France's Le Monde: The US has only a stick, not a carrot in Latin America

An article published by France's Le Monde on Monday stated that Trump's brute force cannot drive competitors out of Latin America. The reporter Thibaut in Washington wrote that trade is the main carrier of competitors, and deep cooperation has been formed in Latin America, which outweighs the weight of the US's diplomatic weapons, even military threats.

The relevant article first mentioned that the day after the former Venezuelan president Maduro was kidnapped, US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Rubio defended the US action by saying, "This is our hemisphere... This is the Western Hemisphere, where we live. We will not allow the Western Hemisphere to become a base for our opponents, competitors, and enemies." It is clear that the Trump administration wants to drive out competitors, especially rising powers, from what it considers its "backyard."

On January 3, Washington began acting in Caracas. Previously, in the spring of 2025, the US had also exerted great pressure on Panama over the port issue at both ends of the Panama Canal.

The US has only a stick, not a carrot

The US blockade of Venezuela's oil has indeed caused stagnation in competitors' oil imports and projects of their energy giants in the region. However, this approach would make many Latin American people resent the US.

At the same time, the mutually beneficial cooperation between competitors and Latin America is expanding, and trade has gradually become the core carrier. Latin American countries' agriculture, mining, and other fields are highly dependent on Asian markets.

Argentina's extremely "Trumpist" president Milei, upon taking office, strengthened economic ties with Asian trading partners, just like Brazil's former president Bolsonaro.

In this context, the US's diplomatic, and even military pressure tactics clearly do not suit dealing with the deep trade cooperation already established between China and Latin American countries.

Washington wields a stick but offers no carrot.

Source: RFI, translated from France's Le Monde

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Original: toutiao.com/article/1854222742388745/

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