24 de marzo 2025
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Two weeks ago, the United States voted with Russia at the UN’s General Assembly, preventing the adoption of a resolution condemning Russia’s aggression and invasion of Ukraine. The same day, Russia, China and the United States passed another UN Security Council resolution which did not place blame on Russia for invading Ukraine. North Korea, which supplies Russian forces with soldiers and ammunition, also voted with the United States and Russia. China, another Russian ally in the invasion of Ukraine, also backed the resolutions. Putin seeks to weaken the United States, divide us from allies, and strengthen autocracy at the expense of democracy. If America is to remain secure, safe, and prosperous, aligning with dictators may in fact isolate the United States, cost it relative power in Europe and in the Western Hemisphere, and encourage undemocratic behavior. To ensure America is first and not last in terms of security, economy, and the military, the United States must support its allies and promote democracy.
Although supporting dictators is not unusual for the United States, the Trump Administration’s moves signal a preference for Russia and an unwillingness to assist NATO allies. The United States has not only changed sides in an ongoing war, but also negated decades of alignment with Europe against Russian aggression. Instead of past American isolationism, the United States now seeks a normalized relationship with Russia, yet Russia’s actions around the world and in the hemisphere threaten U.S. security — and democracy at large.
The Trump Administration also said it is willing to accept Russia’s longstanding objection to Ukraine joining NATO. With its invasion of Ukraine, Putin seeks the forcible incorporation of Ukraine and aims to push back NATO, weakening the alliance, and possibly preparing the ground for military actions in Europe, threatening the Baltic states, Poland, Germany, and the states stretching from Ukraine through Slovakia, Austria, and Switzerland. If the Ukrainian front collapses, Russia could take Kyiv and President Zelenskyy may be forced into exile or killed. A victory for Russia is likely to exert pressure and expand the war into Europe.
Putin does not believe in lasting peace or in new agreements for European security, and Trump is not going to change Putin’s vison. Putin’s close advisor and press secretary, noted that the Trump administration’s policies now “largely align with our vision.” The Trump Administration has not proposed a single public concession for Putin to end the war, but there are signs of Putin’s future demands: limits on the number of soldiers Ukraine can have in its army, and a ban on Ukraine importing weapons, and other constraints on Ukraine’s sovereignty. In 2019, Zelenskyy negotiated a ceasefire with Putin. Three years later, however, Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine. For Zelenskyy, a new ceasefire without security guarantees to enforce it has no substance.
Granting Ukraine membership in NATO would be the most effective security assurance, but Ukraine needs more weapons to deter Russia. Abandoning democratic allies in Ukraine may have dangerous implications for American security interests not just in Europe, but worldwide, particularly in the Western Hemisphere, where Putin props up puppet dictatorial regimes in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Further, several of Putin’s foreign policy tenets directly influence the Western Hemisphere. Russia is sustaining a triangle of authoritarian regimes, while also dismantling democracies and promoting militarized authoritarianism. The larger implications — an increased presence in Latin America, among others — threaten democracy, security and regional stability in the Western Hemisphere.
Why is it dangerous to align with dictators?
Dictators expand their power by force and are more likely to employ inter-state aggression than democracies, especially against democracies. Ample research demonstrates that democracies not only avoid war with one another, but also have lower levels of civil conflict, deadly terrorism, attacks against women, violent crime, and poverty. Leaders are better off addressing the root causes of instability by repairing the social contract and utilizing democratic principles.
On the other hand, dictators are motivated by territorial claims, resource competition, and domestic politics. Dictators are often personalistic and unaccountable in nature, making it challenging to predict where actions may lead — whether mere posturing or open aggression and conflict. Yet we know that whatever the result, it is not favorable to the security that democracy brings. As of 2022, there are 44 dictatorships, and the number is only increasing.
Instead of aligning with our historical allies, the United States is aligning with dictatorships. As Senator Risch recently stated, Russia, China and Iran are expanding their reach in our hemisphere, and the United States must strengthen security and economic cooperation with our democratic neighbors to protect our interests. Iran and North Korea supply Russia with weapons and ammunition in Ukraine. In addition, China has become Russia’s most important trading partner and is compensating for the economic sanctions imposed by the West. Further, by aligning with Putin, the United States gives China the real option to invade Taiwan., as it would distract the U.S. from Ukraine and Europe and tie them up in the Pacific, allowing Russia to venture further into Europe.
Russia, China, and an alliance of kleptocracies have been cooperating around the world, such as corrupt state-run companies and police and military forces sharing resources. For example, Russia utilizes Iranian drones in Ukraine; Cuba installs Chinese surveillance technology. Further, authoritarian state propaganda efforts, from bot farms to media operations, work together: China promotes Russian propaganda, and vice versa, and Iranians, Venezuelans, and many dictatorships employ one another’s narratives. What unites these dictators is not ideology like in the past, but their dislike of the United States.
A warning in the Western Hemisphere
Although Russia no longer leverages ideology to gain closer relations with Latin America, Putin has deepened ties with allies that share his authoritarian style of government and resentment of democratic leadership. Through selective threats, military and commercial activities, and information warfare operations in the region, Moscow is reinforcing the regimes in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela as a geopolitical leverage point. Since Venezuela and Nicaragua are desperate for cash, credit, and continual power, they rely more on Cuba and Russia for military assistance as they have increased repression.
Russia’s multi-dimensional strategy in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba incorporates a broad spectrum of strategic activities and it is currently expanding its influence through weapon sales and other low-profile activities, including disinformation, and strengthening its position in Latin America. This limits U.S. leverage in bilateral security cooperation and multilateral forums to apply pressure on these regimes.
Russia is one of the Venezuelan and Nicaraguan regime’s main weapon suppliers. In partnering with Russia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have consolidated a new regional security triangle, breaking from their commitments with the inter-American security regime, including the Central American Regional Security Initiative.
The Nicaraguan, Cuban, and Venezuelan militaries are dependent on their dictators, who militarize these authoritarian regimes, permitting them to act with impunity and commit human rights violations. As an instrument of repression, the military aids and abets government abuses. Notably, they are armed and trained to run repressive police states.
By supporting the dictators in the Western Hemisphere, Russia acts as a spoiler force that undercuts U.S. interests and uses peripheral issues, such as Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, to sustain its role as an arbiter of international security. Notably, in 2014, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua voted with Russia against United Nations (UN) Resolution 68/262, which expressed support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
The Future
The transaction cost in Latin America with non-democratic regimes will be high, because these countries will expel more people in the future, have unstable economies or are unfriendly to American investment, and are very willing to strengthen ties with Russia and others like China.
For the Western Hemisphere, this alliance between dictatorships will lead to a decade of vulnerability: China has economically and militarily caught up with the United States, and Russia provides military and technological support to almost every dictatorship, both offering a unique threat to U.S. interests. The United States must offer an alternative to Russian, Chinese, and their allied dictatorships, as they are filling in the gap quickly.
In the past, the United States and its institutions have played a critical role countering the influence of authoritarian regimes. The United States has cut U.S. assistance to promote political and economic stability, reduce mass migration pressures, and confronts market manipulation abroad to help ensure a level playing field for American businesses and workers.
Dictators repress their citizens, erode democratic institutions, spread their narrative and resources. The United States should continue to set the standard, serving as a beacon for principles upon which it was founded: respect for individual freedoms and liberty. Now, the United States cannot be viewed as an ally of democracies. The breakdown of trust between allies goes as deep as the level of secret intelligence. This has devastating effects on counterterrorism operations worldwide. Part of the United States’ power comes from alliances and leadership in promoting democracy: the United States has the extraordinary capacity and influence to act that others do not have. Ceding that advantage to dictatorships is a strategic error, contrary to U.S. security interests, and place America last in the geopolitical arena.
This article was originally published in Spanish by Confidencial. To get the most relevant news from our English coverage delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to The Dispatch.
