The Shield of the Americas Cracks Open a Debate in Chile

In September, the government of President José Antonio Kast of Chile set off a firestorm back home when it opted to join the Shield of the Americas. But why would signing on to a security initiative, launched by the Trump administration, cause a domestic divide? After all, voters concerned about crime helped propel Kast into office earlier this year, much as mano dura security pledges have given rise to a wave of right-wing wins across the hemisphere.

“Chile has a long tradition where foreign affairs are regularly treated as a national interest dynamic, so you normally seek consensus,” says Diego Sazo, head of international relations research at AthenaLab, a Santiago-based think tank focused on security and defense. In this episode, he talks with AS/COA’s Carin Zissis about what a hemispheric initiative like the Shield offers the Americas, how it’s broadened to include economic and political dimensions, why it’s been so contentious in Chile, and the initiative’s prospects to outlast swings in the electoral pendulums.