America’s foreign policy under President Donald Trump can be confusing. That is true in Latin America just as it is in Russia, Asia or Europe. One moment the president boasts of his great relationship with Russia; days later the U.S. imposes new sanctions. One day Trump heaps praise on North Korea’s leader; days later Pyongyang accuses the U.S. government of behaving like the mafia. The explanation, as I’ve written, is that America today has two foreign policy tracks, often contradictory and at times in conflict with each other. One is Trump’s, the other is the rest of the government’s. That two-track approach became visible in South America last week, where Defense Secretary James Mattis just completed a fascinating visit.

For people across Latin America, the headlines coming from Washington have been jarring. Trump is largely viewed as someone who disparages the region, and who views the lands south of the border as the source of undesirable migrants, drugs and “the worst trade deal” ever signed, NAFTA. Trump has emphasized areas of friction, seeming less interested in building metaphorical bridges than physical walls. His most notable effort at outreach to the region, if it could be called that, was a stunning threat to take military action against Venezuela, an idea that was not well received by leaders in the region. 

But then there is that second track. Mattis’ first visit to South America as defense secretary contrasted sharply with the rough foreign policy outlines sketched by the president.

The trip was aimed at strengthening ties in a region where Washington has made mistakes, to be sure, long before Trump came to office, in recent years by focusing excessively on drug trafficking and immigration. By neglecting other areas of cooperation, the U.S. left the field open to its strategic adversaries. Now Russia and China are making inroads and for once, it seems that the second track of the U.S. foreign policy machine has started to take notice. 

Mattis carried a striking diplomatic message, considering his role as the military’s now-civilian chief. He aimed not only to reinvigorate relations in a region chronically neglected by American administrations, but also to inject new faith in democratic institutions, to dampen interest in the alternatives, and to raise concerns about China and Russia, nondemocratic rivals whose financial largesse has translated into growing political and military ties in the region.

Mattis visited four countries where the military is viewed as being firmly in civilian control, in a region long plagued by coups and military dictatorships: Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Colombia. He spoke firmly and frequently in support of democracy and democratic practices, against the politicization of the military, and about the risks of China’s “muscular militarization” and its “predatory economics.” As an example, he highlighted the risk of accepting massive Chinese loans, pointing to Sri Lanka, which had to relinquish its sovereignty of a costly port to China after it couldn’t afford to pay back the loans. 

In meetings with his counterparts, with military students and with other national leaders, Mattis sought to portray the U.S. as an eager, dependable, trustworthy partner.
In Argentina, he and Defense Minister Oscar Aguad recounted the U.S. Navy’s help last year when an Argentine submarine went missing. They both spoke of their desire for closer relations. Acknowledging the suspicions that might be triggered by that notion, given American support for military coups during the days of the Cold War, Mattis said the “military-to-military relationship” should unfold “in complete transparency, so there can be no doubt about what is going on.” 

Throughout his regional tour, Mattis sounded the themes of democratic rule and opposition to military interventions into politics. Trump may have said that he was “not going to rule out a military option” in Venezuela, but Mattis, who spoke at length about the growing humanitarian emergency in Venezuela at every stop, declared that the Venezuelan crisis is “not a military matter.” “This is not what we stand for in the Americas; we stand for democracy, freedom,” he said. “The resolution of this is … to get back to democratic principles inside Venezuela.”

In Brazil, where one of the leading presidential candidates, Joao Bolsonaro, is vowing to staff his Cabinet with military men, and there’s growing chatter about a military coup, Mattis had a sharp message. During a speech he delivered at Brazil’s war college in Rio de Janeiro, a colonel asked him about the role of former military officers in politics. Mattis explained that he had not participated in the 2016 presidential campaign and received a special waiver to serve as a civilian defense secretary. When a president calls you, you serve, he said. But, he added, “I think that it is wrong in America … as a retired general or admiral, to come out in a public position supporting one candidate or another.” It is unclear if Mattis knew that the No. 2 man in Bolsonaro’s campaign is a retired general, Hamilton Mourao.

At a time when many Brazilians are anxious about the state of their politics, Mattis sounded a reassuring note, reminding his audience that democracy can seem chaotic, even “very raucous,” pointing to the U.S. as an example. But, he said, “that’s what a democracy is; that’s how people get their voices heard.” He pointed to those competing voices in Brazil, contrasting them with the alternative model still visible in Latin America, “the Cuban or Venezuelan model that penalizes people for speaking out.”

The backdrop to Mattis’ trip was the flood of Venezuelans pouring out of their country, straining the resources of already-strained border communities in Colombia, Brazil and beyond. As Mattis was in the region, tensions between Venezuelan refugees and migrants and their Brazilian hosts escalated into violence, and both Ecuador and Peru toughened entry restrictions for Venezuelans. With millions fleeing, the financial and social demands of dealing with the crisis in Venezuela are becoming an increasingly pressing issue. Mattis made a symbolic offer, promising to send the USNS Comfort, an enormous military hospital ship, to the coast of Colombia to help with the burden of health care.

But there was one other significant move with potentially major repercussions. While he was in Chile, Mattis announced that his senior military aide, Navy Vice Adm. Craig Faller, would be nominated as the next head of U.S. Southern Command. Southcom is responsible for U.S. military activities from Mexico south, all the way across the hemisphere. By choosing the man who has been his senior adviser since he became secretary of defense, Mattis showed that U.S. interest in the region is likely to extend beyond a visit that lasted just a few days.

***Frida Ghitis is a world affairs columnist. A former CNN producer and correspondent, she is a regular contributor to CNN and The Washington Post.