White House Releases Hemispheric-First Security Strategy, Revives ‘Corollary Trump’ to Monroe Doctrine

Overview

• The strategy commits to a sustained U.S. presence across Latin America and the Caribbean, expanding Coast Guard and Navy operations and securing access at strategic sites.
• It prioritizes stopping mass migration and defeating drug cartels, authorizing tougher measures that can include the use of lethal force.
• Washington vows to deny outside powers basing or control of critical assets in the hemisphere and to condition assistance on reducing external influence.
• The document presses Japan and South Korea to increase defense spending, highlights a sharper focus on Taiwan’s semiconductor role, and reduces emphasis on the Middle East by shifting responsibilities to regional partners.
• Germany, Belgium, and Italy objected to language predicting Europe’s civilizational decline and to U.S. encouragement of so‑called patriotic parties, underscoring immediate diplomatic pushback.