by Michael Fox | Mar 12, 2026 | Ecuador, Latin America, Podcast, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US, Trump, Under the Shadow
At least 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are on board with Trump’s new military alliance. They are calling it the America’s Counter Cartel Coalition. Latin America’s top right-wing leaders are involved, including El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele and Argentina’s Javier Milei. They met in Florida for the event, on March 7.
The United States has promised to use lethal force to destroy cartels and narco-traffickers in those nations. Kristi Noem, the former head of Homeland Security, is the new special envoy for the coalition.
This is a new phase of Trump’s plan for Latin America. Trump’s Donroe Doctrine—Monroe 2.0. The first was the offensive against his enemies in the region. Now Trump is shoring up his allies, and building a coalition where the US military can continue to take action, now in collaboration with countries allied with Trump. We’ve already begun to see this unfold in Ecuador.
This is Episode 8 of Under the Shadow, Season 2.
Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present. Season 2 responds in real time to the Trump administration’s onslaught on Latin America.
Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.
Many thanks to Belly of the Beast for the interview with Liz Oliva Fernandez and the use of the sound from several of their videos.
This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.
Theme music by Michael Fox’s band, Monte Perdido. Monte Perdido’s 2024 album Ofrenda is available on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you listen to music.
Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.
Script editing by Heather Gies. Hosted,
by Alexander Main | Mar 6, 2026 | Boat Strikes, Caribbean, China, cuba, Daniel Noboa, Donald Trump, Ecuador, Interventionism, Javier Milei, Latin America, Marco Rubio, Nasry Asfura, Nicolás Maduro, Op-Ed, Trump Administration, Venezuela
For nearly three years the Dominican Republic had been excitedly preparing to host the region’s biggest multilateral event: the 2025 Summit of the Americas, bringing together the leaders of nearly every government in the Western Hemisphere. But on November 3rd, only a month before the summit was to take place, the DR’s foreign ministry abruptly announced the postponement of the event citing…
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by Amy Goodman | Feb 13, 2026 | cuba, Donald Trump, Interview, Latin America, Sanctions, Trump Administration
Cuba is facing a growing humanitarian crisis due to a U.S.-imposed oil blockade. The Trump administration has also threatened new tariffs against any nation that sends fuel to Cuba, which has been under a U.S. trade embargo since 1962. These measures have caused fuel shortages and widespread blackouts, while the cost of food and transportation has skyrocketed. “This is a massive violation of human…
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by Amy Goodman | Feb 4, 2026 | Boat Strikes, Colombia, Donald Trump, Gustavo Petro, Interview, Latin America, Monroe Doctrine, Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela
After several months of rising tension between them, Colombian President Gustavo Petro sat down with U.S. President Donald Trump in a closed-door meeting that lasted approximately two hours at the White House on Tuesday. The two leaders have exchanged threats and insults since Trump returned to office in 2025, with Petro harshly criticizing the U.S. bombing of boats at sea and for threatening the…
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by Amy Goodman | Jan 30, 2026 | CIA, Claudia Sheinbaum, cuba, Donald Trump, elections, Imperialism, Interview, Latin America, Marco Rubio, mexico, Nicolás Maduro, Oil, Qatar, Sanctions, Trump Administration, Venezuela
In the aftermath of the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, Venezuela has agreed to submit a monthly budget to the Trump administration, which will release money from an account funded by oil sales. It’s a deal for the interim government led by Delcy Rodriguéz that historian Greg Grandin calls “governing under the blade.” In a further shift away from the…
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by Ashley Smith | Jan 25, 2026 | China, Donald Trump, EU, Gaza, Imperialism, Iran, Latin America, News Analysis, Russia, Trump Administration, US imperialism, Venezuela, War
President Donald Trump’s National Security Strategy (NSS) is the crudest articulation yet of his authoritarian nationalist project. It promises to smash the so-called rules-based international order Washington has superintended since the end of the Cold War. The U.S., of course, repeatedly violated that order’s stated principles, like sovereignty and self-determination, most recently with the…
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