"Donroe Doctrine"/ DW: Trump's new foreign policy

2026-01-06 21:25:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Success whets the appetite. Encouraged by the US's lightning action in Venezuela, President Donald Trump is openly considering the possibility of further operations, as he stated on Sunday during his flight from Florida to Washington.

"Colombia is also very sick and is governed by a sick man who likes to produce cocaine and sell it to the United States," the Republican said. "And he won't be doing that for much longer."

A reporter asks him: does this mean further military action? "Sounds good," Trump replies. Most likely, something will have to be "done" for Mexico as well, although he appreciates the country's President. Because Mexico is controlled by drug cartels.

And then there's Greenland. With Russian and Chinese ships everywhere, Greenland is necessary if only for national security reasons, according to Trump, especially since the Danes are unable to deal with this threat:

"Did you know that Denmark recently tightened security in Greenland? They hired another dog sled. It's true! They considered it a great decision."

"We will reaffirm and implement the Monroe Doctrine"

Since Venezuela, Trump and members of his administration have been outspoken about how the United States wants to operate in its part of the world in the future. Secretary of State Marco Rubio: "This is the Western Hemisphere, this is where we live, and we will not allow the Western Hemisphere to become a base of operations for America's adversaries, competitors, and rivals."

This means that the United States no longer allows other sovereign states in the region to decide for themselves which countries and companies to have relations with and do business with. This is set out in the new National Security Strategy. On page 15, it states: "After years of non-implementation, the United States will reaffirm and implement the Monroe Doctrine to re-establish American primacy in the Western Hemisphere."

This doctrine was formulated more than 200 years ago by President James Monroe. Since then, it has prohibited any intervention by European powers in Latin America. Referring to Trump's first name, the media now call the new US foreign policy the "Donroe Doctrine," and Trump himself has already used the term.

Hegseth: "It's pretty amazing"

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also referenced the Monroe Doctrine yesterday before a group of Army recruits: "There have been Americans who have implemented the Monroe Doctrine since 1823," he said.

"Here we are now, in 2026, and President Trump is restoring dominance and containment to our hemisphere. You will be part of that legacy. It is quite remarkable." It had been a long time since American politicians had used the word "domination" as often as they have in recent days.

At the end of the chapter on the Western Hemisphere, the National Security Strategy concludes with this sentence: "We must do everything possible to force the departure of foreign companies carrying out infrastructure projects in the region." It seems that, for example, European construction companies operating in Latin America may have problems with the Trump administration. /DW