Workers handle a portrait of former US President Andrew Jackson for a replica of the Trump administration's Oval Office. Photo: AP/Rod Lamkey.
This week, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports.
The president alleged that “policies, practices, and actions of the Government of Brazil threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States,” and announced that, therefore, his administration is declaring a “national emergency with respect to that threat.”
Furthermore, the decree accuses members of the Brazilian government of taking actions that “infringe” on freedom of expression and “violate human rights.”
Trump previously warned that he would impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian products entering the United States, arguing that there is a “witch hunt” over the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro, currently under house arrest amid fears of an escape attempt during an investigation into allegations of “criminal conspiracy” and “coup d’état.”
Additionally, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on its sanctions list. This came days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the revocation of visas for the judge and his associates, including family members.
This is part of a campaign that the State Department has deployed in recent weeks through its embassies in countries ideologically opposed to Washington, including Colombia, Cuba, and Venezuela.
‘What natural resource is behind it?’
For Chilean lawyer and political analyst Ingrid Urgelles, the current US foreign policy toward Latin America “is the same old Monroe Doctrine.” That is, a program of interference that, while more explicitly advanced under the current administration, “has always existed.”
In this sense, the analyst points out that the US pressure campaign follows a logic under which Latin America represents a source of natural resources that Washington needs. Thus, depending on the economic demand, the US will construct some excuse to punish and extort the various countries in the region.
“Whenever we see a US stance on domestic policy, or a declaration that a country is a terrorist organization or that a president is illegitimate, we always have to ask ourselves: what is the natural resource behind this political interference?” Urgelles ponders.
Furthermore, the analyst observes that these excuses serve as a future strategy for the United States, should it need to justify a military invasion. “And that’s why it’s building that narrative.”
‘The US sees, demonstrates, and pressures’
For the specialist, the North American pressure against Brazil is related to the influence of China—Washington’s main economic rival—in South America.
She emphasizes that the interference in the Latin American country’s internal affairs seeks to impose a “very unilateral and very unfair negotiation. It is not a negotiation between equals, but rather seeks to pressure Brazil to give in and not do so much business with China or participate so heavily in the BRICS, which the United States sees as its economic rivals on the geopolitical stage.”
According to Urgelles, a similar situation is occurring in Colombia. As an example, she mentions the trial of former President Álvaro Uribe, in which he was found guilty of procedural fraud and bribery in criminal proceedings.
In this regard, Secretary of State Marco Rubio charged that the “weaponization of Colombia’s judicial branch by radical judges has now set a worrisome precedent.”
The analyst observes, “let’s remember that Petro recently wanted to reactivate the Silk Road, that he’s been visiting China extensively, that he’s been in contact with the BRICS, and that he’s expressed interest in Colombia seeking out other economic horizons.”
“The United States sees, speaks out, and also exerts pressure, and this is happening to a certain extent across the entire region,” the analyst adds. “It’s not something exclusive to either Venezuela or Cuba, it’s just that these are the most obvious cases, and they are also evident because those governments have resisted US intervention the most. They are the ones that have resisted it the most, and that’s why they are also the most punished.”
Use of lawfare
Asked about the reasons for US interference specifically in the judicial systems of Brazil and Colombia, Urgelles said that the judiciary has historically been a tool used by Latin American elites, subordinate to the United States, to overthrow progressive governments and discredit certain important figures of the left, preventing them from coming to power.
“First, the United States carried out more direct military invasions using military dictatorships in the 1970s. Then, when the military fell out of favor, they began using what they call lawfare, or judicial warfare, which was the formula through which the judicial powers of different countries were used to overthrow progressive governments,” the expert explains.
In this regard, she notes that this strategy “worked for them with Lula da Silva, Cristina Fernández, and Pedro Castillo,” among others.
At the same time, the political analyst emphasizes that what is happening in both Latin American nations is very peculiar, as two former right-wing presidents, linked to various crimes and for the first time in history, are being tried by ordinary courts.
“That means that this lawfare maneuvering isn’t working for them,” Urgelles evaluates, “the United States hasn’t been able to control the elites and these judges, and that evidently means that they’ve lost that battle.”
“The fact that Bolsonaro and Uribe are being prosecuted in ordinary courts weakens the right in those countries, and the United States wants to strengthen those right-wing presidents or political figures because they are aligned with its agenda,” she added.
Given all of the above, the Chilean expert concludes that everything is related to the way Washington wants “to have these puppets in different countries in order to obtain both a military presence, military bases, and natural resources.”
(Sputnik Mundo) by Karen Fabián
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JB/SH
