THE United States is seeking to enlist its established friends in the Western Hemisphere to help it regain the pre-eminence it once had over the hemisphere. This strategy is outlined in its National Security Strategy document which was published by the White House in November and released last week.

The document, which is signed by US President Donald Trump, reiterated the US's vision for the Western Hemisphere as one "whose governments co-operate with us against narco-terrorists, cartels, and other transnational criminal organisations."

In the document, the US outlines its plan to "reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American pre-eminence in the Western Hemisphere, and to protect our homeland and our access to key geographies throughout the region."