A new generation of right-leaning Latin American leaders is drawing comparisons to President Donald Trump, and one prominent conservative commentator says the shift is less about ideology than about voters wanting safety and economic stability.
Writing in an American Thinker commentary titled โLos Trump Latinos,โ Silvio Canto Jr. describes what he calls the rise of “right-center candidates who want to do business with the U.S.” and who seek to join what he terms the “Trump-Rubio parade” โ an apparent reference to the foreign policy posture of Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The ‘Trump Latinos’ thesis
Canto frames the development as a hemispheric vindication for Trump and Rubio, borrowing a phrase from a piece by Daniel McCarthy titled “Latin America’s Many Trumps.” McCarthy, as quoted in the American Thinker commentary, contends that the region is turning right, that socialism never truly receded after the Cold War, and that the same Cuban regime propped up by the Soviet Union remains in power decades later.
The commentary also cites the removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, which it says occurred when American forces took him from his bed in January and brought him to New York to stand trial. That account reflects the source’s characterization of events and is presented here as it appears in the original piece.
Canto, a Cuban-American writer who opens his column with fond memories of the Argentine vocal group Los Cinco Latinos โ a nod explaining why he prefers “Latinos” to “Hispanics” โ argues that most Latin American nations are not authoritarian. Rather, he says, elections in the region have historically swung between left and right, and now “they’re all swinging to the right.”
He points to Brazil as the “scene of the greatest right-wing comeback since President Trump’s own reelection,” though the commentary does not name specific Brazilian figures or electoral results, leaving the reference to the prior week’s news.
Security, not socialism
The more interesting argument in the American Thinker piece is Canto’s insistence that the shift cannot be reduced to a simple capitalism-versus-socialism framing. “I don’t think Latin American voters are voting for this guy or that guy based on socialism over capitalism,” he writes. Instead, he attributes the swing to more immediate concerns: keeping small businesses and streets safe, families not fearing that teenagers will be kidnapped by gangs on a Saturday night, shopkeepers not being shaken down by cartel members demanding protection money, and governments locking up violent criminals.
That voter sentiment, he suggests, is what makes El Salvador’s security model so appealing across the region โ “Everybody is looking at El Salvador and saying, why not here?” Canto does not elaborate on specific policies or leaders beyond the general pattern.
He acknowledges that the real test will be governance, not rhetoric. “Time will tell if ‘Los Trump Latinos’ can govern,” he writes, adding that so far they are “off to a good start, as we see in Colombia, where the new president is not messing around with criminal elements.” He does not identify the Colombian president by name or cite specific actions.
Style and substance
The commentary is written in a conversational, personal register, blending cultural nostalgia with political analysis. Canto jokes that Latin Americans love “un hombre fuerte” โ a strongman โ paired with a glamorous first lady, quoting a Colombian friend’s wry observation. The tone is admiring of the regional turn, but also cautiously pragmatic.
As an opinion piece, the column reflects a conservative, pro-Trump reading of hemispheric politics. It does not purport to offer original reporting; it synthesizes a thesis from McCarthy’s piece and the writer’s own observations and conversations.
For American readers trying to follow the region’s rapid political shifts, the American Thinker essay offers one lens: that the recent rightward turn is not an ideological revival so much as a demand for order โ and that the leaders benefiting from it may be judged less by their economic doctrine than by whether voters feel safe again.
Source: www.americanthinker.com โ https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/10/los-trump-latinos/