The priority is to secure the US’ backyard before anything else.
The protection and development of the Western Hemisphere is a cornerstone of the Trump administration’s defense policies.
And this, of course, is not just idle talk, as the US is shifting $52 million in military aid to that end.
Resources once destined for countries in Europe and the Middle East will now help back allied governments in the Americas.
BREAKING: US strips millions in military aid from Europe and the Middle East to support Trump-aligned governments in Latin America — AP
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) September 15, 2026
Euronews reported:
“It comes after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a trip to South America last week, where he met with the conservative leaders of Peru, Colombia and Ecuador to pledge further support and cooperation.
The US State Department notified Congress on Tuesday that it would divert the funds from Iraq, Tunisia and NATO members Slovakia and North Macedonia to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Panama.
The US State Department said the funding would go towards combatting ‘narcoterrorism in our backyard’ and helping ‘continue to secure the Panama Canal’, adding that it would ‘prevent adversaries from establishing strategic footholds in our hemisphere’.”
BREAKING: The U.S. is stripping $52 million in military aid to Europe and the Middle East to back Trump-allied governments in Latin America. https://t.co/z4OUhKbSDb
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 15, 2026
From strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats to going as far as capturing former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, Trump has made it clear that there’s a new sheriff in the continent.
“In Europe, however, Trump has made no secret of his wish to reduce the US’ role, repeatedly hitting out at European NATO allies over their defense spending and threatening to withdraw American forces from the continent.”
The Trump administration is stripping tens of millions of dollars in U.S. military assistance from countries in Europe and the Middle East to support conservative-leaning governments in Central and South America.https://t.co/XP17BJKk1S
— The Washington Sun (@washingtonsun) September 15, 2026
El Pais reported:
“The State Department also noted that over the past decade Congress allocated to the Middle East ‘around 80% of foreign military financing funds.’
[…] That, the department said, does not align with the current administration’s foreign policy, which declares Latin America the region of the world of greatest interest to its national security. According to the State Department, the new funds will allow recipient countries to reduce their dependence on military supplies from ‘adversaries’ of the United States.
[…] The four countries benefiting from the fund reallocation have agreed to join the operational framework of the Shield of the Americas, an alliance of conservative-led countries with which the Trump administration aims to fight organized crime and, above all, drug trafficking in Latin America. The program could also include the development of joint military operations on the territories of those countries, similar to the operation carried out last spring with Ecuadorian forces.”
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