OPINION:
The Jan. 3 capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro by U.S. Special Forces has made it crystal clear that there is a new rule book on foreign interference in the Western Hemisphere. The United States under President Trump is not playing games on national security threats in Latin America.
Although it has been nicknamed the “Donroe Doctrine,” the president’s new policy is more reasoned and philosophically grounded than merely setting up a sphere of influence in the Americas. It is about putting an end to the lawless incursion into this hemisphere by China, which is determined to weaken the U.S. economically, politically and militarily.
It’s no wonder that some of Mr. Maduro’s closest friends happened to be from three of America’s biggest adversaries: Russia, Iran and Cuba. They propped up the Maduro regime with the unified aim of destabilizing the region and threatening American national security.
The Chinese, Mr. Maduro’s other main ally, had a different goal in mind. China was steadily seeking to gain ownership and control of Venezuela’s natural resources, as it did everywhere else in the Western Hemisphere, in its bid to outpace and eventually dominate the United States.
This is why Mr. Trump last year laid out a blunt National Security Strategy: China can buy what Latin America sells like any other customer, but it cannot be allowed to own the production, transportation and/or trade of strategic goods in the Western Hemisphere. Too many previous U.S. governments have let Latin American countries play both sides on the China question, but those days are over.
The interim regime in Caracas was told by the Trump administration that it must end all such agreements with China, and it’s vital that the same position be taken with the rest of Latin America.
Mr. Trump has found great success in taking this posture with Mexico, which in December slapped tariffs of up to 50% on China as part of a broader partnership to end transshipment abuses under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
At the same time, the U.S. must scrutinize aspiring leaders in Latin America and make it clear that countering Chinese incursions requires true partnerships, not just words.
For example, Rafael Lopez Aliaga, a former mayor of Lima, Peru, calls himself “the MAGA mayor,” but also has earned the nickname “China’s Man in Lima.” Now running for president of Peru, he has sought to present himself as aligned with Washington even as he backs policies that would deepen China’s economic footprint in the region.
Most notably, Mr. Lopez Aliaga has supported strengthening Chinese operational control over the massive Port of Chancay and signaled that he would resist any effort by the Trump administration to limit Beijing’s role there. His advocacy for expanded Mandarin instruction in Peruvian schools and his decision to award key construction projects to Chinese firms on corruption blacklists further underscore the mixed signals.
At the same time, U.S. policymakers also have warned about a broader Chinese-financed bi-oceanic rail project linking Brazil’s Amazon basin commodity corridor to Chancay, infrastructure that would likely be financed, managed and monitored by Beijing while benefiting political actors with reported economic or political stakes in the arrangement, including Mr. Lopez Aliaga.
From a U.S. national security perspective, such a dual-track approach is increasingly difficult to reconcile.
The Donroe Doctrine couldn’t be clearer about its stance on such Chinese projects: They should not be allowed under any circumstances. Leaders who pay lip service to “America First” while paving the way for Chinese-owned infrastructure should not count on our friendship or political support. That must be the message to the current and future leaders of Peru, as well as Brazil and Colombia, which are also holding presidential elections this year.
No Chinese-owned megarailways. No Chinese-operated megaports, such as Chancay, have dual-use capacity for both commercial and military vessels. No more U.S. backing for Latin American leaders who play both sides when it comes to vital national security interests in the Western Hemisphere.
Critical infrastructure in America’s hemisphere must not become a vehicle for strategic leverage by external powers. The clearer, steadier approach outlined in the Donroe Doctrine will ultimately serve regional stability and U.S. security far better than today’s ambiguity.
• The Honorable Bob McEwen served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio from 1981 to 1993. The Honorable Todd Tiahrt served from Kansas from 1995 to 2011. Both served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
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