The election of Abelardo de la Espriella as Colombia’s president marks another step in Latin America’s transformation into a region more deeply aligned with the political style and policy priorities of President Trump, according to The Wall Street Journal.
From the Andes to Central America, new leaders have taken power with populist mandates centered on free-market economic policies and iron-fisted security strategies. This pivot has been fueled by anti-incumbent sentiment after years of sluggish economic growth and, for some countries, a surge in transnational organized crime, the Journal reported.
The Trump administration now finds itself with an unprecedented network of partners willing to cooperate on aggressive anti-migration enforcement and joint counternarcotics operations, according to the report. The ideological group also offers the U.S. a counterweight to try to block Chinese economic expansion in the region, the Journal reported.
Latin America’s two biggest countries — Brazil and Mexico — remain run by leftist governments, though both have working relations with Trump. Brazil’s presidential election on Oct. 4 could tip the region even further into the Trump orbit if Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, edges out President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, according to the Journal.
Fresh off a razor-thin runoff victory, de la Espriella, a flamboyant millionaire defense lawyer and political outsider who calls himself “the Tiger,” is set to take office on Aug. 7. He has promised a total war on Colombia’s armed narcotics-trafficking groups. De la Espriella is an American citizen who contributed money to Trump’s 2024 campaign and received a full-throated endorsement from the U.S. president. With little support in congress, he faces headwinds to cutting ministries and shedding state jobs, as well as his plans to build mega-prisons, according to the Journal.
In Chile, President José Antonio Kast’s victory in December was driven by public anxiety over immigration and public safety, the Journal reported. Kast is implementing strict border controls and deploying military forces to Chile’s northern frontiers to halt unauthorized migration. Domestically, his administration has launched the Chile Moves Forward initiative, combining budget cuts and an expanded police mandate to go after crime syndicates. His disapproval ratings have risen sharply, according to the Journal.
In Bolivia, President Rodrigo Paz successfully broke two decades of mostly left-wing rule in an October election. Paz’s administration aims to restore foreign investor confidence and stabilize the nation’s currency by ending costly fuel subsidies and currency controls that Bolivian officials say could facilitate a financial-aid package from the International Monetary Fund, which is being negotiated, the Journal reported. The government also reopened diplomatic and commercial ties with the U.S., as it courts new investment. Paz’s austerity measures, along with rising living costs, have stoked nearly two months of protests and roadblocks that have worsened fuel and food shortages around the country, according to the Journal. U.S. officials have backed Paz, calling the unrest an “ongoing coup d’état” led by unions and coca farmers allied with the previous leftist government.
In Venezuela, Interim President Delcy Rodríguez has supercharged diplomatic and intelligence cooperation with the U.S. since former leader Nicolás Maduro was ousted in a U.S. military operation in January, according to the Journal. Rodríguez has purged Maduro loyalists from the government as she tries to please Trump and, political analysts told the Journal, outlast him. The U.S. now serves as the de facto gatekeeper for Venezuela’s economy, managing its oil sales and revenues. Rodríguez’s administration has overhauled energy and mining regulations to reopen the country to American companies.
In Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa started a second term in May 2025, and has since pursued a highly visible, militarized fight against the country’s powerful drug gangs, the Journal reported. Noboa has used the armed forces to patrol major cities and take direct control of the federal prison system. Like the Trump administration, Noboa treats transnational gangs as terrorist organizations, and has focused on expanding prisons while beefing up intelligence and security cooperation with the U.S.
In Peru, President Keiko Fujimori has secured power by leaning hard into the tough-on-crime legacy of her father, Alberto, whose security state was accused of human-rights abuses that led to his downfall, according to the Journal. To combat a rise in extortion and homicide, she has pledged to place Peru’s prisons under direct military administration and allow judges to remain anonymous for high-profile organized crime trials. Her economic plan promises a deregulatory shock designed to pivot Peru away from Chinese state investment and secure more partnerships with the Trump administration.
In Honduras, President Nasry “Tito” Asfura, endorsed by Trump during his campaign, is moving to reverse his leftist predecessor’s foreign policy legacy by restoring formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan and cutting off mainland Chinese influence, the Journal reported. Asfura has pledged to deepen his country’s intelligence sharing with the U.S. to fight cartels and crime organizations involved in trafficking drugs and migrants.
In Costa Rica, President Laura Fernández Delgado, elected in February, has worked to deepen an already warm relationship with Trump, whom she calls an “unconditional ally,” according to the Journal. Her administration is focused on tightening immigration enforcement along the southern border with the help of U.S. surveillance technology, changing laws to deal harshly with rising gang-related crime, and aligning Costa Rica’s trade policies directly with the U.S. Her government has increased information sharing with U.S. law enforcement agencies to combat crime organizations while accepting deportees from third countries.