The EI Podcast Washington’s return to Latin America
Apr 9, 2026
Joseph Ledford, Hoover Institution fellow and U.S.-Latin America strategist, outlines a renewed American push into the hemisphere. He discusses treating cartels as terrorist groups, a Pentagon-led homeland defense concept, links between Venezuela and Cuba, and plans like Operation Absolute Resolve. He also unpacks drivers such as drugs, migration and China, and why Cuba poses a tougher challenge.
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Venezuela And Cuba Are Mutually Reinforcing
- Cuba and Venezuela are tightly linked: Cuba built Venezuela's security apparatus and traded oil for security personnel, so weakening one isolates the other.
- Ledford says removing Maduro could sever Havana's lifeline and reduce patrons' willingness to defend Cuba.
Venezuela Raid Paired Negotiation With Delta Training
- Operation Absolute Resolve combined prolonged diplomacy with months of Delta Force rehearsals to capture Maduro if negotiations failed.
- Ledford describes Trump's template: offer deals while visibly preparing force as leverage.
Decapitate And Delegate Regime Management Model
- The 'decapitate and delegate' model arrests a regime's leader, threatens others with prosecution, displays overwhelming force, then installs negotiated regime managers to avoid quagmire.
- Ledford calls it stabilization then recovery then transition, avoiding full-scale regime purge.