Progressive Democrats introduce House resolution calling for end to Monroe Doctrine

Washington DC - Representatives Nydia Velazquez and Delia Ramirez on Tuesday introduced a resolution calling for an end to the Monroe Doctrine amid the Trump administration's increasingly aggressive actions in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Representatives Nydia Velazquez (l.) and Delia Ramirez have introduced the New Good Neighbor Act calling for an end to the Monroe Doctrine.
Representatives Nydia Velazquez (l.) and Delia Ramirez have introduced the New Good Neighbor Act calling for an end to the Monroe Doctrine.  © Collage: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP & ALLISON ROBBERT / AFP

The New Good Neighbor Act would require the Department of State to formally confirm that the Monroe Doctrine is no longer a part of US foreign policy and to develop a "New Good Neighbor" policy in its stead.

The measure further calls for the termination of all unilateral economic sanctions imposed through executive orders, the declassification of all government archives related to past instances of US intervention, and other steps to improve relations with Latin American and Caribbean countries.

"This administration's aggressive stance toward Latin America makes this resolution critical," Velazquez said in a statement.

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"Their 'Donroe Doctrine' is simply a more grotesque version of the interventionist policies that have failed us for two centuries," the New York Democrat continued.

"We need to finally leave the Monroe Doctrine behind and pursue a foreign policy grounded in mutual respect and shared prosperity."

Donald Trump asserts "Donroe Doctrine"

The Monroe Doctrine has been invoked to justify unilateral US interventions in Central and South America.
The Monroe Doctrine has been invoked to justify unilateral US interventions in Central and South America.  © IMAGO / Newscom World

The Monroe Doctrine, outlined by President James Monroe in his 1823 State of the Union address, declared that any intervention by foreign powers in the Americas would be viewed as a threat to the US.

Over the centuries, the doctrine has been repeatedly invoked to justify US attempts to dominate the Western Hemisphere and to undermine local democratic processes.

Donald Trump has coined the term "Donroe Doctrine" to describe his foreign policy which relies on military intervention and extreme economic pressure to assert US supremacy in the Americas.

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Ramirez said, "For more than 200 years, the United States has used the Monroe Doctrine to justify a paternalistic, damaging approach to relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. As a result, the legacy of our nation's foreign policy in those regions is political instability, deep poverty, extreme migration, and colonialism."

"It is well past time we change our approach," she added.

Rashida Tlaib urges end to "policy of domination"

Representative Rashida Tlaib is urging the Trump administration to "let Cuba live" amid the devastating US oil blockade.
Representative Rashida Tlaib is urging the Trump administration to "let Cuba live" amid the devastating US oil blockade.  © Kevin Dietsch / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Since returning to the White House, Trump has waged a militarized assault on Black and brown communities in the US, sending thousands of federal troops into cities as part of its mass deportation drive – all while adopting an increasingly violent foreign policy in the Americas.

The president has repeatedly threatened to annex Greenland, take back control of the Panama Canal, and make Canada the US' "51st state."

In January, US special forces invaded Venezuela, bombing the capital city of Caracas and abducting President Nicolas Maduro in order to tap the country's vast oil reserves.

The administration continues to authorize lethal strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific which have killed at least 130 people to date.

Late last month, Trump signed an executive order to impose additional tariffs on countries that sell oil to Cuba as his administration aims to cut off the island nation's access to fuel.

"The people of Cuba are starving because of our country," Representative Rashida Tlaib said during a Tuesday press conference on the New Good Neighbor Act. "This is pure cruelty, and we all say it together: let Cuba live!"

"We must stand in solidarity with the peoples of the hemisphere and our shared struggle for peace and justice and reject this policy of domination once and for all."

Cover photo: Collage: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP & ALLISON ROBBERT / AFP

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