The United States is seeking to revive the Monroe Doctrine to consolidate its influence across the Americas, said a Cuban scholar on Caribbean affairs recently, as tensions between the United States and Venezuela continue to escalate in the Caribbean region.
The Monroe Doctrine was first promulgated by then-U.S. President James Monroe in 1823. Proclaiming "America for the Americans", the doctrine served as a pretext for the United States to dominate both American continents, impose its power politics, and compel Latin American nations to align with the U.S. will.
Pavel Aleman, a scholar on Caribbean affairs at Cuba's International Policy Research Center, said that recent United States military deployments indicate a significant increase in the presence of United States forces in the Caribbean, reflecting growing regional tensions.
According to Aleman, frictions between the U.S. and Venezuela date back to 1998, when Hugo Chavez was elected president of Venezuela.
Over the past two decades, the U.S. has not only imposed unilateral sanctions on Venezuela but has also labeled it a so-called threat to U.S. national security.
The root cause, Aleman said, lies in Venezuela's rising influence on the international stage, particularly in Latin America after Chavez took office. Venezuela's active promotion of regional integration directly challenged the U.S. traditional dominance in the region.
Taking into account recent elections in Ecuador and Honduras, as well as Argentina’s push for dollarization, Aleman said that the U.S. is attempting to remove left-wing governments in Latin America and revive its historical Monroe Doctrine to strengthen its influence in the Americas.
"One of its objectives is to isolate Cuba in Latin America and the Caribbean, to place Cuba in a situation of political and diplomatic isolation. In this context, we are seeing that the U.S. is once again refocusing on and applying its Monroe Doctrine," said Aleman.
Aleman warned that U.S. military intervention would bring severe consequences to Latin America and the Caribbean, stressing that the international community should take a firm stance in response to potential crises.
"The U.S. is in fact undermining the principles and foundations of international public law. We must be clear that this is not only about the fate of Venezuela. More importantly, if this narrative of the U.S. succeeds, it will not only threaten Venezuela itself, but will also endanger regional peace and international peace," Aleman said.
US seeks to revive Monroe Doctrine to reinforce influence in Americas: Cuban scholar
