Trump’s National Security Strategy Revives Monroe Doctrine, Reorients U.S. Power Toward the Americas

Overview

• The 33-page plan declares a “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine and vows to block outside powers from stationing forces or controlling strategic assets in the Western Hemisphere.
• It orders a rebalance of U.S. military posture toward the Caribbean and Latin America, expanding Coast Guard and Navy presence and authorizing targeted anti-cartel operations with lethal force when deemed necessary.
• The publication coincides with a large U.S. deployment reported at roughly 15,000 personnel, warships and combat aircraft in the region under a counter-narcotics mission.
• Migration control is elevated to a core security objective, with the strategy stating that the era of mass migration must end and that border security is the primary element of national security.
• Partnerships and aid are conditioned on reducing adverse external influence, with officials directed to favor U.S. companies, while Germany, Belgium and Italy fault the document’s portrayal of Europe’s “civilizational” decline and its encouragement of “patriotic” parties.