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President Donald Trump’s political influence is reaching far beyond America’s borders as several Latin American countries shift toward right-leaning leadership, with Brazil emerging as the next major test of the region’s changing political direction.
For Argentina-born Trump rally attendee Marcelo Sandrin, who has lived in the U.S. for roughly three decades, the shift is unmistakable — and Trump deserves substantial credit.
Speaking to Digital outside the T. Ed Garrison Arena near Clemson, Sandrin pointed to Argentine President Javier Milei and the prospect of another rightward shift in Brazil as signs of what he sees as Trump’s growing influence. The trend comes as the Trump administration has also asserted U.S. power more directly in the region, most dramatically through the capture of Venezuelan socialist leader Nicolás Maduro.
“[Trump deserves] a lot of credit,” Sandrin told Digital, adding Milei is a very forceful libertarian, right-wing/small-government figure, and that during the Trump era, South America has moved “more and more to the right.”
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WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES – OCTOBER 14: United States President Donald Trump greets the President of Argentina Javier Milei at the White House in Washington DC , October 14, 2025. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
In Argentina, Milei has emerged as one of Trump’s most prominent ideological allies in the hemisphere, pursuing sweeping economic reforms and challenging the left-wing political establishment that dominated much of the country’s recent history.
“Brazil is almost going to be [moving] to the right again. It’s only Mexico and Uruguay for now [on the left]. The problem in my country is one side or the other, they have to steal, stop stealing. That’s the number one thing.”
Brazil could provide another test of the region’s political direction, with allies of former President Jair Bolsonaro seeking to return the country to right-wing leadership. The country’s political future remains contested, however, underscoring the limits of describing Latin America’s political trajectory as a uniform rightward turn.
The Trump administration’s impact on the region has also extended beyond electoral politics. Venezuela underwent a dramatic change following the U.S. capture of longtime socialist leader Nicolás Maduro, an operation that Venezuela native and Manhattan Institute researcher Santiago Vidal Calvo argued reinforced Washington’s influence across the hemisphere and weakened the political order Maduro represented.
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President Donald Trump, center, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader, second from left, Argentina’s President Javier Milei, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Costa Rica’s President Rodrigo Chaves Robles, Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz and Chile’s President-elect Jose Antonio Kast pose for a family photo during the Shield of the Americas” Summit in Doral, Fla., on Saturday, March 7, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
“I have no doubt that President Trump has had a good influential policy towards making governments more right-leaning in Latin America,” Calvo said.
“I think that got exacerbated with the capture of Maduro,” he added. “A lot of people saw that the United States was again an influential force in the continent, that China was being kicked out in many fronts.”
Calvo argued that Trump, Milei and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele have helped inspire right-leaning movements across the region, with implications extending beyond elections to immigration, trade, Chinese influence and national security.
He also pointed to China, arguing that Beijing expanded its influence in Latin America through loan agreements that differ from conventional North American banking transactions and can give it leverage in countries’ domestic affairs.
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The regional shift is far from uniform. Mexico remains governed by the left-wing Morena movement, making it a political counterpoint to Trump’s network of right-leaning regional allies. Uruguay also remains on the left, another exception to the trend Sandrin described.
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Calvo also singled out Secretary of State Marco Rubio for praise, arguing that the administration’s Latin America strategy has been an underappreciated foreign-policy achievement.
“I think one of the highlights of this Trump administration has been a good example of foreign policy in Latin America, especially at the hand of [Marco] Rubio,” Calvo told Digital.
Digital’s Reagan Schroeder contributed to this report.
