Brian Winter on CNN About Trump's Approach to Latin America
Brian Winter on CNN About Trump's Approach to Latin America
For the new administration, the region is key to address issues such as migration and drug flows, said AS/COA's vice president.
Brian Winter, vice president of Policy at Americas Society/Council of the Americas and editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly, was interviewed by Fareed Zakaria on CNN's program GPS about the implications of the new U.S. administration's policies towards Latin America.
The expert started the interview by saying that the administration under Donald Trump will be more focused on Latin America than "any U.S. government for the last 30 years." Winter explained how Marco Rubio's first trip as secretary of state to Central America also communicates the importance of the region for the administration.
Zakaria asked Winter if he thinks the new administration will favor some governments over others in the region.
"There's no doubt that several governments around Latin America are happy with this increased attention from the United States. But it's also true that being an ally of the United States does not necessarily protect you in this current environment. [...] So it's not just about left-right," said Winter. He believes governments in the region are asking themselves what it means to be an ally of Washington.
Regarding Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's offer to take prisoners from the United States, Winter said he sees this as a "peace offering" after the Trump criticized Bukele months earlier regarding Salvadoran migration to the United States.
Winter explained that the U.S. domestic objectives of reducing immigration, of reducing drug flows are critical to the Trump administration and "they believe that Latin America is key to that." The AS/COA vice president also said that with the upcoming elections in Latin America "there may even be more governments in the region that end up aligned with Trump." However, some of these countries might be cautious because they don't know if the current administration will make threats to them, Winter said.
