American bombs are tearing apart buildings and lives in Iran, but the shockwaves of those attacks are being felt in parts of Latin America as they trigger old memories and new fears. Even as U.S. President Donald Trump blows hot and cold on Iran, he has begun to speak of Cuba with growing frequency and menace. “I built this great Army. I said, ‘You will never need to use it.’ But sometimes you have to use it. And Cuba is next, by the way,” Mr. Trump told a meeting of investors on March 27 in Miami — a city known for its Cuban community and their opposition towards Havana. “But pretend I didn’t say that,” added Mr. Trump as he heaped praise on himself for the military campaigns against Iran and Venezuela to a raucous crowd.
The kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro still hangs over Latin America as countries fear getting sucked into Mr. Trump’s so-called war on narco-terrorism. Air strikes are already being conducted on the Ecuador-Colombia border as Ecuadorian military carries out a joint operation with American forces. Called “Operation Total Extermination”, the campaign is officially “setting the pace for regional, deterrence-focused operations against cartel infrastructure throughout Latin America”, but poor farmers accuse the government of targeting their land and livestock. The country’s right-wing President Daniel Noboa has declared an “internal armed conflict” — in line with Mr. Trump’s rhetoric.
