"Peace through strength": Claver-Carone nomination holds out hopeful future for region

This Sunday, December 22, President-elect Donald Trump chose Mauricio Claver-Carone as his special envoy for Latin American affairs. His choice promises an encouraging future for the entire continent.

I chatted with Mauricio two years ago. He had just been removed from the Inter-American Development Bank, where he was president for almost two years. The change that the Bank underwent, for the better, was remarkable, especially because Claver-Carone proposed to privilege the influence of regional partners over that of China, which was increasingly putting its hand where it did not belong.

Unfortunately, that commitment—combined with the fact that he was the first American to hold the position, nominated by Trump—earned him powerful enemies. These opponents conspired to remove him from the Bank based on a false and flimsy accusation. In an must-read column for The Wall Street Journal, Mary Anastasia O'Grady exposes the malicious scheme behind Claver-Carone's ousting and highlights the significant achievements of his two-year tenure.

When I spoke with Mauricio, I was struck by his vast knowledge of the region. Claver-Carone knew exactly who was who and what the main challenges were. For example, he told me about the importance of knockout PDVSA, the Venezuelan state-owned oil company, in order to neutralize the emergence of extreme left-wing movements in the continent. He had it clear: with the Venezuelan petrochequera the liberticidal regional left was financed.

One of his determining causes is Cuban freedom. And he understands that the liberation of the Cuban people goes hand in hand with the liberation of Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. But, in addition, this cause should be shared by the entire continent, because the continuity of these regimes has serious implications for the security of the region.

Claver-Carone is a staunch anti-communist, but he is also an expert. His positions are not impulsive and he has already had time to prove it: during the first Trump administration, Claver-Carone was in charge of the Western Hemisphere within the National Security Council. From there, he designed several of the White House's major and morally correct policies for the region.

That Trump brought him back for his second administration is a testament to how much he values Claver-Carone's efforts then. It is a recognition of the policies of "peace through force" that Trump so badly wants to re-impose on the world today. And, in addition, Mauricio joins a brand new and hopeful team for the region: Marco Rubio as Secretary of State; Christopher Landau as Undersecretary. Never before in the history of the United States has a president formed a foreign policy team so knowledgeable about and so attuned to the mission at hand. The time has come, finally, for Latin America to be a priority.

As Republican Representative Mario Díaz-Balart said on his X account, "there is no one better for the job than my good friend Mauricio Claver-Carone. Mauricio will prioritize U.S. national security in the Western Hemisphere by opposing weak, one-sided agreements that appease and enrich dictators like Maduro and Castro, who have caused one of the worst illegal migration crises in years."

"A true freedom fighter, Mauricio is committed to promoting democracy and freedom for those suffering under oppressive regimes. The dictators of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela are weak and reeling," Diaz-Balart wrote.

And another good friend, security and geopolitical expert, Joseph Humire, also said of Claver-Carone that "he is one of the smartest and best qualified professionals for U.S. foreign policy to become better in Latin America."

No question. The appointment of Mauricio Claver-Carone, who joins a top-notch team, brings fresh air to the region, contrasting not only with the snub with which Biden treated it, but also with his complicity with the socialist tyrannies. The appeasement is over. The time has come for "peace through force."