First and foremost, as a latin american(Brazilian): fuck off United Shitstains of America.
The U.S. State Department published a five-minute video on social media this week proclaiming that American “dominance” over the Western Hemisphere “will never again be questioned,” invoking a revived and hardline interpretation of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine. Historians say the video distorts the doctrine’s legacy, recasting more than a century of military interventions, regime changes, and territorial seizures as acts of hemispheric stewardship.
A Doctrine Recast as “Destiny”
The video, narrated by Kevin Cabrera, the U.S. ambassador to Panama, retraces milestones from President James Monroe’s original warning to European powers not to re-colonize the Americas. But where Monroe’s declaration was a defensive posture against recolonization, the State Department frames it as the birth of an American “mandate” — a green light for Washington to act as the hemisphere’s ultimate arbiter.
With a tone of pride, the narration highlights the 1899 expulsion of Spain from Cuba and the seizure of Puerto Rico, declaring that the United States “landed on the international stage as an imperial power with dominion over the Caribbean.” The script then moves briskly through Theodore Roosevelt’s corollary — which asserted the right to intervene in Latin American nations deemed “chaotic” — the construction of the Panama Canal, the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Reagan-era interventions against Soviet-aligned groups, and the 1983 invasion of Grenada.
Rather than acknowledge these episodes as acts of coercion or outright conquest, the video presents them as necessary steps to “protect” the Americas from foreign influence — a narrative that scholars and regional officials say whitewashes the violence and sovereignty violations embedded in those interventions.
Timing: China, Trade, and Tensions With Brazil
The video’s release comes one day after China requested to join open consultations led by Brazil at the World Trade Organization, challenging U.S. tariffs imposed on Brazilian goods. Analysts say the timing is no coincidence: the Trump administration has made Latin America a priority theater in its campaign to contain China’s economic influence on the continent.
The simmering trade dispute has spilled into diplomatic hostilities. The State Department confirmed it revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador to Washington, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, after Brasília declined to approve the U.S. ambassador-designate, Daniel “Danny” Perez — a Florida state representative and ally of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The move signals Washington’s willingness to weaponize diplomatic protocols when its preferred nominees are blocked, and underscores the growing rift between President Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Brazil has resisted what it sees as U.S. attempts to meddle in Latin American politics, particularly efforts to bolster conservative movements and pressure judicial processes. U.S. officials, meanwhile, accuse Brasília of “censoring conservatives” and favoring left-leaning groups in legal proceedings — charges the Brazilian government rejects.
A Pattern Beyond Latin America
The assertive posture is not confined to the hemisphere. In February, President Trump threatened to block the opening of a new bridge connecting the U.S. and Canada, demanding compensation for American investments in the project. “I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given,” he posted on social media — a statement that rattled longtime allies and raised fears of economic brinkmanship.
Meanwhile, Trump’s renewed push to assert U.S. control over Greenland — a self-governing territory of Denmark — has strained relations with European allies and within NATO. Copenhagen’s symbolic deployment of troops to the island and European warnings of a potential trade war underscore how Washington’s territorial ambitions are reshaping transatlantic dynamics.
“The Continent Is Ours” — and History Is Up for Grabs
The State Department’s message, delivered in crisp visuals and a confident narrative, is unambiguous: “The continent is ours.” But the video’s selective memory is as revealing as its bravado. By recasting invasions, occupations, and regime changes as episodes of benevolent order-keeping, the U.S. government is not merely celebrating history — it is rewriting it.
Whether the hemisphere will accept that claim — or push back against it — may define the next chapter of American foreign policy. For now, the video stands as both a declaration of intent and a case study in how power can reshape the past to serve the ambitions of the present.
