Heads of state and officials from Latin America’s leftist governments and authoritarian regimes issued statements this week marking the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, condemning Trump’s firm stance against authoritarianism.
In Cuba, ruled by the communist regime, both figurehead President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla rapidly responded to President Trump’s reintroduction of Cuba to the United States’s list of states sponsor of terrorism on the first day of his administration — six days after former President Joe Biden had Cuba removed from the list.
Both Castro regime officials accused Trump of arrogance and of seeking to wage an “economic war” against Cuba with the intention of “dominating” the nation. The communist regime issued a formal statement on Tuesday, claiming that Trump’s decision to redesignate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism is a “demonstration of the aggressiveness of U.S. imperialism against sovereignty, peace and the well-being of the Cuban population.”
“Trump has interpreted his coming to power as the coronation of an emperor. His ambition includes, just to begin with, the conquest of Canada, the usurpation of Greenland, the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico and the dispossession of the Panamanians of their canal,” the statement read.
“The hegemonic Monroe Doctrine and Manifest Destiny, which were imposed on Latin America and the Caribbean with blood and fire, are the guide of the new government team,” the statement continued.
In Venezuela, while socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro has not publicly commented on the start of Trump’s second term at press time, Interior Minister (and suspected drug lord wanted by U.S. authorities) Diosdado Cabello whish Trump and America “the best” in remarks on Monday.
Cabello claimed that Trump could mean a “new beginning” for the relations between both countries but stressed that any prospective talks with the Trump administration would be up to dictator Maduro — who had Venezuela cut diplomatic ties with the United States in 2019.
“The president has said it I don’t know how many times. Respect is the only thing we ask for. We respect everyone. Let them respect us and we will have transparent relations with whomever,” Cabello said, further stressing that any decision Maduro takes on the matter would have the support of the Venezuelan socialist party.
The Maduro regime, a close ally of communist Cuba’s, condemned Cuba’s reintroduction to the state sponsor of terrorism list in a Foreign Ministry statement describing Trump’s decision as “unfounded and arbitrary” and as an “act of hostility that contradicts the principles of international law and undermines global efforts for peace and cooperation.”
Maduro responded to Cuba’s redesignation as a state sponsor of terror by calling the members of the Cuba and Venezuela-founded ALBA leftist regional trade bloc to increase trade with the Castro regime.
In Colombia, far-left President Gustavo Petro criticized Trump’s decision to revoke 78 executive orders signed by former President Biden — particularly those related to migration and the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement.
No van los EEUU hacia la vanguardia del mundo sino a la retaguardia.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 21, 2025
La Europa decidirá si va detrás de la retaguardia. Solo hay que levantar el brazo con el saludo nazi a lo Elon Musk. https://t.co/WF7SZZr8N6
“The United States is not moving to the forefront of the world but to the rear,” Petro claimed on social media.
The Colombian far-left president also accused Trump of making “dangerous” statements after Trump asserted on Monday that Brazil and Latin America need the United States “much more than we need them” when asked by a Brazilian reporter about the relationship between the United States with Brazil and Latin America.
“We have to wait for the development of relations and politics on the planet, not only in the United States. But I would tell you that the announcement that we are alone and we don’t care about Latin America, etcetera, is a dangerous announcement not only for the world, but for the American society itself,” Petro told reporters on Tuesday.
In Brazil, acting Foreign Minister Maria Laura da Rocha said that, as president, Trump can say “whatever he wants” but that Brazil will analyze the President’s statements.
“President Trump can say whatever he wants. He is the president-elect of the United States and we will analyze every step of the decisions made by the new government. But I believe, as we are a people who believe and have faith in life, that everything will always work out,” da Rocha told reporters.
“We will work and support and seek to work not on our differences, but on our common ground, which are many,” she continued.
Last year, radical leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said prior to the November 2024 U.S. presidential election that a then-prospective Trump victory would be “Nazism with a different face” and that he was “obviously rooting” for former Vice President Kamala Harris to win.
Lula reportedly appeared to change his stance on Monday when he stated during a meeting with his ministers that Trump does not pose a threat to global democracy.
“Some say Trump’s election could cause problems for global democracy. Trump was elected to lead the U.S., and as President of Brazil, I hope he governs effectively. I wish for the American people to prosper and for the U.S. to continue being a historic partner,” Lula said.
In Chile, led by far-left President Gabriel Boric, Science Minister Aisén Etcheverry, acting as spokesman on behalf of the Chilean government, said on Monday that Chile will continue working with the United States “as we always have.”
Etcheverry asserted that the Chilean state’s position does not change due to U.S. presidential changes and noted that working along those lines is “fundamental for our industry, for our universities, for the Chileans who live there.”
“We recently celebrated more than 200 years of diplomatic relations with the United States. It is a relationship that has been projected over time in the different administrations that have existed in both countries, which is a relationship that is political, commercial, cultural, diplomatic, and scientific as well, and that has remained constant over time, independent, I insist, of the different administrations in one country or the other,” Etcheverry said.
The Chilean minister’s statement came days after President Boric accused Trump of “bravado” in statements on an ongoing debate started by President Trump regarding the Panama Canal and the United States’ interest in retaking control of the trade route from Panama.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
