Tillerson in Latin America

On the first day of a trip to Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, and Jamaica, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson extolled the virtue of the Monroe Doctrine, declaring it “as relevant today as it was the day it was written” in 1823.

At the heart of the doctrine and Tillerson’s odd invocation thereof is the notion that Latin America and the Caribbean are some sort of U.S. protectorate. In effect, the doctrine asserts that the United States has an ownership claim to influence throughout the Americas and that it has the right and responsibility to exclude other external actors.

  American Progress

I bet that went over well.

As President Donald Trump’s nativist policies and politics demonize countries to our south at every turn, Tillerson has little choice but to try an antiquated assertion of authority. In this environment, partnership born of shared interest and mutual respect is a tough sell even for an oilman like Tillerson.

[...]

All of these countries are predisposed to work with the Unites States as we share common interests and, at least until recently, common values. Working with these and other countries across the region is essential to advancing U.S. national security interests. Their cooperation is fundamental to confronting illicit flows in the Americas and is essential to addressing the existential threat posed by global climate change. They are key markets needed to revitalize, high-value U.S. manufacturing and other job-creating export sectors.

We'll fix that.

In just the past two months, the Trump administration has systematically turned its back on some of the most vulnerable countries in the region—Haiti, Nicaragua, and El Salvador—when it terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 300,000 individuals from those countries.

In his State of the Union address, President Trump outlined policies that seek to physically wall the United States off from our neighbors to the south; radically reduce legal migration from countries across the Americas; and leave at least 5 to 6 million migrants from the Americas subject to deportation.

In recent weeks, the president has reportedly referred to countries in the Americas (and Africa) as “shithole countries” and badmouthed Mexican and Colombian anti-drug cooperation, even as Tillerson sat across the table from Mexican counterparts trying to fortify such cooperation.

These are not the makings of respectful partnership.

Trump does not have the makings of a respectful person. Nor do any of his cabal.