Latin lessons: the Donroe-doctrine boost

In 2025, foreign direct investment to the developing world shrank, but Latin America saw a surge to $205 billion—a sizable increase on the previous year. At least half of that increase came from the United States. The region is benefiting from a paradox: Donald Trump has been belligerent toward Latin American leaders, threatening to invade Cuba and kidnapping the leader of Venezuela, but his administration is also pouring money into the region. The U.S. aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford has reached Caribbean waters, and Trump has extended $20 billion in swap lines to Argentina. The Development Finance Corporation set up its first Latin American office in São Paulo. The result is a boom that has made Latin America the best-performing developing region for foreign investment in 2025.

The mining rush and the China factor

The single biggest beneficiary of this investment surge has been mining. The Trump administration has struck deals with Chile, which holds nearly half the world's copper, and with less obvious places like Paraguay. The U.S. government stumped up half a billion dollars for a rare earth mine in Brazil. Private investors have followed, from small-time prospectors to mining majors. The logic is straightforward: Trump wants critical minerals, and Latin America has them.