From Monroe to Trump, unilateralism

The famous Monroe Doctrine (MD) of 1823, which the peoples of the South know very well, is the first major unilateral declaration by the United States: “America for Americans.” Under its hegemony, the sphere of influence and the right to intervene in this vast region stretching from Mexico to Argentina were established. The Doctrine is the grandmother of the Trump doctrine in its intention to place the sovereignty of this country above that of the region.

The Roosevelt Corollary of 1904: President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) extended Monroe’s doctrine, justifying preemptive military intervention in the region to prevent instability. It is the clearest expression of US interventionism. With this thesis, he invaded Panama and Haiti in our region, and the Philippines in Asia. It could be said that this is the most direct lineage of “peace through strength” prior to Trump.

Truman Doctrine, 1947, and containment: Here, for the first time, unilateralism gives way to multilateralism led by the United States. A system of alliances (NATO) is built and action is taken under the umbrella of international institutions (UN) to contain a rival. It is the opposite of Trump’s approach.

Bush Doctrine (Post-9/11): Preemptive war and the promotion of democracy by force, especially after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the Twin Towers. Similar to Trump in the use of force, but different in its objective; Bush sought to transform regions with nations more to his liking (nation-building); Trump has no interest in pretending to care about other countries.

“Peace through strength” vs. multilateral peacebuilding mechanisms

According to what was ideally the UN Multilateral Model, which turns 80 this year, peace is built through diplomacy, international law, cooperation, and development aid; the use of force is always a last resort and is exercised under the mandate of the Security Council. The UN Charter is based on the equal sovereignty of states and the prohibition of the use of force except in self-defense or with express authorization.

The Trump Model (“Peace through Strength”) has come to try to put a definitive end to the UN. On January 29, 2014, in Havana, Cuba, during the Second Summit of the (CELAC), the commitment to peace and stability was reaffirmed by declaring Latin America and the Caribbean a Zone of Peace, to consolidate an area free of conflict and tension, promoting dialogue and cooperation as key tools for resolving any dispute. Marco Rubio’s latest tour of the Caribbean and other Latin American nations was aimed at breaking this consensus. On September 15, 2025, President Nicolas Maduro called for an extraordinary meeting of CELAC in an attempt to restore this spirit.

In the first months of his second term, Trump has given us indications that, for him, peace is a byproduct of overwhelming military power (“Peace through Strength”), thereby giving a nod to the Ronald Reagan Administration. Deterrence through the threat of military force replaces diplomacy and is a tool of first choice – not a last resort – and is exercised unilaterally if a threat to national interests is perceived.

Read More: Trump chooses war over diplomacy in the Caribbean

The War on Drugs in the Caribbean as an expression of the Trump doctrine

The Caribbean as a “third border” and narcotics transit zone. Traditionally, the approach to this region has been mixed (security cooperation + development aid). Under the new Trump doctrine, military operations are being intensified to an unprecedented level; interdiction is being prioritized over cooperation programs to combat or treat addiction, and countries are being pressured with the threat of sanctions if they do not fully cooperate with US security agendas (reminiscent of the Big Stick).

This is the context for the current operations in the Caribbean Basin under purely military and security command, with less emphasis on coordination with civilian agencies or local governments in terms of cooperation and with the incentive of being able to advance its regime change strategy by identifying Venezuela as its main enemy in this area. The region is treated as a stage on which to apply force to protect the southern border, backyard, or vital zone of the US, not as a community of partner nations with which to build long-term peace and stability. It is “peace” imposed through strength.

The symbolism of power: Department of “War” and the security-diplomacy merger

The idea of renaming the Department of Defense (DOD) to the historic Department of War (DOW) is not just anecdotal; the Trump administration is attempting to create a symbol of its power: the DOW implies an openly offensive, aggressive, and active stance, which unambiguously expresses the desire to revive the spirit of the United States, the world’s greatest military power, and once again put an end to the post-World War II model, including the UN and international law.

Marco Rubio undoubtedly symbolizes the deliberate weakening of diplomacy for the United States; his dual role as Secretary of State and main National Security Advisor puts him in the same sinister position as Henry Kissinger in the 1970s, and this does not bode well, as the past has shown for countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, but also for the popular movements of the Global South that have already glimpsed what these decisions entail.

US foreign policy is increasingly based on security criteria (migration, drug trafficking, terrorism, communications), and diplomacy is limited to lobbying for interests and adding satellite countries.

Finally, these changes suggest a profound and lasting transformation in the mindset of US foreign policy, which will likely continue to influence the future, regardless of the administration, so we may be facing a new doctrine: Trumpism. Donald Trump is attempting to leave this legacy to the world as a guiding principle, characterized by an attempt to reposition the US as the holder of absolute military power, national sovereignty, and contempt for multilateralism. This is because we are no longer dealing with the world’s leading economic power, and this proportionally affects its military and other capabilities, which is why Trump also finds himself in a sprint, which only he seems to want to take on, fighting on several fronts at the same time.

The incipient Trump doctrine, outlined in his speech to the 80th UN General Assembly, would then be a hybrid that, on the one hand, revives Monroe’s isolationist unilateralism and Roosevelt’s big stick, rejects Bush’s responsibility for nation-building, while burying Truman’s multilateral framework for containing rivals or adversaries.

Carmen Navas Reyes is a Venezuelan political scientist with a master’s degree in Ecology for Human Development (UNESR). She is currently pursuing a doctorate in Latin American Studies at the Fundación Centro de Estudios Latinoamericanos Rómulo Gallegos CELARG in Venezuela. She is a member of the International Advisory Council of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research.

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