DMF: Changing U.S. Policy
- Sudeepto Roy | Vice President & Secretary, Del Mar Foundation
The Del Mar Foundation opened its 2026 DMF Talk Series with a timely and grounded presentation by Richard Kiy, President and CEO of the Institute of the Americas, based at UC San Diego. His talk offered the audience not a polemic, but a historical lens on two centuries of U.S. engagement in the Western Hemisphere, showing how history, geography, and economics continue to shape policy choices today.
Kiy traced U.S. foreign policy from the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 through eras of expansionism, gunboat diplomacy, Cold War interventions, and later trade-led integration. He observed that doctrines often persist long after the conditions that created them. The Good Neighbor Policy, the creation of the Organization of American States, and postwar development efforts illustrated moments when cooperation and diplomacy yielded more durable influence.
Turning to the present, the operation that resulted in Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife being taken into U.S. custody to face federal charges, has sent shockwaves across the region. Kiy highlighted how U.S. attention to Latin America and the Caribbean has waned since the early 2000s, even as China has expanded its footprint. For San Diego, a border region with deep trade, manufacturing, and cultural ties to Mexico, Canada, and the broader Americas, these shifts carry direct local significance. Chinese engagement now spans 5G infrastructure, renewable energy, electric vehicles, ports, rail, logistics, and critical minerals. Kiy noted that as Washington disengages from regional partnerships, China has moved decisively to expand its influence in infrastructure and digital markets.
He also pointed to renewed U.S. focus on Canada and Greenland, driven less by ideology than by structural forces. Climate change has opened Arctic and Northwest Passage shipping routes, intensifying interest in critical minerals and rare earths. Greenland’s geographic position has gained new relevance for missile defense and Arctic security, while Canada’s control of northern waterways and mineral resources has elevated its strategic importance.
Kiy closed by emphasizing the enduring value of North American integration. The combined GDP of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, approximately $32 trillion, represents one of the world’s largest economic blocs. He noted that a shift from partnership toward primacy carries strategic consequences. History shows that U.S. leadership has been strongest when anchored in alliances, open markets, and shared prosperity, principles essential to long-term stability across the hemisphere.