Trump takes forceful steps to pressure Latin American leaders to reduce China ties

Trump pressures Latin American leaders to reduce ties with China, invoking U.S. control over the Panama Canal and imposing travel bans.

The U.S. imposed travel bans on three Chilean officials over the possible construction of a submarine fiber optic cable with China, while warning Peru against ceding control over a Chinese-built mega port.

Under pressure from President Donald Trump, who had threatened to take the Panama Canal back under U.S. control, the Panamanian government seized two ports at either end of the canal that had been run by a Hong Kong company.

And when the U.S. captured Venezuela's then-President Nicolás Maduro in January, China saw its extensive interests in the oil-rich country suddenly vulnerable.

The Trump administration in recent weeks has taken forceful steps in one Latin American country after another aimed at curbing the influence and economic dominance of China. As part of his quest to restore U.S. preeminence in the Western Hemisphere, the president is hosting Latin American leaders at his golf resort near Miami this weekend for a summit dubbed the “Shield of Americas.”

Supporters of the White House pivot say it is necessary to push back against what they see as China's malign influence on the U.S. doorstep, warning that it could help tip the world order in Beijing's favour. Others question the effectiveness of such a blunt approach when China's interests in Latin America run deep and wide.

Francisco Urdinez, an associate professor at the Political Science Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, said he worries that Latin American countries will have to pick a side.