HOBBESIAN WORLD ORDER

Trump's obsession with seizing others’ mineral wealth - key, in his view, to sustaining America’s industrial hegemony – extends far beyond Venezuela

- Shlomo Ben-Ami

One year into his second presidency, Donald Trump has established himself as the most revolutionary US president in recent history.

Whereas “America First” once seemed like an isolationist posture (not least to Trump’s MAGA base), it is now clear that it embraces a Hobbesian worldview, in which the powerful US extracts whatever it wants from those it deems weak. In the world this view describes, the US is unlikely to engage in direct military clashes with “peer” powers, such as China, or with nuclear states, such as Russia and North Korea. It will compete with other superpowers over resources and advanced technologies, lest they become more “super” than the US. But, for the most part, Trump will probably limit his involvement in their “spheres of influence” – as long as they stay out of what he considers to be America’s.

But, in Trump’s view, they are not; China’s presence in Latin America is increasingly seen as a strategic threat. It invested billions in Brazil, brought Colombia into its global Belt and Road Initiative, and invested generously in Argentina's production of lithium chloride, a key component in battery production. China also replaced American soybean exporters by doubling its purchases from Brazil, from which it also buys iron ore, and has made Peru’s Chancay Port the centerpiece of its physical logistics in the region. Its e-commerce with Latin America also surged by some 50% in 2025, while tying digital infrastructure to China’s goals of data sovereignty, control over cybersecurity, and expansion of its surveillance capacity.