The White House Press Secretary, Sarah Saunders, reported on the 10th of April that Donald Trump will remain in the country, because of his employment in developing and preparing a response to the chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma (Eastern Ghouta), located 10 kilometers from Damascus. Two days before, Donald Trump accused Russia and Iran of supporting the criminal regime of Bashar al-Assad, who, as he said, was destroying his own people. During the statement of the Press Secretary, it was noted that the president will remain in the US to monitor the rapidly developing events in the world and undertake operational decisions.
According to a number of humanitarian organizations, on the night of the 7th of April, the helicopter dropped a barrel bomb with chemicals over the city of Douma, which at the moment is defined as the last hotbed of resistance of jihadists and insurgents in the region. Most of the victims – civilians – are women and children, as the activists emphasize. According to the latest information, at least 42 people died, and more than 500 people went to hospitals.
As early as the beginning of the year, when planning the first visit to Latin America of Donald Trump, it was reported that the US president, within the framework of his first Latin American tour, will raise issues of border security, democracy and mutually beneficial trade with partners in the region. Latin Americans were looking forward to the visit of the first person of the USA with impatience, because Latin America is a region that was more influenced by the victory of the billionaire in the presidential elections of the “northern” neighbor.
If you really believe Trump’s words, then on the border with the “southern” neighbor, he intends to construct a real wall. This construction, he said, will be paid by Mexico itself – in the likely plans of Trump to impose a tax on migrant home remittances. After such statements, during his electoral campaign, the Mexicans were really scared of his speech, even when Trump was still a candidate from the Republican Party.
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The sharp statements affected not only the “southern” neighbor of the United States, but also a number of other countries in the region. It is worth recalling that in December of 2014, the former US leader Barack Obama announced a decision to restore relations with Cuba, since the policy of isolating the Island of Liberty has not yielded results. In 2015, after more than a 50-year hiatus in Washington and Havana, the embassies of both countries were reopened, and many of the restrictions that were applied against Cuba were lifted. However, the new administration of Trump immediately took a more categorical position in relation to the Cuban authorities.
In Latin America, the sense of anxiety about the US policy in the region continues to increase. First and foremost, Latin American countries are concerned about the trade and financial relations what are being built with the United States, as well as their future prospects.
Currently, the region is showing the first signs of economic recovery. The repeated statements by Trump about economic measures in the region, in particular, the US president’s plans to tighten migration rules, the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico, duties on Mexican goods, and the transfer of the US automotive plants from Mexico to the US led to the depreciation of national currencies not only in Mexico, but also in a number of Latin American countries that are in the common production chain.
However, the United States is most likely to hit the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the greatest blow to the countries of Latin America.
The Summit of the Americas will once again raise not only regional but also global issues in the field of economy, trade and security. The results of this major regional event will necessarily affect the course of the development of relations between the USA and Latin American countries. How will the Summit of the Americas take place, and will the Vice-President of the United States find common points of contact with regional leaders – is still unclear. However, it’s time for the White House administration to finally realize that the policy in Latin America should be aimed not at building the walls, but on building bridges.