US War Department To Shift Focus From China To ‘Threats’ In Latin America

Via The Cradle

US War Department officials are proposing to shift the US military posture away from a focus on China, instead prioritizing alleged threats in Latin America and the Caribbean, Politico reported on 6 Saturday.

A draft of the newest National Defense Strategy places “domestic and regional missions above countering adversaries such as Beijing and Moscow,” Politico revealed, citing three people briefed on early versions of the report.

The news comes one day after Trump signed an executive order for the Department of Defense to be renamed the “War Department” to better reflect its mission.

Politico notes that the move, if implemented, would anger politicians in both the Republican and Democratic parties who have long been hostile to China and called for aggressive policies to counter its rise.

“This is going to be a major shift for the US and its allies on multiple continents,” said one person briefed on the draft document. “The old, trusted US promises are being questioned.”

The document was prepared by Elbridge Colby, the War Department’s policy chief. Politico reports that the shift away from China and toward the Western Hemisphere appears to be already underway.

The War Department deployed thousands of National Guard troops to support police in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, and has established a militarized zone across the southern border with Mexico that allows troops to detain civilians.

The policy shift may also result in the US withdrawing some troops from Europe and cutting military assistance programs for fellow NATO members.

“NATO allies increasingly expect some of the roughly 80,000 U.S. troops in Europe to leave over the next several years,” Politico added.

The proposed policy shift comes amid escalating tensions between the US and Venezuela.

This week, Trump authorized the US military to shoot down Venezuelan warplanes if commanders judge them a threat to US naval and air forces in the Caribbean. “If they do put us in a dangerous position, we’ll shoot them down,” Trump told reporters Friday.

Pentagon’s Elbridge Colby begins push to cut US military aid to Eastern European and Baltic countries that border Russia in move that has raised eyebrows among National Security officials in chilling message to Europe and Ukraine: sources tell Fox. https://t.co/2u5EasAAPe

— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) September 5, 2025

Washington sent eight warships, a submarine, and F-35 warplanes to the region, claiming that Venezuela is responsible for a flood of drugs entering the US. “Billions of dollars of drugs are pouring into our country from Venezuela. The prisons of Venezuela have been opened up to our country,” Trump claimed.

In contrast, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says Trump is seeking to overthrow his government and that his armed forces would move to a stage of “armed struggle” if Venezuela were attacked.

The US has carried out multiple coup attempts in Venezuela in recent decades, while imposing sweeping sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector and financial system.

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