Trump’s Latin America Policy: Illegal Immigration Control, Drug Enforcement, and Anti-Socialism

Trump’s recent pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández fits into his broader Latin America strategy in a way that is consistent, deliberate, and rooted in three themes that guide his approach to the entire region: illegal immigration control, anti-drug enforcement, and opposition to leftist and authoritarian governments aligned with Cuba, Venezuela, and increasingly China. President Trump has treated illegal immigration as the primary national-security challenge coming from Latin America. His policies include externalizing asylum processing so migrants apply outside the United States, pressing governments to accept more deportees, and using tariffs, trade negotiations, and visa restrictions as leverage….