Trump’s Caribbean armada isn’t diplomacy but dominance, reviving a century-old American Monroe doctrine, by Tim Marshall (19 Nov 2025)
Monroe Doctrine. "In 1823, President James Monroe made it clear that Washington regarded Latin America as within its sphere of influence.
If outside powers interfered in its backyard, then the US would intervene, with or without the consent of local governments. In 1904, a bullish President Theodore Roosevelt extended the doctrine, stating that it ‘may force the United States, however reluctantly, in flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence, to the exercise of an international police power.’
The Doctrine was invoked several times, including in 1962 and during other attempts by Moscow to create pro-Soviet regimes in Central and South America. Russian influence almost collapsed at the end of the Cold War but has been rising slowly this century, as has that of China."
This excellent piece, written a few weeks ago, explains what we saw yesterday.
https://geographical.co.uk/news/tim-marshall-on-the-americas-power-play-in-the-caribbean
