@benjamingedan.bsky.social
The election of conservatives makes it less likely for Latin America to oppose controversial U.S. policies, “from mass deportations and trade barriers to Trump’s killing spree in the Caribbean,” I told @courthousenews.bsky.social.
www.courthousenews.com/kast-win-in-...
www.courthousenews.com/kast-win-in-...
Kast win in Chile swells far-right tide in Latin America
The admirer of dictator Augusto Pinochet and son of a Nazi party member will become Chile’s most right-wing president since the comeback of democracy in the '90s.
www.courthousenews.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:32 PM
The election of conservatives makes it less likely for Latin America to oppose controversial U.S. policies, “from mass deportations and trade barriers to Trump’s killing spree in the Caribbean,” I told @courthousenews.bsky.social.
www.courthousenews.com/kast-win-in-...
www.courthousenews.com/kast-win-in-...
In Latin America, “the lurch to the right has momentum,” I told @newsweek.com. “But it’s not inevitable. These are volatile electorates. A misstep or a stalled economy can change the political winds fast.”
www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...
www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...
Donald Trump’s influence is redrawing Latin America’s map to the right
José Antonio Kast won Chile’s presidential election, with experts citing growing Trump influence in Latin America as a key factor.
www.newsweek.com
December 15, 2025 at 6:53 PM
In Latin America, “the lurch to the right has momentum,” I told @newsweek.com. “But it’s not inevitable. These are volatile electorates. A misstep or a stalled economy can change the political winds fast.”
www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...
www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...
“La insatisfacción de los votantes provoca una política pendular permanente”, dije a @efe.com.
www.swissinfo.ch/spa/triunfo-...
www.swissinfo.ch/spa/triunfo-...
Triunfo de Kast crea nuevo polo ultraderechista en Suramérica y refuerza órbita de Trump
(Corrige en el segundo párrafo el apellido de Noboa)
https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/triunfo-de-kast-crea-nuevo-polo-ultraderechista-en-suramérica-y-refuerza-órbita-de-trump/90637465
December 15, 2025 at 3:25 AM
“La insatisfacción de los votantes provoca una política pendular permanente”, dije a @efe.com.
www.swissinfo.ch/spa/triunfo-...
www.swissinfo.ch/spa/triunfo-...
“‘The choice all countries should face,’ the White House insists, ‘is whether they want to live in an American-led world.’ Troublingly, for many in Latin America, the answer is increasingly no,” I wrote for @stimsoncenter.bsky.social.
www.stimson.org/2025/experts...
www.stimson.org/2025/experts...
Experts React: Trump Administration’s National Security Strategy • Stimson Center
Experts provide insight on the new National Security Strategy and its approach to key U.S. foreign policy issues.
www.stimson.org
December 10, 2025 at 9:19 PM
“‘The choice all countries should face,’ the White House insists, ‘is whether they want to live in an American-led world.’ Troublingly, for many in Latin America, the answer is increasingly no,” I wrote for @stimsoncenter.bsky.social.
www.stimson.org/2025/experts...
www.stimson.org/2025/experts...
“Típicamente, hay que usar una lupa para encontrar Latinoamérica” en la estrategia de seguridad de EE.UU., dije a El Mercurio. “Esta vez, la discusión sobre la región es robusta”.
t.co/wjQoD5zQPt
t.co/wjQoD5zQPt
https://beta.elmercurio.com/2025/12/05/internacional/38895/con-foco-en-america-latina-trump-cambia-el-paradigma
t.co
December 8, 2025 at 8:15 PM
“Típicamente, hay que usar una lupa para encontrar Latinoamérica” en la estrategia de seguridad de EE.UU., dije a El Mercurio. “Esta vez, la discusión sobre la región es robusta”.
t.co/wjQoD5zQPt
t.co/wjQoD5zQPt
It is not inconsistent to threaten to invade Venezuela and also negotiate, I told @thehill.com. The military deployment makes this the right moment “to bully the regime into starting an irreversible political transition and avoid the many potential downsides of war.”
thehill.com/policy/defen...
thehill.com/policy/defen...
thehill.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:30 PM
It is not inconsistent to threaten to invade Venezuela and also negotiate, I told @thehill.com. The military deployment makes this the right moment “to bully the regime into starting an irreversible political transition and avoid the many potential downsides of war.”
thehill.com/policy/defen...
thehill.com/policy/defen...
No tengo claro que el Cartel de los Soles exista; es más bien “una forma de describir el involucramiento informal” de militares y de miembros del gobierno venezolano en el narcotráfico, comenté a @uninoticias.bsky.social.
www.univision.com/noticias/nar...
www.univision.com/noticias/nar...
El Cartel de los Soles, la red criminal "dinámica" que EEUU declaró terrorista
EEUU acusa desde hace años al gobernante venezolano Nicolás Maduro y sus colaboradores civiles y militares de aliarse con la guerrilla de las FARC para enviar drogas a su territorio. Pero ahora eleva ...
www.univision.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:50 PM
No tengo claro que el Cartel de los Soles exista; es más bien “una forma de describir el involucramiento informal” de militares y de miembros del gobierno venezolano en el narcotráfico, comenté a @uninoticias.bsky.social.
www.univision.com/noticias/nar...
www.univision.com/noticias/nar...
The U.S. *should* prioritize Latin America, but we will not regain lost ground by taxing the region’s exports and reducing foreign aid, I told @thehill.com. Rather, the U.S. needs a strategy that “takes advantage of many other tools of national power.”
thehill.com/policy/defen...
thehill.com/policy/defen...
US revives jungle warfare training in Panama amid regional tensions
The U.S. military has revived jungle warfare training in Panama for the first time in more than 20 years, preparing soldiers in combat and survival tactics in dense, tropical environments amid incr…
thehill.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:59 PM
The U.S. *should* prioritize Latin America, but we will not regain lost ground by taxing the region’s exports and reducing foreign aid, I told @thehill.com. Rather, the U.S. needs a strategy that “takes advantage of many other tools of national power.”
thehill.com/policy/defen...
thehill.com/policy/defen...
On Monday, President Trump threatened to send ground troops into Venezuela. In a conversation with @chrislhayes.bsky.social, we discuss how Trump’s Monroe Doctrine sequel reinforces the U.S. image as an imperialist bully for a new generation of Latin Americans.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
Why Is The U.S. Striking Venezuela? with Benjamin Gedan
Podcast Episode · Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast · 11/11/2025 · 53m
podcasts.apple.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:41 PM
On Monday, President Trump threatened to send ground troops into Venezuela. In a conversation with @chrislhayes.bsky.social, we discuss how Trump’s Monroe Doctrine sequel reinforces the U.S. image as an imperialist bully for a new generation of Latin Americans.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
“Would a reopened U.S. base solve the problem? No,” I told @deutschewellerss.newsmast.social.ap.brid.gy.“Above all, Ecuador needs to rid its police and judicial system of corruption and find ways to stop money laundering and dismantle sophisticated criminal groups.“
www.dw.com/en/will-ecua...
www.dw.com/en/will-ecua...
Will Ecuador allow US troops on its soil? – DW – 11/15/2025
If successful, Sunday's referendum will change Ecuador's constitution, enabling the return of US forces in a move intended to bolster ties between President Daniel Noboa's government and the Trump Adm...
www.dw.com
November 16, 2025 at 3:14 AM
“Would a reopened U.S. base solve the problem? No,” I told @deutschewellerss.newsmast.social.ap.brid.gy.“Above all, Ecuador needs to rid its police and judicial system of corruption and find ways to stop money laundering and dismantle sophisticated criminal groups.“
www.dw.com/en/will-ecua...
www.dw.com/en/will-ecua...
“The U.S. is not being forthright about its objectives, and so it’s very difficult to evaluate the strategy in the Caribbean at the moment,” I told @thehill.com.
thehill.com/policy/defen...
thehill.com/policy/defen...
Hegseth’s ‘Southern Spear’ operation to pummel ‘narco-terrorists’: What to know
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new military and surveillance campaign in the Western Hemisphere on Thursday, dubbed “Operation Southern Spear,” to pummel “narco-terrorists.” The Pentago…
thehill.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:27 AM
“The U.S. is not being forthright about its objectives, and so it’s very difficult to evaluate the strategy in the Caribbean at the moment,” I told @thehill.com.
thehill.com/policy/defen...
thehill.com/policy/defen...
Milei favors free trade and the U.S. agreement provides a helpful nudge. Even so, there will be political costs, I told @bloomberg.com. “Argentina has been one of the most closed markets in the world for so long that many of its industries simply can’t compete.”
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Milei Scores Trump Trade Deal That Will Test His Closed Economy
Argentine President Javier Milei finally has his trade deal with Donald Trump, but the libertarian leader’s political victory also represents a challenge to open up his protectionist economy.
www.bloomberg.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Milei favors free trade and the U.S. agreement provides a helpful nudge. Even so, there will be political costs, I told @bloomberg.com. “Argentina has been one of the most closed markets in the world for so long that many of its industries simply can’t compete.”
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
“Like a charitable obituary for a controversial figure, reflections on the last war in Central America tend to downplay gloomier aspects of the invasion and, in doing so, make a war in South America more likely,” we write in a new @stimsoncenter.bsky.social report.
www.stimson.org/2025/a-war-i...
www.stimson.org/2025/a-war-i...
A War in Venezuela Would Not Solve Latin America’s Drug and Dictator Problems • Stimson Center
The Trump administration appears ready for war to remove Maduro, but supporters ignore the steep costs and potential damage to U.S. regional relationships.
www.stimson.org
November 14, 2025 at 8:44 PM
“Like a charitable obituary for a controversial figure, reflections on the last war in Central America tend to downplay gloomier aspects of the invasion and, in doing so, make a war in South America more likely,” we write in a new @stimsoncenter.bsky.social report.
www.stimson.org/2025/a-war-i...
www.stimson.org/2025/a-war-i...
U.S. “drone and missile strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific have awakened ghosts of the 20th century,” we write in a new @stimsoncenter.bsky.social report. In Latin America, a war against Venezuela would be seen as “an imperialist tactic by a superpower neighbor.”
www.stimson.org/2025/a-war-i...
www.stimson.org/2025/a-war-i...
A War in Venezuela Would Not Solve Latin America’s Drug and Dictator Problems • Stimson Center
The Trump administration appears ready for war to remove Maduro, but supporters ignore the steep costs and potential damage to U.S. regional relationships.
www.stimson.org
November 14, 2025 at 8:39 PM
U.S. “drone and missile strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific have awakened ghosts of the 20th century,” we write in a new @stimsoncenter.bsky.social report. In Latin America, a war against Venezuela would be seen as “an imperialist tactic by a superpower neighbor.”
www.stimson.org/2025/a-war-i...
www.stimson.org/2025/a-war-i...
Nicolás Maduro is as villainous as Stroessner, Pinochet, or Rafael Trujillo. But toppling his dictatorship is no simple task, I told @theguardian.com, “and it certainly would be enormously complex to put Venezuela back together.”
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Stakes rise as Trump deploys world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean
Expert says military action may be ‘imminent’ in Venezuela, while others suspect deployment is a negotiating tactic
www.theguardian.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Nicolás Maduro is as villainous as Stroessner, Pinochet, or Rafael Trujillo. But toppling his dictatorship is no simple task, I told @theguardian.com, “and it certainly would be enormously complex to put Venezuela back together.”
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Trump shows little interest in restoring Venezuela’s democracy. Should the regime survive, the U.S. would likely pivot to dealmaking with the dictatorship. “We are both on the verge of war and on the verge of total normalization,” I told @theguardian.com.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Stakes rise as Trump deploys world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean
Expert says military action may be ‘imminent’ in Venezuela, while others suspect deployment is a negotiating tactic
www.theguardian.com
November 12, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Trump shows little interest in restoring Venezuela’s democracy. Should the regime survive, the U.S. would likely pivot to dealmaking with the dictatorship. “We are both on the verge of war and on the verge of total normalization,” I told @theguardian.com.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Copper mining “would be really helpful to accumulate hard currency, which is not a minor advantage for Argentina,” I told @wsj.com. “But it will never drive enough employment and linkages in the economy to be transformative.”
www.wsj.com/world/americ...
www.wsj.com/world/americ...
Milei Wants to Turn Argentina Into a Mining Powerhouse
The Argentine president is tearing down barriers for digging up his country’s vast reserves of copper.
www.wsj.com
November 12, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Copper mining “would be really helpful to accumulate hard currency, which is not a minor advantage for Argentina,” I told @wsj.com. “But it will never drive enough employment and linkages in the economy to be transformative.”
www.wsj.com/world/americ...
www.wsj.com/world/americ...
Trump will reportedly prioritize Latin America in his national security strategy. “It’s going to be difficult to actualize that strategy without allies in the region, and the U.S. has very few partners at the moment,” I explain on @warontherocks.bsky.social.
warontherocks.com/episode/the-...
warontherocks.com/episode/the-...
What Is Argentina's Value to the United States? - War on the Rocks
warontherocks.com
October 30, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Trump will reportedly prioritize Latin America in his national security strategy. “It’s going to be difficult to actualize that strategy without allies in the region, and the U.S. has very few partners at the moment,” I explain on @warontherocks.bsky.social.
warontherocks.com/episode/the-...
warontherocks.com/episode/the-...
I was delighted to moderate a conversation Wednesday with Chilean Amb. Juan Gabriel Valdés at @johnshopkinssais.bsky.social.
October 30, 2025 at 7:14 PM
I was delighted to moderate a conversation Wednesday with Chilean Amb. Juan Gabriel Valdés at @johnshopkinssais.bsky.social.
U.S. soybean farmers are understandably frustrated to see China boycotting their crops in favor of Argentine producers—even as the U.S. bails out Argentina. But as I explain on The 21st Show on @npr.org, it’s the U.S. trade war, not Argentina, that’s to blame.
will.illinois.edu/21stshow/sto...
will.illinois.edu/21stshow/sto...
Bitter harvest for Illinois soybean farmers | Illinois Public Media
There's trouble for soybean farmers in Illinois and beyond. Drought conditions have made for a faster-than-average harvest, but a big problem remains the ongoing trade war and the lack of places for f...
will.illinois.edu
October 30, 2025 at 6:38 PM
U.S. soybean farmers are understandably frustrated to see China boycotting their crops in favor of Argentine producers—even as the U.S. bails out Argentina. But as I explain on The 21st Show on @npr.org, it’s the U.S. trade war, not Argentina, that’s to blame.
will.illinois.edu/21stshow/sto...
will.illinois.edu/21stshow/sto...
“The bond between the White House and the Casa Rosada made this election a barometer of Trump’s regional influence,” I wrote in Americas Quarterly. “In that regard, Milei’s midterm success is a feather in Trump’s cap.”
www.americasquarterly.org/article/mile...
www.americasquarterly.org/article/mile...
REACTION: Milei’s Decisive Midterm Election Victory
The Argentine president's party performed better than expected, gaining momentum for his reform agenda.
www.americasquarterly.org
October 29, 2025 at 3:26 PM
“The bond between the White House and the Casa Rosada made this election a barometer of Trump’s regional influence,” I wrote in Americas Quarterly. “In that regard, Milei’s midterm success is a feather in Trump’s cap.”
www.americasquarterly.org/article/mile...
www.americasquarterly.org/article/mile...
Following the U.S. bailout, “the two governments are now inseparable,” I told @newsweek.com. “It remains to be seen how the U.S. uses its leverage—whether to press for opportunities for U.S. mining companies or to drive a wedge between Buenos Aires and Beijing.”
www.newsweek.com/trumps-grand...
www.newsweek.com/trumps-grand...
Trump's grand Latin America strategy starts to bear fruit
Nine months into Donald Trump’s second term, Latin America has become a central focus of U.S. foreign policy.
www.newsweek.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Following the U.S. bailout, “the two governments are now inseparable,” I told @newsweek.com. “It remains to be seen how the U.S. uses its leverage—whether to press for opportunities for U.S. mining companies or to drive a wedge between Buenos Aires and Beijing.”
www.newsweek.com/trumps-grand...
www.newsweek.com/trumps-grand...
“Trump’s rescue was consequential” in Argentina’s midterm elections, I told @bloomberg.com. “It is hard to imagine Milei would have performed this well amid an accelerating run on the peso, with the central bank running out of hard currency.”
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Milei Wins New Chance, and Tough Challenge, to Remake Argentina
A resounding win for Javier Milei’s party in midterm elections late Sunday — with a lifeline from the US — gave the libertarian president new momentum for his quest to overhaul Argentina and break the...
www.bloomberg.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:00 PM
“Trump’s rescue was consequential” in Argentina’s midterm elections, I told @bloomberg.com. “It is hard to imagine Milei would have performed this well amid an accelerating run on the peso, with the central bank running out of hard currency.”
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Trump’s decisive support for Milei could play both ways, I told @nytimes.com. “If Milei succeeds, the U.S. will rightly take some credit for it.” On the other hand, “if Milei’s pro-market reforms crash, then many Argentines will blame the United States.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/w...
Milei’s Win in Argentina Was Rebuke of the Past, Aided by Trump
www.nytimes.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Trump’s decisive support for Milei could play both ways, I told @nytimes.com. “If Milei succeeds, the U.S. will rightly take some credit for it.” On the other hand, “if Milei’s pro-market reforms crash, then many Argentines will blame the United States.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/w...
“Es un impresionante resultado para Milei, y una señal alentadora para los inversores que habían estado reacios a invertir debido a la debilidad legislativa de Milei”, dije a @lanacioncom.bsky.social.
www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/el-...
www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/el-...
El triunfo del Gobierno despeja las dudas sobre el auxilio financiero y refuerza la alianza con EE.UU.
Analistas consultados por LA NACION destacaron la fortaleza electoral que el Gobierno puede mostrar en Washington y señalaron que la ayuda del Tesoro podría ampliarse
www.lanacion.com.ar
October 27, 2025 at 4:15 PM
“Es un impresionante resultado para Milei, y una señal alentadora para los inversores que habían estado reacios a invertir debido a la debilidad legislativa de Milei”, dije a @lanacioncom.bsky.social.
www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/el-...
www.lanacion.com.ar/politica/el-...