Conventional warfare isn’t the issue at hand. The real problem lies in the geographic makeup of Latin America. We’re talking jungles, mountains, and fragmented population centers. Doesn’t take a genius to figure out what evolves from that…paramilitaries, insurgency, and a big pain in the ass for anyone trying to project power.

This has kept LatAm relatively peaceful since it’s hard to fight eachother. However, this also means that when toppling a government, most of the institutional capacity falls with it. So, the US would need a real, solid cleanup plan, or it risks a repeat of Iraq.

We’re heading towards a modern version of dollar diplomacy, where the US uses power to enforce US economic interests in Latin America. This is a messy and morally fraught endeavour that should not be taken lightly.

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