The Monroe Doctrine and Continuation of US Imperialist Violence in Latin America
A Bonfire Session
April 20th, 2026, 18:30 CEST, Zoom
On January 3rd, blasts were heard across different locations in Venezuela; The US invaded the country to abduct President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flórez. This event has been part of a broader process that some have identified as the reaffirmation of the Monroe Doctrine in Latin America and the Caribbean via military offensives, and trade and diplomatic threats that include: killing more than 150 people in strikes in Caribbean and Pacific waters, threatening the Mexican and Colombian governments with military invasion, interfering in elections in Argentina, Ecuador and Honduras, attacking Brazil’s judicial decisions, undermining CARICOM’s collective diplomacy and isolating Cuba.
In this bonfire, we aim to make space to collectively reflect on what it means to witness the US reassertion of the Monroe Doctrine in Latin American and Caribbean lands and lives. We hope through this practice, presence, and solidarity to open breathing spaces, to critically analyse an unfolding situation, to name what is happening, and to sustain one another amid fear, grief, and uncertainty.
At a moment when imperial logics are being restated with renewed confidence, we believe it matters to come together to think, to feel, and to imagine otherwise.
In this conversation, we will move through three interconnected threads:
- New forms and meanings of the Monroe Doctrine: What does it mean to affirm the assertion of the Monroe Doctrine? How has it changed, and how is it currently exercised?
- Power, empire and means of dominance: What global entanglements have shaped and continue to shape US dominance over the region? What are the means for asserting its power?
- Solidarity and resistance: How communities across the region are organising, interrupting or resisting imperial dominance? What can we learn from them? What is at stake? What forms and forums for solidarity and care exist and can be built upon?
These events are based on active participation and discussion, please, come as you are, with whatever ideas or experiences you’d like to bring to the table. If there are readings, resources, or voices you think should be part of these conversations, we welcome those, too.
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