It is more of a regression than any direct new policy regarding the US's role there, says Erik Åsard, US expert and professor emeritus at Uppsala University.
Trump has bombed suspected drug boats, and singled out his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro and his inner circle as responsible for the drug trade. In Argentina and Honduras, among others, the US is threatening to cut off economic ties unless the “right” candidates win the elections. And Colombia’s leftist president Gustavo Petro is being punished with sanctions.
The capsule burst
From a historical perspective, it's pretty much business as usual. Since the late 19th century, the United States has orchestrated a change of power in Latin American countries at least 40 times, writes The Financial Times .
Not to mention all the failed attempts, like the CIA's now-infamous plan to poison Fidel Castro's milkshake in the early 1960s. The deadly poison capsule burst in the freezer, and the Cuban leader survived.
The difference is that the plots of the time, including the attempt to completely invade Cuba via the Bay of Pigs in 1961, were planned in the utmost secrecy.
Now everything, it seems, happens completely openly, says Erik Åsard.
Greater aggressiveness
It was officially announced that the CIA had been instructed by the president to prepare a ground invasion of Venezuela. It would be completely impossible for a previous government to have come out and talked about it in advance.
The second new aspect now after Trump's return is "a much greater aggressiveness in foreign policy," according to Åsard - which can manifest itself in territorial claims to everything from Greenland to Canada and the Panama Canal.
I think you can see them in the light of some kind of power intoxication from Trump. That he came back and could win again, and thus considers himself entitled to lead the world, says Åsard.
Not listening
Combined with the fact that he is not allowed to run again, this means that the American president does not have to worry about his campaign promises or what his supporters think. His so-called Maga movement in the US is relatively uninterested in foreign affairs. This is thought to have contributed to greater restraint from Trump in the past, but now he seems to have greater ambitions abroad.
He realizes that he will not be able to stand for election again, says Åsard.
He seems much less inclined to listen to his own base now. And also to the Republicans in Congress.
