By MG Paul E Vallely (ret)
When President Donald Trump convened selected hemispheric partners at Doral, Florida, on March 7 for the Shield of the Americas security cooperation conference, the stated purpose was to solidify a regional alliance against illegal narcotics. But the subtext was clear: to limit Chinese engagement and reduce Chinese influence in the Western Hemisphere. The world has changed dramatically, and we have witnessed the transition of world regions and countries.
President Trump and the United States are responsible for the majority of these shifts. Globalism and Globalists have taken a back seat to these initiatives. Just look at the changes in the Western Hemisphere from the Arctic to the Antarctic. The changes in Europe and the Middle East are mindboggling. The strike on Iran has now changed the Middle East forever and into a future of hope for peace and prosperity.
Looking and focusing more clearly on the Western Hemisphere, we see opportunities for countries like Cuba, Mexico, and Colombia. Eliminating the Cartels and the manufacturing and distribution of deadly drugs are critical to a more civil and healthy society. In this article, we focus on Cuba and its future. We envision a possible Commonwealth or Territory of the United States, much like Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States.
There are choices for the Cuban people regarding their future. Remain poor under a Communist system or accept a future of a democratic, free society. There is a great opportunity for Cubans to join the United States and experience a bright future.
President Trump is moving swiftly to restore the integrity of the Western Hemisphere. The Monroe Doctrine was articulated in President James Monroe’s seventh annual message to Congress on December 2, 1823. According to Monroe, the European powers were obligated to respect the Western Hemisphere as the United States’ sphere of interest. We now call this the Donroe Doctrine for securing the Western Hemisphere.
President Trump’s National Security Strategy makes clear: this Administration will deny adversarial powers the ability to own or control vital assets or threaten the security and prosperity of the United States in our region. The Department of State is working to advance American leadership in our hemisphere, protect our homeland, and ensure access to vital routes and areas throughout our region.
Today, in support of this critical objective, the Department of State is announcing a significant expansion of an existing visa restriction policy that targets those working on behalf of U.S. adversaries to undermine our national interests in our hemisphere, including regional security and democratic sovereignty.
This expanded policy enables us to restrict U.S. visas for nationals of countries in our region who, while within Western Hemisphere countries and while intentionally acting on behalf of adversarial countries, their agents, or enterprises, knowingly direct, authorize, fund, or provide significant support to, or carry out activities that are adversarial to and undermine America’s interests in our hemisphere. These individuals – and their immediate family members – will be generally ineligible for entry into the United States.
Activities include but are not limited to: enabling adversarial powers to acquire or control key assets and strategic resources in our hemisphere; destabilizing regional security efforts; undermining American economic interests; and conducting influence operations designed to undermine the sovereignty and stability of nations in our region.
To demonstrate our commitment to this expanded policy, we have taken steps to impose visa restrictions on 26 individuals across our hemisphere who have engaged in these activities. The Trump Administration will use every available tool to protect our national security interests, defend American interests, and promote our region’s safety and prosperity.
The Western Hemisphere must be aligned to protect the region and its countries from the influence of China (CCP), including its borders, essential and rare minerals, trade routes, tariff-free trade, security arrangements, and Democratic principles of governance.
It is recommended that initiatives be pursued to engage Cuba to be a new territory of the United States, as Puerto Rico is. The Panama Canal should be managed by the United States and Panama. Greenland should also become a US territory. The natural resources of the Western Hemisphere must be protected.
We can look forward to those great Cuban cigars again!
Let us all join hands and make America safe again, prosperous again, and proud again!
