A política de segurança dos Estados Unidos para a América Latina: o USSOUTHCOM e a securitização da Venezuela como o centro do círculo vicioso de ameaças.

Abstract

In view of the position of supremacy of the United States since the end of the Cold War, the progressive development of emerging powers such as China and Russia is considered a reflection of the end of that era. The evolution of these countries' ability to project force and influence favored a greater engagement of revisionist powers in Latin America and the Caribbean. Added to regional threats such as Organized Crime, the penetration of extra-regional powers in the hemisphere affects US interests in the region, incurring risks to its own national security. Through research with a qualitative focus and descriptive and analytical emphasis on the country's main defense documents, we carried out a content analysis of the Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) discourse about the presence of the vicious circle of threats in Venezuela. The present study aims to answer the following research question: How does the United States, under the figure of USSOUTHCOM, securitize Venezuela as the center of the vicious circle of threats in Latin America and the Caribbean? We conclude that, in response to the increasing complexity of the situation in the region, USSOUTHCOM has been using the international attention directed to the crisis scenario in Venezuela with the objective of expanding the US military apparatus in the region and relocating Latin America as a priority to national security. This projection, if implemented, would have impactful consequences for the defense of Brazil.