In Colombia, Peru, El Salvador, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile, governments aligned with US imperial policy have taken power, with leaders declaring an alliance with Israel despite it perpetrating one of the most horrific crimes this century. These countries are becoming part of a new anticommunist front marked by its closeness to the Trump administration. The so-called “Donroe” doctrine pursues the urgent recovery of Latin America as the United States’ backyard. At the same time, Israel acts as a loyal ally of that imperial project, expanding their influence onto various Latin American countries at the expense of local and Indigenous populations.
The intention here is not to examine the relationship of dependence, hierarchy, and subordination between the United States and Israel—a topic already widely under debate—but rather to establish the instrumental relationships between Israel and United States extremist governments in pursuing an agenda in Latin American soil. Those agendas may sometimes be aimed at the same objective and sometimes not; however, both are linked to the interests of the ultra-right ruling class as part of a broader network of alliances. It does not seem a coincidence that, at a time when Israel is losing more and more support around the world and its allies in Europe, such as France, Italy and Denmark, are now turning their backs on it, Bibi Netanyahu’s government seems more convinced than ever that war is the only way to resolve territorial disputes, backed this time by several far-right leaders not only in Europe and the United States but also in Latin America.
There is a consistent pattern of promoting the interests of these powers, which comes in different forms: far-right alliances, unconditional support for Zionism, laws favoring land dispossession and foreign land purchases, lawfare against progressive regional leaders, securing strategic resources, election interference through bots and AI, and more. In this way, these countries’ domestic and foreign policies align with Washington’s agenda—through the connection with Israel’s surveillance industry, a configuration that shouldn’t be overlooked.
The new phase of imperial aggression we are living in is well expressed in the so-called “Shield of the Americas (SotA)”, the recent summit of leaders aligned with Trump’s anticommunist hatred and fantasies. It amounts to a clear declaration of war against anything considered “left-wing” or “progressive”, urging Latin American governments to monitor—and where possible, persecute—these “dangerous” elements in their societies. The question is: how willing will these governments be to follow Washington’s dictates?
Subservience to US interests is often so blatant that the ruling political class takes it for granted as public service to their population, choosing the “right side” and uncritically accepting asymmetrical relationships in which the US always wins, and poor countries always lose. What stands out currently are the various developments that highlight the growing ties between far-right governments in Latin America and Israel during a time when Tel Aviv appears to be in need of new allies. For now, it is difficult to prove the allegation of “new colonization” of Latin American lands by Zionists, as it has been denounced by anti-Zionist activists, such as Diego Suarez (Michelopicante) in Argentina and Horacio Spartaco in Chile, and several left-wing magazines. We can, however, attempt to dissect these intensifying links between Israel and the Latin American far right.
Ultra-right global alliance and propaganda machine
The alliance between far-right governments in the Global South and Israel follows a security-state model with open connections to the Israeli weapons and surveillance industry, whose technological innovations have been field-tested on the Palestinian population. Whilst these ties with Israel are growing closer, pressure from Washington to crack down on the left is also intensifying, using manipulation and lies as its most successful weapons.
Recent events show how far the ultra-right has gone with their propaganda machine. The downfall of one of the shadier figures in far-right campaigns, the co-founder of the right-wing online newspaper La Derecha Diario, Fernando Cerimedo, is especially significant. Cerimedo was arrested in Bolivia for hiring hitmen in a failed assassination attempt on his lover, who was pregnant with his child, the revelations of which causing a media stir in Latin America. Cerimedo has proven ties to various ultra-right Latin American leaders, including José Antonio Kast in Chile, Rodrigo Paz Pereira in Bolivia, Flávio Bolsonaro (son of the ex-president Jair Bolsonaro) in Brazil, and with the administration of Javier Milei in Argentina.
Cerimedo’s downfall laid bare that far-right campaigns are underpinned by massive, systematic manipulation involving social media and algorithms. The bot farms discovered on Cerimedo’s properties confirm the existence of this disinformation machinery. These political connections with the ultra-right demonstrate what many already suspected with regard to the systematic campaigns of data manipulation and fear-mongering directed against the left-wing or progressive option.
As investigations progress, other factors are coming to light that must not be overlooked, such as his close ties to agents of the Trump administration, including Trump’s former campaign manager, Brad Parscale, and the million-dollar funding received from Israel through his consulting firms. There are indications of a vast network linking various right-wing factions in Latin America to Washington and Tel Aviv. The Cerimedo case shows the extent of this network, which was crucial in fabricating fears and fake news that helped these governments come to power.
The Argentinian case
No country in Latin America has gone so far in extending its ties with Israel as Argentina. So far, President Javier Milei launched the so-called “Isaac Accords” between Argentina and Israel, an initiative that promotes bilateral trade, investment and technological development, and, as stated on the government’s official website, “constitute a new strategic framework aimed at strengthening cooperation between Argentina, Israel and like-minded partners in the Western Hemisphere, the descendants of Isaac and nations with a Judeo-Christian tradition, in defense of freedom and democracy, and in the fight against terrorism, anti-Semitism and drug trafficking.” These agreements seek to strengthen cooperation on joint actions against terrorist activities (Iran is mentioned). Although it is merely a treaty between “friendly” nations, it is striking that these connections are emerging at a time when Israel appears to seek alliances with governments ideologically aligned with extremist Zionism, such as the “libertarian” president Javier Milei—who calls himself “the most Zionist president in the world”
Another worrisome aspect of these growing connections between Latin America and Israel became evident at a conference in Buenos Aires at the end of June, where legislators from 12 Latin American countries met to support expanding the Isaac Accords. The meeting was attended by Argentine President Javier Milei; the Argentine Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, Pablo Quirno; the Argentine Ambassador to Israel, Axel Wahnish; and the Brazilian presidential candidate, Flávio Bolsonaro, as well as various representatives from a number of Latin American countries.
The outcome of this conference was a joint declaration recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the relocation of their respective embassies there, in open defiance of the UN’s countless condemnations regarding the illegality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands; furthermore, the highly-criticized International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism was adopted; the Iranian army, Hezbollah and Hamas were designated as “terrorist” organizations; and, finally, close cooperation on security and surveillance matters was agreed upon.
The Director for Latin America at the Israel Allies Foundation, Leopoldo Martínez, stated: “This conference is a powerful demonstration of the extraordinary parliamentary support that Israel enjoys throughout Latin America. Bringing together more than 20 legislators from over a dozen countries sends a clear message that the friendship between Israel and Latin America is stronger today than ever before.”
Another prime example is the Israeli company Merkorot’s bid to take control of the Argentine water company AySA. Although this company tends to operate “behind the scenes”, its intentions regarding “water apartheid” are clear, as an activist interviewed by the Spanish newspaper Diario Red explains: “Their logic is to charge those living in the areas from which they extract water up to five times more, thereby depriving them of their own sovereignty. We see this in the example of the River Jordan, whose entire catchment area is militarised.” Under this libertarian logic, the State proposes, and the market “God” disposes. However, it’s also clear that without institutional, media, and police violence, this massive transfer of wealth from the public sector to private hands couldn’t happen without a heavy dose of political propaganda and fear-mongering, which in turn reinforces the security-state model hand in hand with new 2.0 neoliberal policies to dismantle what is left of the common good.
Old and new alliance of terror
Historically, Israel has maintained a special relationship with dictatorial regimes and counterinsurgency movements willing to carry out massacres of Indigenous and peasant populations, serving as one of their principal arms suppliers. Ample documentation exists showing the link between the far right and Israeli arms companies. In today’s era of global warfare, Israel’s role in sustaining US imperial power can’t be dismissed. As the outlet El Despertarl put it, “Zionist ideology and militarism form the backbone of this offensive, with Israel continuing to train the region’s repressive forces, especially under conservative governments, while ranking as the world’s tenth-largest arms exporter and a key supplier of spyware technology such as Pegasus.” This spyware program has already been used to spy in some Latin American countries, such as Colombia, El Salvador, and Mexico, as happened with Gustavo Petro in Colombia.
It’s already well known that surveillance technology and AI, used by Israel and the US to define “targets”, represent a new form of digitized warfare—exemplified by the “Where’s Daddy” program, which Israel used to bomb buildings in Gaza when its “targets” were at home, destroying entire buildings along with everyone inside. Gaza’s devastation attests to the systematic use of such bombings, accompanied by the usual justifications of self-defense and alleged human shields. But Latin America’s subordination to imperial interests through Israeli technology and interference isn’t an isolated fact—it’s part of a broader political realignment that, domestically, translates into greater militarization, policies favoring territorial dispossession, and expanded surveillance.
Let me say a few words about the alliance between Israel and the United States, which stems from many shared factors and interests, including a shared sense of exceptionalism. Both ruling classes share contempt for the world and its people, for anyone outside that small circle of select billionaires. The white-supremacist worldview, coupled with a clear anticommunism, whose extremism and systemic cruelty are more and more comparable with Nazism, finds in these ultra-right leaders the best partners. This Neocolonialism is disguised as a new war on terror and narco-trafficking.
As part of the occidental hemisphere, Latin America’s fate is determined by a broader geopolitical spectrum, as part of what Netanyahu calls the “blessed” civilizations, or better said, under the boots of its promoters and imperial enablers. It is difficult to deny that the destructive power wielded by the ruling classes in the US and Israel is accelerating their path into fascism. It’s as if the world “after (or during) Gaza” already gets the message that it must get used to imperial power, killing, extorting, sanctioning, starving, and kidnapping at will, without consequence. Worse still, here in Latin America we reward it, electing politicians who support these policies of extermination.
The long-term effects of these aggressions are uncertain. What seems to be clear is that its cult of death and genocide seems to be accelerating the world toward catastrophe. We are living in this new era of destabilization and geopolitical realignment, in which Latin America functions as the backyard of the declining empire, with its natural resources at the disposal of US interests. Certainly something is happening, and we need to be aware of the moves by these extremist governments.
While other analysts are already talking about the “palestinization” of Latin America, echoing the ideas of former Colombian president Gustavo Petro, who made it clear that after Palestinians, people in the Global South will be next. We live in a dangerous historical moment to make sovereign decisions about resources and territories that defy US imperialism. It is no surprise that while the world is turning its back on Israel, the ultra-right-wing governments of the “blessed western civilization” are closing ties with the genocidal entity. We must remain alert and vigilant.
