What the US militarisation of Latin America could look like

Latin America is seeing growing military activity by the United States. Under the umbrella of the Americas Counter-Cartel Coalition (ACCC), launched by President Donald Trump in March, US forces are carrying out strikes on vessels suspected of drug trafficking, while US officials are deepening ties and cooperation with Latin American militaries.

This reflects the growing push from Washington towards militarisation of the region, as left-wing politics decline. For Latin America, this may spell the return of coercive US policies.

The projection of US military power, whether through coordinated operations, US boots on the ground or the use of regional bases, will not help improve regional security and fight crime. If anything, it could undermine democracy and usher in more violence and instability.

Apart from the US, the ACCC includes 17 Latin American and Caribbean nations: Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guyana, Guatemala, Paraguay, Jamaica, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Honduras, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Peru.

Although Venezuela is not officially part of the coalition, it appears it has opened up its territory for US operations. With its informal participation, the ACCC is able to complete the “Andean arc”, which accounts for the entirety of the cocaine production distributed and sold in the US and Europe. This is also where many of the region’s organised crime groups operate.

But the coalition appears to be about more than just narcotics. Trump has said that the ACCC’s mandate is to counter “malign foreign influences from outside the Western Hemisphere” – a veiled reference to China.

The fact that the ACCC was created in Florida just two months after the US army had carried out a ground operation in Venezuela and deposed its president, Nicolas Maduro, was also significant.

Another step in that direction came on August 4 , when the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced the creation of the Western Hemisphere Joint Task Force, which will “synchronise U.S. military operations with allies and partners to counter threats, strengthen regional security and respond rapidly to crises across the Western Hemisphere”. The new task force will integrate command and control of the 18 members of the ACCC.