Analysis The 'Donroe Doctrine': Trump's bid to control the Western Hemisphere

By Jack Nicas NYT News Service/Syndicate Stories November 18, 2025 12:28 AM



President Donald Trump opened the year with pledges to seize the Panama Canal, take control of Greenland and rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. He is ending it by bombing boats from South America, stationing the world’s largest aircraft carrier in the Caribbean and exploring military options against Venezuela’s autocratic leader.

In a sharp shift of decades of U.S. foreign policy, the Western Hemisphere has become the United States’ central theater abroad. In addition to military threats and action, the White House this year has carried out punishing tariffs, severe sanctions, pressure campaigns and economic bailouts across the Americas.

Trump has said he is seeking to stop drugs and migrants from entering the United States. But, in other moments, top administration officials have been explicit that their overarching goal is to assert U.S. dominance over its half of the planet.

“He believes this is the neighborhood we live in,” said Mauricio Claver-Carone, Trump’s special envoy to Latin America until June, who continues to advise the White House. “And you can’t be the preeminent global power if you’re not the preeminent regional power.”


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Go get a Filet-o-Fish, Big Mac, Biggie Fries, Shake, Diet Coke



Move it, Mauricio.