Maybe Neglecting Latin America Isn't Such a Bad Thing

If our Venezuela policy is what U.S. engagement looks like, many neighboring countries may prefer neglect.

Paul Poast wants the Biden administration to gets its act together in Latin America:

While no one is advocating a return to the domineering and paternalistic nature of that policy, the Biden administration should return to the fundamental principle underpinning the Monroe Doctrine—that Latin America is the core interest of U.S. foreign policy. Doing so will require something that the Biden administration has thus far failed to come up with: a coherent policy toward the region.

Poast makes a good case that Biden’s engagement with Latin America has been spotty and inconsistent, but considering what happens when the U.S. pays closer attention to our neighbors maybe it is for the best that the U.S. remains distracted elsewhere. One of the criticisms in the column is that Biden hasn’t done anything to back up its pro-democracy rhetoric in this part of the world, but we should remember that the U.S. has been pursuing a crackpot regime change policy in Venezuela in the name of “supporting democracy” for the last four years without success. If that is what U.S. engagement looks like, many neighboring countries may prefer neglect.