By Gustavo A Maranges on October 9, 2022
Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent tour in Latin America countries shows how important the region is to the US. Only four months after the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, the United States is once again reaching into the region, with each of the 3 stops having its unique characteristics.
It was no coincidence that Colombia was the first stop for Blinken, showing how much the Biden administration values what has been its main ally and base of operation in the region for decades. Contrary to the tradition of previous Colombian presidents, who bowed down to Washington, Gustavo Petro has not hurried to visit the United States, something that has to be concerning to the White House.
Of course, the visit at this time has to do with the discomfort after Petro’s victory, representing the first leftist president in 200 years of Colombia’s republican history. Before becoming president, Petro stood out by his regional and nationalist positions, something which have only intensified since he took office. The new president has made it clear that Colombia will not continue to be the U.S. Trojan horse in the region, even less the first frontline against Venezuela.
On the surface Blinken showed a conciliatory tone towards the leftist leader. He focused on common positions, leaving aside the obvious differences. The war on drugs was one of the main points on the agenda. Blinken said he agreed with the new approach proposed by Petro, whose departure point is acknowledging the total failure of U.S. strategy. Petro turned the table on Blinken by making a point by saying the US must increase efforts to reduce its consumption, since this is the main incentive for drug dealers.
Despite the conciliatory tone, Petro did not miss the chance to recall that Cuba being the list of countries sponsoring terrorism is an injustice and should be corrected. It should be remembered former President Ivan Duque’s government conspired with the Trump administration to include Cuba in the unilateral list, something Petro not only apologized for that but even declassified the reports showing how everything was set up.
Blinken acknowledged Colombia’s treatment of over two million Venezuelan migrants and considered it an example for the region. Meanwhile, Petro asked for a similar attitude toward Colombians migrating to the United States. In the end, there were no open disagreements during the visit, but the obvious tension during this political dance was thick and permanent.
After two days in Colombia, Blinken was off to Chile, where he probably felt more comfortable, after President Gabriel Boric unnecessarily ratified his criticism of Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Russia. The visit was short and mainly focused on economic issues. During the stay, the Secretary of State visited the National Energy Dispatch Center, which is partially managed by a U.S. company.
Just a few days ago, Boric launched a plan to attract foreign investment, so Blinken’s visit will leave the neo liberal table ready for US businessmen. It is part of the United States’ strategy to curb China’s influence in the region. Today, the United States is Chile’s second-largest trading partner after China.
Peru was the last country of the tour. Besides meeting with President Pedro Castillo, Blinken chaired the 52nd Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) and attended a parallel meeting to follow up on the migration agreements from the IX Summit of the Americas.
The Assembly addressed issues such as the crisis in Haiti and the appointment of a new president for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) after the dismissal of Mauricio Claver-Carone. The United States, loyal to its old manners, included two last-minute resolutions. The first one sought to condemn Venezuela due to alleged Human Rights violations, while the other one did the same for Russia after its actions in Ukraine. Beyond whatever was discussed, Blinken’s attendance is yet another failed attempt to revive the shrinking influence of the OAS as a vehicle to address regional problems.
Backed only by the discredited OAS, Biden seeks a common regional position on Venezuela, Nicaragua, and the war in Ukraine which at this point is a figment of the US State Department’s imagination. With the predictable exceptions of Canada, Guatemala, and Paraguay, the rest of the countries in the meeting backed away when it came to making statements on these issues.
During the tour Blinken made it clear that, at the moment, the main interests of the United States in the region are to curb the arrival of migrants at its southern border, to keep pressure on Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba, and to increase Latin America political support for Ukraine.
Migration continues to be a thorn in Biden’s side, who is maintaining the short memory of the U.S. political class and his own. Once again, the US wants to soothe the migratory flow only by offering financial assistance to transit countries instead of committing to a really effective solution at the root causes; which lies in the poverty and lack of opportunities for the people in these countries thanks to their decades of neo liberal policy in the region.
While the tour illustrated US priorities, even clearer were the loyalties in the region. Petro raised his disagreements with the US carefully holding his own and not stepping back. Boric on the other hand entirely aligned with Blinken’s speech. Meanwhile, Castillo continues to play OAS roulette ignoring Bolivia’s bitter experience which is extremely dangerous for a president who faces daily accusations and impeachment attempts.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – US