ADMIRAL Alvin Holsey demonstrated selective outrage over the fear of multipolarity in the Western hemisphere. The Southcom commander confirmed the official US military doctrine for the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region on February 13, before the Senate armed services committee. 

In a poorly disguised assertion of US hegemony, Holsey envisioned “an enduring commitment to democratic principles … to engender security, capability, democratic norms, and resilience that fuel regional peace, prosperity, and sovereignty.”

Threats to the vision of a Pax Americana

Foremost of the “threats to this vision” is the “methodical incursion into the region” by China, secondarily by Russia, and a distant third by Iran.

Holsey charged China with a “long-term global campaign to become the world’s dominant strategic power in the western hemisphere” and Russia with continuing support for “anti-American authoritarian regimes” and spreading “misinformation throughout the region.” Meanwhile, the “theocratic regime” in Iran “seeks to build political, military, and economic clout in Latin America … where it believes co-operation is achievable.”

These “malign actions,” Holsey argued, run against US national interests, threaten our sovereignty, and pose a “global risk.” Not questioned, of course, is the US presence in the region as part of Washington’s official “full spectrum [world] dominance” posture.

Rather, he lauded US regional military programmes: acquisitions of F-16s by Argentina and Black Hawk helicopters by Brazil, the International Military Education and Training programme spanning 27 regional countries, and the Joint Exercise Programme with over 10,000 participants from 38 countries.

Unlike the US with 76 regional military bases, neither China nor Russia has formal alliances, joint command structures, or large-scale military agreements in the region. In contrast, Colombia is a Nato “global partner,” Argentina and Brazil are “major non-Nato Allies,” and Chile is a key co-operator with Nato. The US is making Guyana a military hotspot, while the US occupation of Cuba with the Guantanamo naval base is rendered invisible.

Holsey also cited humanitarian assistance as “an essential soft power tool,” later adding “with empathy and compassion at the forefront.”

‘Erosion of democratic capitalism’

The admiral’s double-speak continued with the claim that the western hemisphere suffers from an “erosion of democratic capitalism, which in too many countries is being replaced by … authoritarianism.” Not mentioned is the recent US support of Bukele in El Salvador, Bolsonaro in Brazil, Moreno, Lasso and Noboa in Ecuador, Boluarte in Peru, Anez in Bolivia, Uribe and Duque in Colombia, and Milei in Argentina.

China is accused of interfering in “our south,” a new euphemism for “our backyard,” but with the same chauvinistic implications. Holsley testified that Chinese presence “at strategic chokepoints such as the Panama Canal imperil the US’s ability to rapidly respond in the Indo-Pacific should a crisis unfold.” Might such a contingency include US military deployment to the Asia-Pacific, which has been the practice since at least 2003?

The admiral charged China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with doing what the US has consistently failed to do; namely going “beyond raw materials and commodities to include” infrastructure improvements. China accomplished becoming the region’s second major trading partner and the first specifically in South America in less than two decades, where the US had previously enjoyed nearly uncontested dominance for well over a century.

Holsey lauded the region’s abundant natural resources (20 per cent of the world’s oil reserves, 25 per cent of its strategic metals, etc). That these are resources which US multinationals have been pillaging, leaving little in return, remained unstated.

Meanwhile, China is accused of chicanery by providing benevolent short-term benefits to leave regional countries “vulnerable to unsustainable debt, environmental degradation, and informational security risks.” In fact, “no country … owes Chinese creditors more than it owes other major creditor categories, including bondholders, Paris Club creditors, multilateral development banks or other creditors.”

And what are the security risks? Satellites for Venezuela and Bolivia? DeepSeek? Technology transfer? Millions of anti-Covid vaccines?

Outlandishly, the admiral asserted that “the malign activities, harmful influence, and autocratic philosophy of China are a direct threat to the democratic will.” In contrast, he claims the US “offers economic prosperity, sustainable development, and true partnership.” This would be laughable if it weren’t so tragically false. Consider Haiti, under US domination, where the country is in ruins and any pretence of democratic elections has long been dropped.

Predictably, Holsey also charged Russia with “malign” aims because it “seeks to undermine US regional interests” by supporting “like-minded authoritarian regimes in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.”

His concern with Russia’s “state-controlled media to disseminate disinformation and propaganda” is far eclipsed by the 6,200 journalists and the 707 non-state media outlets in more than 30 countries financed by USAid. This is without mentioning the Western giant media conglomerates that overwhelmingly dominate the world’s news reporting.

Transnational criminal organisations and Russian acolytes

Holsey reported that transnational criminal organisations (TCOs) engaged in drug trafficking are connected to the “death of thousands of US citizens.” Not only that but “TCO-driven corruption and instability open space for China, Russia, and other malign actors to achieve strategic ends and further their agendas.”

Yet, as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum noted, organised crime and drug distribution are prevalent within the US itself, which is the largest market for illicit drugs and the source of most weapons used by the cartels to the south. She rhetorically asked: “Who is in charge of distributing the drug? Who sells it in the cities of the US? … Let them start with their country.”

Venezuela is presented as exemplifying the “devastating effects and consequences of authoritarian rule.” Citing the “widespread inability to access life-sustaining necessities” driving economic refugees from Venezuela, Holsey warned: “The large numbers of migrants transiting the region strains our Partner Nations.”

Nicaragua is accused of harbouring a global positioning system, a vaccination plant, and a police academy, all of which are collaborations with Russia, which — horrors — “enjoys the diplomatic status of an embassy.” The “repressive Ortega-Murillo regime” joined the BRI and a free trade agreement with China, including building “a massive solar power plant.”

“Instead of addressing the ongoing humanitarian crises,” the Cuban “authoritarian regime” is accused of “strengthening ties with our strategic competitors and adversaries.” Hypocritically, he mourns: “The long-suffering populace does not have sufficient access to medicine, food, and essential services.”

Outrageously omitted are the effects of draconian Yankee unilateral coercive measures (aka sanctions) on what Holsey calls the “ideological acolytes” of Russia. His narrative blames the victims for the severe consequences of Washington’s sanctions imposed to deliberately produce what the admiral laments.

‘The challenge’

“Time is not on our side” were the possibly prescient words by the commander of Southcom to the senators about the LAC region, which is “on the front lines of a decisive and urgent contest to define the future of our world.”

This may be because the US is not prepared to accept that sovereign and independent nations enter into beneficial trade agreements about their raw materials and infrastructure and join multipolar bodies such as BRI and Brics.

The ultimate logic of US policy is to prevent the region from being part of a multipolar world. As the admiral admitted, “We have redoubled our efforts to nest military engagement with diplomatic, informational and economic initiatives.”

Francisco Dominguez is the national secretary of the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign, and Roger D Harris is with the Task Force on the Americas, the US Peace Council, and the US-based Venezuela Solidarity Network.