U.S. Relations with Latin America Go from Bad to Worse.

AutorGaudin, Andres

With the Eighth Summit of the Americas just a month-and-a-half away, the US continues to give relations with Latin America short shrift and as many international analysts note, show a level of disrespect to the region that is alienating even its friends and allies (NotiSur, Oct. 20, 2017).

"It's been said that other Washington administrations didn't care about Latin America, and that's true. But what's happening now is dramatically worse," Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, told BBC Mundo earlier this year. "The disinterest in the region is unprecedented. [But] it could still get worse ... It's possible we haven't seen the low point yet."

Shifter's comment came less than two weeks after Trump reportedly used the term "shithole" to describe Haiti, Guatemala, El Salvador, and certain African countries.

Diplomats across the globe, including from the UN, don't mince words when talking about Trump's attitude and remarks. In recent weeks, it's been common to hear terms like racist, xenophobe, stupid, insulting, embarrassing, repugnant, and many others to describe the US leader.

"I am sorry, but there is no other word one can use but racist," Rupert Colville, the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in response to Trump's rant, in which the president questioned why the US should accept immigrants from Central American, Caribbean, and African countries. "You can't dismiss entire countries and continents as 'shitholes' whose entire population is not white and therefore are not welcomed."

Trump's behavior has also had repercussions within the US diplomatic corps. On Jan. 12, just as 415 soldiers with the US Southern Command were preparing to conduct joint military operations (that will extend until July) with the Panamanian armed forces, the US ambassador in Panama, John Feeley, resigned, saying he no longer felt comfortable serving the Trump administration.

Interestingly, the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, didn't emulate the African Union or the group of 54 African ambassadors accredited by the UN and demand that Trump retract his remarks so as to repair the damage caused by what US Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat for Illinois, called "hateful, vile and racist" language.

Terminating TPS

Trump tried to deny the profane words he used, but the comments--expressed during a meeting in the White House--were heard by numerous lawmakers, both Democrats and...

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