During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F. Kennedy informed the nation and the world he had imposed a naval “quarantine” around Cuba, signaling the United States would not tolerate the Soviet Union’s “offensive military buildup” in the Western Hemisphere—an unmistakable reaffirmation of the Monroe Doctrine’s central principle: no foreign military intrusion in the Americas

A little more than 50 years later on November 18, 2013, a JFK wannabe, John F. Kerry, Barack Obama’s Secretary of State, stood before the Organization of American States and declared, “The era of the Monroe Doctrine is over.”  The statement appeared enlightened, cooperative, engaging and very Obamaesque.

For nearly two centuries, the Monroe Doctrine served as a clear red line of our nation’s strategic position: the Western Hemisphere was off limits to outside powers seeking influence or control.  Then in a matter of seconds Kerry signaled an entirely new American policy to the world

The United States moved away from asserting primacy in our own hemisphere and began moving toward what Kerry described as “equal partnership” and “shared responsibility.”  High sounding words at a diplomatic conference but detached from reality in a world defined by nation v. nation competition, because in geopolitics vacuums don’t stay empty – they get filled.

Over the past decade China has moved aggressively into Latin America—not with tanks, but with loans, infrastructure projects, port investments, and long-term economic partnerships.  From energy to telecommunications, Beijing has positioned itself as an indispensable partner to governments across the region.  These were not acts of charity.  They were efforts to gain strategic footholds.

Russia, for its part, deepened its military and intelligence relationships in Venezuela and Cuba, reviving Cold War-era patterns.  Actions that demonstrated there was no need to dominate the region to complicate American interests—all that was really needed was access, that the Obama administration gave them.

And then there’s Iran, a Middle Eastern regime that quietly expanded its reach into the Western Hemisphere through proxy networks, intelligence operations, and partnerships with nations openly hostile to the United States.  Its presence wasn’t as visible as China’s or as overtly military as Russia’s, but it was persistent and purposeful.

None of this happened overnight.  And none of it happened in isolation.  During the Obama administration the United States stepped away from a 190-year-old doctrine that, at its core, was about denying adversaries a foothold in our hemisphere.

The Monroe Doctrine wasn’t about domination; it was intended to prevent rival powers from establishing positions on our doorstep that could threaten American security and stability.  The logic didn’t change; it was sound.  What changed was the Obama administration’s unwillingness to enforce it.

During the Cold War, the United States understood that competition with a rival power required both pressure and positioning.  It built alliances, established forward presence, and made clear that certain moves by adversaries would not be tolerated.  A position that was clear and coherent.

But today we face a different kind of competition—less ideological, more economic; less binary, more diffuse—but no less consequential.  China, in particular, is not seeking confrontation in the traditional sense.  It is seeking influence, access, and leverage.

And it found all three in our own backyard.  At the very moment John Kerry declared the end of the doctrine, the rest of the world didn’t suddenly become less adversarial.  It became more so.

Today, the real question isn’t one embracing the Monroe Doctrine as it was written in 1823, because President Trump does, but whether Americans as a people understand its underpinning principle – that great powers do not willingly cede their immediate sphere of influence to rivals.  They shape it, protect it, and when necessary, defend it.

When John Kerry declared that the era of the Monroe Doctrine was over, he opened a door that China, Russia and Iran walked through unimpeded.

To be continued…