For Trump, the incident was a perfect PR stunt, allowing him to showcase the maximum-pressure strategy he might use against any Latin American government that openly challenges hi

Trump’s uncharitable rhetoric and less-than-civilised treatment of illegal immigrants are, at the very least, likely to fuel more anti-American sentiment in the region. This resentment towards the US may well manifest in building bridges with governments and ideologies that are inimical to US interests.

A recent fight over between President Donald Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro has brought renewed attention to the policies of the former Marxist guerilla whose priorities often run counter to Washington,

Latin American leaders don’t like submitting to the United States in imperial mode. They also have an alternative.

Colombia isn’t the first nation to have materially countered Trump’s deportation plans. Still, its tiff with the U.S. is indicative of some lesser-known trade entanglements between North and South America—and of the potential for the Trump administration to hurt Americans’ pocketbooks in its craven pursuit of mass deportations.

As diplomatic conflict and trade-war talk ramps up, the continent’s often fractious leaders could end up sharing an antagonist in common.

For a fleeting moment, it looked like going after Trump was a political risk Colombian President Gustavo Petro was willing to take. But all his rhetoric was for naught.

By treating the countries of the region as if they were still banana republics that would bend over backward to fulfill the U.S. government’s wishes, Trump gravely underestimates their power as a