coming weeks. The government of Trinidad and Tobago, like most countries, does not represent its people any more than the US government represents US citizens. Giving in to the US, as Guyana and several other countries have done, will lead it to dependence on the US, as it robs the region of its wealth.
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While many will argue that the shift to the right and appeasement of Trump in Latin America is a sign of shifting politics in the region, what they’re overlooking is the threat of force and the endorsements of far-right candidates that are being used to swing elections and manipulate governments to side with the United States. What’s happening in Latin America isn’t as cut and dry as the corporate media that has bowed to Trump would suggest.
To say the US narratives about the region are legitimate without addressing the overt interference is not just dishonest but outright disinformation.
I’m an independent journalist digging deeper into the stories you see on the news. Find my work at Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, Latino Rebels, Orinoco Tribune, and more. I’m also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a donation via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App.
Yes decades of outright gunboat diplomacy randomly killing farmers fishermen and shepherds as the illegal occupation is copying in the OPT, for cheap 🍌 obtained through installed 🍌 republics!