Hispanic lawmakers introduced the 'Good Neighbor' initiative this Tuesday, a legislative proposal aimed at nullifying the Monroe Doctrine revived by United States President Donald Trump, condemning intervention in Venezuela, threats to bomb Mexico, and the new oil blockade against Cuba.

Nearly 20 Democratic legislators, led by Representative Nydia Velázquez of New York, introduced the measure, which also seeks to eliminate unilateral U.S. sanctions, declassify archives of coups d'état supported by Washington, and reform international financial institutions.

"The State Department must formally confirm that the Monroe Doctrine is no longer U.S. policy. For 200 years it has justified interventions, coups d'état, and support for dictatorships from Chile to Guatemala and Brazil, and the Dominican Republic as well," Velázquez stated upon announcing the proposal.

The 'Donroe' Doctrine

The proposal follows U.S. intervention in Venezuela that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro on January 3, when Trump asserted that his administration "far exceeded" the 1823 Monroe Doctrine—which established the Americas as the U.S. sphere of influence—to the point that "now they call it the 'Donroe Doctrine.'"

Furthermore, Trump's National Security Strategy, published in December, states that "after years of neglect, the United States will reassert and apply the Monroe Doctrine to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere."

Velázquez justified the resolution "because the Trump doctrine, 'Donroe' Trump, is a dangerous return to failed interventionism."

The congresswoman and her colleagues, Delia Ramírez, Chuy García, and Rashida Tlaib, specifically condemned the intervention in Venezuela, arguing that Trump ordered it to secure oil access but has not brought democracy following Maduro's detention.

They also denounced threats of military action against Mexico, Panama, and Colombia; Trump's pardon of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández (2014–2022), imprisoned for drug trafficking in New York until last December; and the executive order imposing tariffs on countries that supply petroleum to Cuba.

"This is not about drugs, it is not about democracy; it is about regime change and resource control," Velázquez charged.

Shedding Light on U.S. Interventions in the Americas

The resolution also seeks the release of archives concerning the United States' role in interventions across the Americas, where nearly 70 such actions have occurred over 200 years, including military occupations, invasions, and wars, García indicated.

From the twentieth century to the present, the United States has participated directly or indirectly in 23 coups d'état, including the deposition of Maduro in Venezuela, noted Francesca Emanuele, international policy associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), which supports the measure.

The conference included testimony from victims of dictatorships backed by Washington, such as Luz de las Nieves Ayress Moreno, who suffered sexual torture during the government of Augusto Pinochet (1974–1990) in Chile and denounced that "all these tortures" were taught in the United States, at the School of the Americas.

"This is part of the Monroe Doctrine, which every president of the United States of North America has applied. We call for nullifying the Monroe Doctrine; we are all Americans. Only the people save the people," she declared.

The Democrats also cited Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance as an inspiration for advancing their foreign policy vision.

"This is the path we offer with the new 'Good Neighbor' Act—one that recognizes our interconnection from Humboldt Park (in Chicago) to Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Argentina, and Canada. One that recognizes, as Benito said Sunday night, that together we are America," stated Representative Ramírez.