He Democratic victory in both chambers of the United States Congress opens a stage of greater supervision about the Donald Trump’s policy towards Latin America.
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Carolina Jimenezpresident of the Washington Office for Latin American Affairs (Wola), spoke with EL TIEMPO about what will change for the region after the ‘blue wave’ in the Legislative and what Bogotá should do before the new political balance.
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What do you think is the central point that will have the greatest impact for Latin America with the Democrats controlling the US Congress?
With the exception that foreign policy continues in the hands of the Executive branch, the victory of the Democratic party will exercise its role as a counterweight against Trump, who in the last two years has had a quite decisive role in align foreign policy of Latin American countries with Washington’s foreign policy at the level of trade, security and political ideology. I think that, at least on a commercial and security level, We will see an interest from Congress to change some rules game, especially in tariff matters.
And the security policy…
In terms of security is where I think There is going to be a very important counterbalancing exercise. The White House security policy towards Latin America has been a militarized security policy. First, the policy of the so-called fight against narcoterrorism, which has included military attacks in the Caribbean and the Pacific, with at least 244 extrajudicial executions.
That is a policy that will be investigated. In Congress they are going to try to pass resolutions against the War Department or the Department of Defense, they are probably going to open investigations, commissions. I think they are going to be under the microscope.
I also think that there are going to be serious questions to any possibility of increased deployment of US troops to the region. Any attempt by Trump to repeat a January 3rd like the one he It happened in Venezuela in 2026would be very far from happening without Congress opposing it. We are going to have a Congress supervising, investigating and supervising, and those three roles They will try to limit the scope of foreign policy of President Trump.
Democrats Photo:Democrats
Is anything known about the investigations that Democrats will prioritize?
Yes. The congressman Robert Rodriguezwhich will be from January 2027 who chair the Supervisory Committeehe Oversight Committeetalked about the four areas on which he will focus his research. The first one he named was the Trump family for illicit enrichment. Imagine what that is like, the fact that they announce that They will investigate the president’s family It means that Trump and his family will probably have to look for lawyers.
Furthermore, he pointed out the Epstein filesas well as the Department of Homeland Security and immigration policy. And, finally, administrative corruption. These investigations probably They are going to imply a deterioration of the presidential figurewhich could have an indirect impact on his leadership as a foreign policy figure.
Imagine what that is like, the fact that they announce that They will investigate the president’s family It means that Trump and his family will probably have to look for lawyers.
Plus, they will have control of the wallet…
He budget is something that Congress manages and that the president has to negotiate. This will also have an impact in Latin America because the foreign aid will now be conditional. This, by the way, is something that will greatly influence the Colombian-American relationship, because if before the president Abelardo De la Espriella I expected to have a large check from Washington without further conditions, that it ends with this democratic victory.
President Abelardo de la Espriella. Photo:Archive EL TIEMPO / Agencies / networks
What would you recommend to Colombia with the legislative change in the US?
If I were President De la Espriella, I would be calling my ambassador in Washington right now to tell her that begin a strategy of repairing broken ties and build bridges with democrats. It is not healthy for a country, in such a strategic bilateral relationship, to have deep differences with a Congress that may be adverse to it. The most logical thing is that maintain bipartisan relations.
It must be kept in mind that the Democrats could win the presidential election in two years. That is, it could be the party that exercises US foreign policywhile the president of Colombia still has time in power. So, this is what I would recommend to any foreign ministry official in Latin America, including especially those in Argentina and Colombia.
It must be kept in mind that the Democrats could win the presidential election in two years. That is, it could be the party that exercises US foreign policywhile the president of Colombia still has time in power.
Do you think the Democrats will prioritize Colombia?
For the United States, the relationship with Colombia is also important, and this also has to be clear. It’s not that the Democrats They will come to power to break relations with Colombia. This is a party that has always opted to have a relationship with Colombia based on respect and, above all, on support for civil societyto the peace process at the time and to the implementation of the agreements.
So, there will be conditions…
In any process of aid and cooperation with Colombia, the democrats They are going to pay close attention to the conditionalities that will have to be negotiated with the Executive branch. So, to the Colombian government You’re going to have to talk to those congressmen. and explain what your priorities are. Therefore, I speak of the need to build bridges and not break them.
I believe, for example, that, on issues of fumigation, drug policy, security and the very dynamics of how to resolve the conflict, the democrats they will be very attentive What are the policies that this incoming De la Espriella government is going to implement.
Donald Trump and Delcy Rodríguez during their meeting in New York. Photo:EFE
Let’s talk about Venezuela, how could the way of addressing tutelage change with this new Congress?
I believe that one of the things that the Democrats did, although they were a minority in these two years, especially after January 3, was hold the State Department accountable about the flow of money that was entering the Treasury Department through the sale of Venezuelan oil. As is public knowledge, Venezuelan oil is sold, but it is the United States that collects a good part of those funds, which are being deposited in the United States Treasury.
I think it is a unique case in the world: Venezuela has become a corporate protectorate of the 21st century. and that money is not being audited. Even though the State Department says yes, no one has seen the reports of those audits.
But, Democrats have already asked for accountability…
Well, the State Department had the luxury of ignoring those requests. Now it’s going to be much more difficult. I think the request for accountability is going to be much more decisive. But, beyond those audits, I think there will be further investigations and hearings on the oil deal announced by president trump and the interim president, Delcy Rodríguezwhich has been tremendously opaque.
As is public knowledge, Venezuelan oil is sold, but it is the United States that collects a good part of those funds, which are being deposited in the United States Treasury.
In the political aspect itself, the importance and need for a Transition to democracy has always been a bipartisan issue in the US Congress. It is true that Republicans have not always wanted to antagonize President Trump in Congress, who, we know, has never shown greater interest in democracy and human rights anywhere in the world, including Venezuela. Here I think it is likely that the Democrats want to see an electoral calendar.
Lula da Silva. Photo:X @Lulaoficial.
What are President Trump’s challenges in the face of a region in which Brazil was led by leftist leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Paraguay brought an ally like Santiago Peña to impeachment?
The Americas are giving us a lesson about the limitations of our theoretical frameworks. If you look at the world in general, indicators like those of V-Dem tell you that 70% of the world’s population lives under autocratic governments. But when you look at Latin America, if you consider that Brazil is a democracy and Mexico is a democracy, the 70% of the population still lives in democracy. And if we add the Democratic result, they are showing us that the hemisphere at large is a reserve of democratic resilience. It seems to me, then, that the mere division between the extreme right or the other falls short.
I believe that citizens are showing us that the fundamental mechanisms of democracy work.
Nor can we forget that some of the most consolidated authoritarianisms in Latin America are extreme left.
And we cannot forget that some of the most consolidated authoritarianisms in Latin America are extreme left. If you talk to a Nicaraguan, a Cuban or even a Venezuelan, they are still fighting against extreme left-wing authoritarianism. Added to that is the low popularity of Javier Milei’s government in Argentina, the low popularity of Antonio Kast’s government in Chile, which demonstrate that the Authoritarian right is not at all assured of victory today on the continent.
STEPHANY ECHAVARRÍA – International Editor – EL TIEMPO
@stephechavarria
