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Over the weekend, the United States carried retired a large-scale subject onslaught against Venezuela and abducted President Nicolas Maduro successful a large escalation that sent shockwaves crossed Latin America.
On Monday morning, US President Donald Trump doubled down, threatening action against the governments of Colombia, Cuba and Mexico unless they “get their enactment together”, claiming helium is countering cause trafficking and securing US interests successful the Western Hemisphere.
The remarks revive heavy tensions implicit US interference successful Latin America. Many of the governments targeted by Trump person small appetite for Washington’s involvement, but their equipped forces deficiency the capableness to support the US astatine arm’s length.
US President Donald Trump issues warnings to Colombia, Cuba and Mexico portion speaking to reporters connected Air Force One portion returning from his Florida property to Washington, DC, connected January 4, 2026 [Jonathan Ernst/Reuters]Latin America’s subject capabilities
The US has the strongest subject successful the satellite and spends much connected its subject than the full budgets of the adjacent 10 largest subject spenders combined. In 2025, the US defence fund was $895bn, astir 3.1 percent of its gross home product.
According to the 2025 Global Firepower rankings, Brazil has the astir almighty subject successful Latin America and is ranked 11th globally.
Mexico ranks 32nd globally, Colombia 46th, Venezuela 50th and Cuba 67th. All of these countries are importantly beneath the US subject successful each metrics, including the fig of progressive personnel, subject aircraft, combat tanks, naval assets and their subject budgets.
In a modular warfare involving tanks, planes and naval power, the US maintains overwhelming superiority.
The lone notable metric that these countries person implicit the US is their paramilitary forces, which run alongside the regular equipped forces, often utilizing asymmetrical warfare and unconventional tactics against accepted subject strategies.
(Al Jazeera)Paramilitaries crossed Latin America
Several Latin American countries person agelong histories of paramilitary and irregular equipped groups that person often played a relation successful the interior information of these countries. These groups are typically armed, organised and politically influential but run extracurricular the regular subject concatenation of command.
Cuba has the world’s 3rd largest paramilitary force, made up of much than 1.14 cardinal members, arsenic reported by Global Firepower. These groups see state-controlled militias and neighbourhood defence committees. The largest of these, the Territorial Troops Militia, serves arsenic a civilian reserve aimed astatine assisting the regular service against outer threats oregon during interior crises.
In Venezuela, members of pro-government equipped civilian groups known arsenic “colectivos” person been accused of enforcing governmental power and intimidating opponents. Although not formally portion of the equipped forces, they are wide seen arsenic operating with authorities tolerance oregon support, peculiarly during periods of unrest nether Maduro.
In Colombia, right-wing paramilitary groups emerged successful the 1980s to combat left-wing rebels. Although officially demobilised successful the mid-2000s, galore aboriginal re-emerged arsenic transgression oregon neo-paramilitary organisations, remaining progressive successful agrarian areas. The earliest groups were organised with the engagement of the Colombian subject pursuing guidance from US counterinsurgency advisers during the Cold War.
In Mexico, heavy equipped cause cartels relation arsenic de facto paramilitary forces. Groups specified arsenic the Zetas, primitively formed by erstwhile soldiers, person military-grade weapons and workout territorial control, often outgunning section constabulary and challenging the state’s authority. The Mexican subject has progressively been deployed successful instrumentality enforcement roles successful response.
History of US interference successful Latin America
Over the past 2 centuries, the US has repeatedly interfered successful Latin America.
In the precocious 19th and aboriginal 20th centuries, the alleged Banana Wars saw US forces deployed crossed Central America to support firm interests.
In 1934, President Franklin D Roosevelt introduced the “Good Neighbor Policy”, pledging nonintervention.
Yet during the Cold War, the US financed operations to overthrow elected governments, often coordinated by the CIA, founded successful 1947.
Panama is the lone Latin American state the US has formally invaded, which occurred successful 1989 nether President George HW Bush. “Operation Just Cause” ostensibly was aimed astatine removing President Manuel Noriega, who was aboriginal convicted of cause trafficking and different offences.
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