By Chritine Balling
Monday, November 25, 2024
The news of Marco Rubio’s nomination as secretary of
state surely ruined many a despot’s day, particularly in Latin America. The
persistence of Marxist ideology — coupled with China’s growing influence in the
region — has long had a pernicious effect on the Americas, affording power to
bad actors and eroding regional security. The last several American
administrations may have ignored the Monroe Doctrine but it’s past time for the
Department of State to re-examine regional priorities — not through a clouded
lens of apologetic political correctness but with a clear-eyed focus on
security, prosperity, and democracy. Senator Rubio is the man to do it.
As the ranking member of the Western Hemisphere
Subcommittee of the Senate’s Committee on Foreign Relations, Rubio understands
the strategic importance of Latin America more than State Department
careerists. And as a Cuban-American senator serving the State of Florida, he
represents U.S. citizens who have fled countries ravaged by authoritarian
regimes, Marxist guerrillas, and narco-terrorists. To these Floridians, the
dangers of Communism are real, and so, too, is the anarchy that comes when
democracies fail.
Over the last 50 years, a tentative and overly cautious
U.S. foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere has empowered radical Left
authoritarianism and degraded regional security. Weak democracies have failed
to maintain healthy economies or adequately protect their citizens from
domestic terrorism and transnational crime. Leftist governments continue to use
anti-American propaganda to justify destructive domestic policies. As a result,
millions have fled their home countries and headed north to America’s southern
border. And drug cartels continue to enrich themselves trafficking drugs and
human suffering.
Meanwhile, China — arguably the world’s most predatory
lender — has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in building
infrastructure projects with debt financing that few recipient countries could
ever repay. Unfortunately, to date, the U.S. has done nothing of consequence to
offer our Latin American allies an alternative to Chinese investment. Nor have
we invested nearly enough in fortifying friendly armed forces combating
transnational crime or in using soft power to strengthen the democratic institutions
of our allies.
There is much work to be done. Marxist oligarchs such as
Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and Miguel Díaz-Canel in Cuba, along with the
Chavez and Castro regimes before them, extinguished all hope for freedom and
democracy in their respective countries. This corrosive ideology has also
brought other struggling democracies to the brink. In Colombia, President
Gustavo Petro, a former M19 guerrilla, has allowed the Marxist ELN and FARC
organizations to regroup and regain strength while debilitating the Colombian
armed forces through bad policy. And in Mexico, the far-left Morena party
administration has ceded control of national security to the cartels.
But there is reason to hope. While certain Latin American
leaders whine about the evils of so-called Yankee imperialism, others, such as
Argentina’s President Javier Milei, value proactive and strategic U.S.
involvement in the region and would surely welcome more of our support.
And thanks to the recent election results, far-left
“liberals” — those Americans who emulate their Marxist counterparts to the
south by vilifying the mere idea of a pro-democracy, pro–international security
doctrine for Latin America — will have limited ability to impede meaningful
progress. These, by the way, are the same people who attempted linguistic
colonization by bastardizing the Spanish language with the “Latinx” moniker,
and they are the true Yankee imperialists. Rubio will thankfully have no time for
them.
For too many decades, Latin America has remained the
backwater of U.S. foreign policy. But with Rubio at the helm, the Department of
State can establish a renewed, proactive focus on the region, working more
closely with our allies to combat the cartels, Marxist militants, and the
authoritarian regimes who not only terrorize their own people but also inflict
their problems on the American people. Working together, the United States and
our regional partners can create a united Western Hemisphere where democracy
and freedom flourish and that promotes peace and prosperity for our own people
and interests.
Pro-Americas is pro-American. And Marco Rubio has
known this all along.
No comments:
Post a Comment