WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Donald Trump in his first week back in the White House has offered an early preview to his second-term foreign policy approach: Talk loudly and wield a big stick.
Over the weekend, Trump threatened to after the country鈥檚 leftist president refused to allow a U.S. military plane returning deported migrants from the South American nation to land in the country.
He鈥檚 needled the Ukrainian president for instead of negotiating with Russia. He鈥檚 flummoxed even Republican allies with his calls on Mideast nations to Palestinian refugees from Gaza, potentially moving out enough of the population to 鈥渏ust clean out鈥 the war-torn area to create a virtual clean slate.
Through economic coercion and sharp rhetoric, Trump is signaling that he intends to be a bull in the China shop in hopes of extracting what he wants from allies and adversaries alike.
In the Colombia episode, quickly relented in the face of Trump's threatened tariffs 鈥 25% on all Colombian goods coming into the country and doubling to 50% in a week. The moment may be just a taste of what is to come.
鈥淎s you saw yesterday, we鈥檝e made it clear to every country that they will be taking back ... people that we鈥檙e sending out,鈥 Trump said in a Monday speech before House Republicans at 鈥淭he criminals and illegal aliens coming from their countries we鈥檙e (sending) them back, and they鈥檙e going to take them back fast. And if they don鈥檛, they鈥檒l pay a very high economic price.鈥
The hard-nosed approach from Trump in the was hardly unexpected. He vowed to quickly reverse the approach of his Democratic predecessor, President Joe Biden, whom he frequently criticized as demonstrating weakness on the international stage when the world was looking for stronger leadership from the world's foremost power.
White House counselor Alina Habba said Petro miscalculated and 鈥渇lexed with the wrong president.鈥
鈥淵ou mess with the bull, you get the horns,鈥 Habba told Newsmax.
Big stick diplomacy
During planning for their return to power, Trump鈥檚 team decided on an aggressive course of action to respond to any nation that moved to block his agenda, hoping to make an example of them right out of the gate, according to a senior official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
And with the heavy reliance on sticks rather than carrots in the opening days of Trump 2.0, the administration has sought to send a clear message that U.S. foreign policy will be driven by an unrelenting commitment to the 鈥淎merica First鈥 worldview.
Soon after the Colombia matter was resolved, Trump posted on social media a photo of himself in a favored by American gangsters in the 1920s as well as a crass acronym that warns not to test him. The posting was a decidedly modern, and Trumpian, turn on President Theodore Roosevelt's use of the West African aphorism to 鈥渟peak softly and carry a big stick."
鈥淚t seems to me that from the Trump administration鈥檚 perspective, they鈥檝e met their goal, right?鈥 said Kevin Whitaker, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Colombia from 2014 to 2019. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just that they got what they wanted. The approval for the flights was secured. But they sent a message about their commitment to use all of the tools in their toolkit in order to achieve them.鈥
It's not just on immigration where Trump is trying to rattle his international counterparts to get in line with blunt talk.
The president said that he used a phone call last week with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to press for OPEC+ to a move that he believes is the most effective way to force Russia to negotiate an end to its war against Ukraine. The kingdom is the most prominent member of OPEC+, a group of major oil exporting nations.
Trump, a critic of the Biden administration's spending to back Ukraine's war effort, pledged during the campaign to bring a quick end to the nearly three-year war.
鈥淥ne way to stop it quickly is for OPEC to stop making so much money,鈥 Trump told reporters, in what could be interpreted as a blunt critique of the Saudis, a key ally. 鈥淪o, OPEC ought to get on the ball and drop the price of oil. And that war will stop right away.鈥
On Saturday evening, Trump also grabbed the attention of Middle East partners, Egypt and Jordan, when he said that the two countries should take hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from war-ravaged Gaza. Officials from both countries flatly rejected the idea, and even a prominent Republican Trump backer, Sen. Lindsey Graham of North Carolina, said he was puzzled by Trump's comments.
鈥淭he idea that all the Palestinians are going to leave and go somewhere else, I don鈥檛 see that to be overly practical,鈥 Graham said in a Sunday morning appearance on CNN鈥檚 鈥淪tate of the Union."
Rubio heads to Central America
The dispute with Colombia's Petro comes as Trump is for his first international travel as America's top diplomat. The trip will take him to Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
The decision to put an early focus on Central America 鈥 including nations that are central to the success of Trump's mass deportation effort and his bid to clamp down on illegal immigration 鈥 speaks to how big a priority immigration is for Trump out of the gate.
Rubio's stop in Panama also comes as Trump in recent weeks has said he wants the Panama Canal claiming that 鈥淎merican ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form," and that 鈥淐hina is operating the Panama Canal.鈥
Some Panamanians have interpreted Trump鈥檚 remarks as a way of applying pressure on Panama for something else he wants: better control of migration through the Darien Gap. Others have recalled the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama with concern.
To be certain, China鈥檚 growing commercial interest in the Western Hemisphere, including its operation of a port at the canal, have long fueled U.S. concerns about Beijing鈥檚 broader role in global shipping and port operations. The Biden administration shared similar worries, but sought to counter China by rallying wealthy economies to band together against China鈥檚 trillion-dollar 鈥淏elt and Road Initiative,鈥 which has launched a network of infrastructure projects and maritime lanes that snake around large portions of the world.
Colombia 鈥榝irestorm鈥 a preview of what's to come?
The Biden administration also sought to make the case to developing nations that the U.S. offered a better partner than Beijing, which it accused of exploiting poorer nations with 鈥渃oercive and unsustainable lending鈥 to build infrastructure.
But Trump in his approach to Panama has taken a wholly different approach, jostling and threatening an ally to get in line.
Colombia, which was at the center of Sunday's diplomatic hullabaloo, has a strategic partnership with China, but thus far has resisted joining the belt and road project as many of its Latin American and Caribbean neighbors have.
Geoff Ramsey, a senior fellow at the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the Atlantic Council, said that he expects Petro to aggressively pursue infrastructure deals with China moving forward.
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 going to be a source of tensions with Washington,鈥 Ramsey said. 鈥淔or better or for worse, Sunday鈥檚 firestorm may be just a preview of what鈥檚 to come.鈥
