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A New Column On America’s Backyard, America’s Future – PJ Media

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October 24, 2025
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A New Column On America’s Backyard, America’s Future – PJ Media
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In 1823, President James Monroe announced during an address to Congress that he was not going to allow Europeans to meddle in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere any longer. Latin America and the Caribbean are our backyard, and we must protect them from outside powers at all cost. The Monroe Doctrine was born 





That was United States policy back then, and over 200 years later, it is, perhaps, more relevant than ever. It just looks a little different. Adversaries like China, Russia, and Iran, especially China, aren’t just hanging out in our backyard. They’ve pulled up a lounge chair, cranked up the grill, and jumped in the pool. It’s only a matter of time before they’re in the house, destroying our furniture and eating our food. This is not about imperialism; it’s about building allies and partnerships and countering communist and anti-U.S. influence. 

Thankfully, our current leadership, especially President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, understand this, and regardless of the language they use to frame it or the lack of reporting by the MSM, they have and will continue to take steps to enforce it. This could be our last chance at maintaining American sovereignty.  

Over the last few months, I’ve been ramping up my coverage of the Western Hemisphere and how it relates to our foreign policy because, well, someone has to. Take Venezuela, for example. Before the Trump administration began bombing narco-boats, the MSM and many in Washington acted as if they didn’t know the country existed. And that’s exactly what’s led us to where we are, dealing with cartels, drugs, gangs, violence, mass migration, and our Eastern enemies staking claim in places where they don’t belong. 

With that in mind, I’ve decided to launch a new weekly column: The New Monroe Doctrine. Each Friday, I’ll round up what’s happening in our hemisphere, whether it’s recounting the headlines you might have missed or hitting on some under-reported stories. Probably a mix of both. I’m also planning to launch a second related column next week specifically about China’s influence in our hemisphere and the stories no one’s telling, but more on that later. 





So, let’s get started. 

Latin America has been hot this week — the good, the bad, and the completely nutty (looking at you Gustavo Petro). And it’s still heating up as I write this. 

More Narco-Boats Go Boom 

First of all, in the last 24 hours, I believe we’ve knocked out three narco-boats: two in the Pacific Ocean and one in the Caribbean Sea. Both Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have also used some strong language regarding these actions and how they will continue. “Just as Al Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people. There will be no refuge or forgiveness — only justice,” Hegseth posted on X on Thursday. The president echoed that statement when he called the cartels the “ISIS of the Western Hemisphere” and said that Joe Biden had basically surrendered our country to them. 

Hegseth also posted videos of each explosion, which I’ll share here because I know y’all love watching them. Look closely before the boats blow up, and you’ll see that despite what Petro and Nicolás Maduro claim, there’s no way these are humble little fishermen. Narco-fishermen, maybe.  

Strike 1: 

Strike 2: 





Strike 3: 

As Rubio said on Wednesday, “These are drug boats. If people want to stop seeing drug boats blown up, stop sending drugs to the United States.” Plain and simple. 

The president also said on Thursday that we aren’t mitigating the cartels. We’re eliminating them, and we won’t stop until they’ve been fully eradicated. Oh, and this just happened:  

About Those “Land Strikes…”  

Another thing I want to point out is that the the president said something along the lines of how now that we’ve got we’ve got the seas under control, we’re going to have to do it on land, too. I’m paraphrasing, but many have taken that to mean that we’re about to start striking Venezuela. I’m not ruling out that we are eventually going to take Maduro out militarily, but I don’t think that’s what the president meant when he said that. 

As a matter of fact, Rubio took some questions before boarding his plane to Israel Wednesday night, and a reporter asked him about it. “Well, I don’t have anything to announce on our strategy with regards to that,” he said. “Suffice it to say that there are dogs on the ground as well. We’re aware of that. And the good news about that too is that we have officials in Ecuador, in El Salvador, in Guatemala, in these countries in the region, in Panama.” 





So, I think what the president was referring to is that we’re looking at the drug-running paths in Latin America and aiming to stop them with the help of these allies. That was not an indicator of “war with Venezuela,” as many are saying. There will be no “war with Venezuela.” There will be action taken against Maduro, who is holding the country hostage.   

If I had to guess, we’re still just using intimidation tactics and keeping a lot of pressure on Maduro, in hopes that he goes down without much dirty work, perhaps through something more internal. Politico actually has an interesting interview with James B. Story, former ambassador to Venezuela, that explains that a little more in depth. 

Oh, and for those of you questioning why the U.S. should care: I’ve written a lot about that in recent months, but here’s a new angle I present to you today: BLM, Antifa, Hezbollah, and More: Inside Maduro’s Global Web. 

Colombia’s Clown Gets Sanctioned 

The big story that you might have missed this week is that Colombia’s Petro put his freak flag on full display. I’ve written a lot about it, so I won’t rehash those details. I’d find it kind of hilarious if he wasn’t putting the lives of so many Colombians at risk. Colombia itself is largely very pro-U.S., but they’ve elected this hippie Huge Chavez, who reportedly likes to sample his own product, and he is not popular at all. He’s the first left-wing president in the nation’s history, and needless to say, he may be their last.  

You can read more about what went on this week here:

Colombia’s Petro Picks a Fight With Trump. Spoiler Alert: FAFO

Petro’s Manic Monday: El Presidente Throws a Tantrum, Threatens to ‘Take Out’ Trump

Maduro and Petro Take Their Bromance to the World Stage, but It Looms in Rubio’s Shadow

What I will tell you is that Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent just announced sanctions against Petro and his “support network” as I was writing this.   





“Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded to the highest rate in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans,” he said. “President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity. Today, President Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation and make clear that we will not tolerate the trafficking of drugs into our nation.”  

Here’s more from the Treasury Department: 

Colombia remains the world’s top producer and exporter of cocaine. Cocaine from Colombia is often purchased by Mexican cartels, who then smuggle it into the United States via the southern border.  It is a scheduled substance that is a significant drug threat to the United States, despite Gustavo Petro’s recent, flippant comparison of the use of the drug to whiskey. 

Gustavo Petro is a former guerilla member who was elected to the Colombian presidency in 2022.  He has provided narco-terrorist organizations with benefits under the auspices of his “total peace” plan, among other policies, which have led to record highs of coca cultivation and cocaine production. On September 15, 2025, because of Gustavo Petro and his cronies’ actions, the President determined Colombia is a major drug transit or major illicit drug producing country and that it is “failing demonstrably” to uphold its drug control responsibilities. 

Gustavo Petro’s erratic behavior has also driven Colombia further apart from its partners in additional ways.  In 2024, he shared confidential information obtained via secure anti-money laundering communication channels, threatening the integrity of the international financial system and leading to the suspension of Colombia’s Financial Intelligence Unit from The Egmont Group.  He also has allied himself with the narco-terrorist regime of Nicolas Maduro Moros and the Cartel de Los Soles. 

Gustavo Petro is being designated today pursuant to E.O. 14059 for having engaged in, or attempted to engage in, activities or transactions that have materially contributed to, or pose a significant risk of materially contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production.





The Good News 

Everything in Latin America isn’t bad. First up, Bolivia took to the polls on Sunday and elected their first center-right, anti-socialist president in decades. Rodrigo Paz is pro-capitalism, pro-U.S. He’s conducted several interviews since his win, and a couple of things he hammers home: 1. He’s excited to partner with the U.S.; 2. He doesn’t recognized Maduro and is willing to help restore Venezuela to democracy. I’m looking forward to see what Paz does for Bolivia and the entire hemisphere. 

Back to Venezuela. Pope Leo canonized the country’s first saints over the weekend. This, along with Maria Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize this month, is finally putting a spotlight on the country and showing many in the world what the people there are up against. What I found the most powerful from the ceremony was that activists printed out the name and photos of 800 political prisoners — the ones Maduro jails arbitrarily because they do not support him — and created a stunning visual wall in Rome. While thousands of idiots in the U.S. were out protesting about “no kings,” these people tried to show the world what it’s really like to live under tyranny.  

That’s one thing that’s hard to cope with when you spend a lot of time covering parts of the world that aren’t as free as the U.S. You see the atrocities, the tyranny, the starvation, the medical crises, the threats, the voiceless — then you see upper middle class white liberals crying about how Trump has taken away their rights or you see the MSM covering a construction project at the White House like it’s World War III, and you just realize how spoiled so many in our country have become. I can’t take these people seriously. They’ll never know what it’s really like for people who aren’t free.   





But I digress. 

I’ll wrap this up now before my editors’ eyes glaze over, but I hope you’ll join me every Friday for “The New Monroe Doctrine.” This is merely an introductory taste — I hope to keep digging a lot deeper and cover the stories no one else is, as well. 

Unfortunately, Rubio isn’t sending me exclusives… yet, but I’ll do my best to find them on my own for y’all!  







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