Overview
- Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby laid out the so-called 'Donroe Doctrine' in a speech in Cusco on Wednesday, framing a formal U.S. push for a more active regional security role.
- Colby said the shift includes stepped-up U.S. military action against drug trafficking, noting strikes on drug boats that began in the fall and claiming Venezuela’s Maduro was deposed in January.
- The Pentagon plans joint counter‑narcotics strikes with like-minded governments, a posture the U.S. says is already in operation in Ecuador and will expand through shared operations and intelligence.
- Colby urged Latin American governments to protect strategic assets such as the Panama Canal and to raise defence spending, noting some countries now allocate under 1% of GDP to their militaries.
- Critics say the rhetoric revives interventionist U.S. policies and risks sovereignty disputes while supporters argue it will empower partners; the plan builds on a regional rightward political shift that has made some governments more receptive.