The affair was significant enough to be announced during the Middle East war involving the US army. It was Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s War Secretary, who revealed the new concept a few days ago: the “great North America”, as it is called, a vast area located north of the equator. According to him, this is the “security perimeter” of the United States.
This zone includes the United States, as well as several sovereign states like Canada, Mexico, and even, according to the geographical indication given by the minister, French Guiana. “From the equator to Greenland, from Alaska to French Guiana,” he explained.
The problem is that this announcement was not made in a diplomatic meeting of the nations involved, but at the United States Southern Command. Are these countries even aware that they are now part of this “security perimeter” defined by Washington?
This initiative extends the revival of the Monroe Doctrine, coined in the 19th century to keep non-American interference off the continent. It formalizes the updating of the concept of “spheres of influence” that was thought to have evolved since the end of the Cold War.
It is nothing more than a reshaping of the world. The Trump administration has been working on it since day one, after describing the death of the post-World War II international order.
Donald Trump believes he has all the rights in his hemisphere, north and south, as he demonstrated in Venezuela in January, by capturing President Nicolas Maduro, and as shown in Cuba, subject to a severe oil blockade. Yesterday, Trump authorized a Russian tanker to reach Cuba; he has the power of life and death in the region, beyond any rule of law.
It is unknown in detail what this security perimeter implies, but if Venezuela and Cuba are its embodiment, the sovereignty of states is at risk, including Greenland, which Donald Trump has not abandoned owning, despite his retreat in January in Davos.
Who is the target? His name was not mentioned, but it is clearly China. Pete Hegseth described the ownership of ports or infrastructure by unnamed “adversaries” at strategic points on the continent, such as the Panama Canal, as a “threat”. The US forced Panama to cut ties with the Hong Kong company Hutchison that owned the ports.
The War Secretary denounced the concept of “Global South” which excludes Western countries but includes some of their adversaries like China. It is a real reconquest of America’s work after letting Beijing become Latin America’s top partner.
While his army wages a new war in the Middle East, Donald Trump continues his hegemonic dream without caring about sovereignty and the people. A program reminiscent of the 19th century, the era of the most raw and uninhibited imperialism.
