President Trump is launching an unprecedented pressure campaign across Latin America, using visa sanctions, port seizures, and a major summit to force regional governments to dramatically reduce economic and strategic ties with China, marking a definitive shift in U.S. hemispheric policy.
In a sweeping series of actions, the Trump administration has targeted key Chinese infrastructure projects and alliances across Latin America, signaling a dramatic return to great-power competition in the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. imposed travel bans on three Chilean officials over a proposed submarine fiber optic cable with China, a sanction confirmed by Associated Press reporting. Separately, Panamanian authorities seized two critical ports at either end of the Panama Canal that were operated by a Hong Kong-based firm, an action detailed in a separate report. These moves follow the U.S. capture of Venezuela’s former President Nicolás Maduro, which exposed China’s extensive oil interests in the country to immediate risk.
The campaign is escalating toward a pivotal moment: President Trump will host Latin American leaders at his Doral, Florida, golf resort this weekend for a summit dubbed the “Shield of Americas,” where he will directly press allies and rivals alike to distance themselves from Beijing. This represents the most assertive U.S. diplomatic offensive in the region since the Cold War, explicitly framing China as a security threat whose economic penetration must be reversed.
The Deep Roots of Chinese Influence
Trump’s current pressure is a direct response to two decades of Chinese economic expansion that quietly eclipsed U.S. dominance. In 2001, Cuba was the only Latin American nation trading more with China than with the United States. By 2023, every South American country except Paraguay and Colombia conducted greater trade volume with China, a transformation tracked by Francisco Urdinez, associate professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, in his book “Economic Displacement: China and the End of US Primacy in Latin America.”
China’s advantage stems from filling infrastructure gaps the U.S. abandoned. “The U.S. did not invest in the industries that the developing world is eyeing to close their infrastructure gaps. The U.S. is not investing in green energy; the U.S. is not investing in green mobility,” explains Rebecca Ray, a senior academic researcher at Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center. “Meanwhile, over the last 20 years, China has leapfrogged technologically into these new industries.” Between 2014 and 2023, China provided approximately $153 billion in loans and grants to the region—more than triple the $50.7 billion from the U.S.—making it the largest official sector financier, according to AidData.
Security Fears and Strategic Assets
The U.S. National Security Strategy released in December explicitly cites “years of neglect” for America’s waning influence and vows to deny “non-Hemispheric competitors the ability to position forces or other threatening capabilities, or to own or control strategically vital assets, in our Hemisphere.” This doctrine underlies the current pressure campaign.
Five Latin American nations—Panama, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras—have switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing since 2016, seeking economic benefits. Yet seven of the world’s 12 remaining Taiwan allies are in Latin America, highlighting the region as a pivot point in U.S.-China tensions. Beijing’s sale of weapons and police equipment, along with training programs, complements its port investments. The Chinese-built port in Chancay, Peru—one of the deepest in Latin America—has sparked particular alarm in Washington over potential military use.
Republican Representative John Moolenaar, chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, supports the administration’s stance: “President Trump is right to focus on defending the Western Hemisphere from China. President Trump has made it clear we stand with our friends in the region against China’s efforts to undermine America’s interests.”
Latin America’s Precarious Position
Regional leaders now face an untenable choice. Enrique Millán-Mejía, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, notes growing discontent with China’s investment footprint: “There is some discontent about the presence of China as an investor and how the footprint and the outcome of those investments has not been significantly positive for the economy, and they are trying to align more with the U.S.—with the promise that the U.S. might invest in strategic sectors.”
Yet China’s entrenched position in infrastructure, logistics, security, and technology presents a formidable obstacle. Millán-Mejía expects pragmatism: “For Latin America, it’s very important to have a very good and close relationship with the U.S., because the U.S. is very near to them. But obviously, from an economic standpoint, it’s good to keep at least trade relations with China.”
Urdinez foresees fragmentation: “Trump’s approach is making hedging increasingly difficult. The most likely outcome is a more fragmented region. Right-leaning governments will align more closely with Washington, while left-leaning governments will maintain or deepen ties with China. Countries caught in the middle will try to manage the tension case by case.”
China’s Unwavering Stance
Beijing views its Latin American engagements as pure commerce, not a geopolitical contest. “There’s no competition with the U.S. for dominance from the Chinese view,” says Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center. “They will prioritize protection of their assets and will not give up facilities such as a port without a fight.”
China expects reciprocity. “What they are trying to do is to argue that Taiwan is fairly and squarely in China’s sphere of influence,” Sun explains. “If the U.S. expects China to respect its own definition, then the U.S. should also respect China’s definition of the Western Pacific, especially Taiwan, to be a core national interest for China.”
The Road Ahead
The “Shield of Americas” summit will test whether Trump’s coercive diplomacy can reverse years of Chinese inroads. While the U.S. holds geographic proximity and security guarantees, China’s economic integration—particularly in sectors like green energy and telecommunications—is already deep. The coming months will reveal whether Latin American nations can extract tangible U.S. investment in exchange for curtailing Chinese partnerships, or if they will resist pressure to maintain economic flexibility.
This reordering of hemispheric alliances will define not only regional geopolitics but also the global balance of power. For nations caught between superpowers, the stakes involve sovereignty, economic development, and the risk of becoming pawns in a new Cold War.
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