Trump's Latin America allies open arms to Israel

A three-week military offensive in the Gaza Strip in 2009, which killed more than 1,400 people, including an estimated 1,100 civilians, spurred Venezuela's Socialist president at the time, Hugo Chavez, to expel the Israeli ambassador in protest and end diplomatic relations.

Seventeen years later, Venezuela and Israel have agreed to establish a mechanism for the resumption of consular services. It's a limited step, but one that until recently would have been unthinkable.

In Colombia, the nationalist government of new President Abelardo de la Espriella recently reversed the decision by his predecessor, Gustavo Petro, to sever diplomatic relations with Israel in protest of the country's most recent war in Gaza, which has killed more than 70,000 people, nearly one-third of them children.

De la Espriella has even announced that Colombia will relocate its embassy to Jerusalem, and this week declared that Colombia would join the United States as the only two countries that recognize "Israeli sovereignty" over the Golan Heights, which is Syrian territory under international law but has been occupied by Israel since 1967. The vast majority of the international community, including Germany and the UN, does not recognize the annexation of the Golan Heights by Israel.

"There is a trend toward rapprochement with Israel as a response to the surge of the radical right in the region," said Isaac Caro, a professor at Alberto Hurtado University in Chile. Caro said authoritarians in Latin America were linking relations with Israel to "an active alignment with US foreign policy." He said reinforcing ties with Israel had become a characteristic of Latin America's radical right as part of the renewed discourse of region's place in Judeo-Christian Western civilization.

In Argentina, for example, ultraconservative President Javier Milei has made close relations with Israel a defining feature of both his foreign policy and his own political identity.

Daniel Wajner, associate professor of international relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said there had been a "surge" in diplomacy between Israel and Latin American governments. Wajner said Jair Bolsonaro, the neoliberal former president of Brazil, and El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, the self-described "world's coolest dictator," were early adopters of warmer ties with Israel. They were followed by Milei and others.

Wajner said Latin America's authoritarians were actively "embracing" the national-conservative government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also said there were ideological, religious and strategic factors in governments' tightening of bonds with the country, such as the desire to signal a like-minded international orientation with the US.

Gilberto Aranda, a political analyst from the University of Chile, said there had been a trend in Latin America of authoritarians' aligning with the US under Donald Trump — and therefore also engaging in rapprochement with Israel.

Colombia's new president triggers 'fundamental shift'

In 2024, under Petro, Colombia broke off relations because of the war in Gaza. In the week since de la Espriella assumed office on August 7, Caro said there has been a "fundamental shift" in Colombia's foreign policy.

In Venezuela, the stated policies of the current government, which took power after US forces abducted the sitting president in early January, remain rooted in the socialist populism of Chavismo. However, the resumption of consular services has proved a symbolic diplomatic success for Israel.

Bolivia's Socialist government severed relations with Israel after the bombardment of a camp for displaced people in Gaza in 2023. When the conservative Rodrigo Paz assumed office 2025, he quickly restored ties.

In Chile, the democratic socialist former president, Gabriel Boric, was highly critical of Netanyahu and his government. His successor, the national conservative, Jose Antonio Kast, is seeking, among other things, to revive Chile's defense cooperation with Israel.

Brazil, Mexico maintain 'critical stance' toward Israel

By contrast, the social-democratic government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brazil has taken a highly critical stance toward Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.

"The country with the most influence in the region, which maintains a critical stance toward Israel, is clearly Brazil," said Aranda. Brazil's demographic, economic and political clout are a major counterweight to the shift by other Latin American governments toward warmer relations with Israel.

Then there is Mexico, the other giant of Latin America. Whereas Lula, in Brazil, is particularly critical, Mexico, under President Claudia Sheinbaum, is trying to preserve greater neutrality as well as a diplomatic balance. Sheinbaum has criticized Israel's actions in Gaza, but still maintains diplomatic relations. This shows that criticism of the Netanyahu government does not inevitably signify the breakdown of relations with the state of Israel.

Still, given the recent mass killings in Gaza, the shift in Israel's relations with some governments in Latin America is significant. Israel is not just interested in winning over friendly governments. These bilateral relationships date back to the foundation of the Israeli state in 1948, and cover migration, trade, and security. The support of Latin America in multilateral organizations such as the United Nations has always been key in countering Israel's international isolation.

Wajner said the decision by Latin American governments to improve ties with Israel offered both sides "legitimacy, cooperation and influence." Israel needs international partners, and Latin American goverments also offer opportunities for economic, technological and military cooperation. For its part, Latin America can turn to Israel as a strong partner in areas such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and defense.

Though Israel has managed to forge new bonds in Latin America for now, long-term relations will continue to depend on who is in power, where and when.

This article was originally written in German.

Reporting originally appeared via DW News. Read the full source for additional context.