Exterior of the Organization of American States “Main Building” in Washington, DC near the White House. (Image Source: Flickr; https://tinyurl.com/2t3swaxe)
By Lucas Wood-Gluck
The Organization of American States is an overlooked diplomatic, security, and economic forum that U.S. policymakers neglect to the benefit of adversaries, but at the cost of regional integration and U.S. credibility.
From overt U.S. remarks of annexation to rumors of a possible regime change operation in Venezuela, the Western Hemisphere has received renewed geopolitical attention at a time when headlines are dominated by war in Africa and Eurasia. It is therefore imperative that U.S. policymakers do not overlook opportunities to promote peace and multilateralism elsewhere, including the Western Hemisphere. One overlooked intergovernmental organization is the Organization of American States (OAS), an entity in which the United States has a unique leadership position that the Trump administration should not squander if it wishes to genuinely pursue stability in Central and South America.
The OAS was founded in 1948 as an economic and diplomatic forum for the Western Hemisphere and builds upon the regional collective security agreement known as the 1947 Rio Treaty.[i] The organization has five goals: “promoting democracy; defending human rights; ensuring a multidimensional approach to security; fostering integral development and prosperity; and supporting inter-American legal cooperation.”[ii] It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and had an approved budget of $167 million in 2024, of which the United States provided $60.4 million.[iii] All independent countries in the Western Hemisphere are OAS member states except for three: Cuba due to suspension, Nicaragua due to voluntary withdrawal, and Venezuela due to conflicting representatives.[iv]
Throughout its history, the OAS has provided the United States with a vital diplomatic avenue to safeguard its interests in the region. During the Cold War, the OAS approved the Caracas Declaration of 1954, calling on member states “to take the necessary measures to protect their political independence against the intervention of international communism.”[v] This gave the United States the diplomatic cover to flex its hegemony in the region through coups, embargoes, and invasions. Beginning in the 1990’s with the end of the Cold War, the OAS was able to shift efforts to cooperative regional stabilization such as investing in and providing disaster relief to member states through the Inter-American Development Bank.[vi] Additionally, the Mechanism for the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, or MESICIC, assists with strengthening election integrity and promoting good governance.[vii] Most recently in November 2024, in response to the collapse of the security situation in Haiti following the 2021 assassination of President Moïse, the OAS adopted Resolution 1268 to promote Haiti’s request for a U.N. peacekeeping operation.[viii]
Despite the regional leverage provided by the OAS, the Trump administration’s nationalistic rhetoric, threats of annexation, and unilateral military strikes in the Caribbean against supposed drug traffickers not only undermine the United States’ traditional organizational standing, but also risk fueling the rise of similar organizations that exclude the United States.[ix] The OAS has reported that the Trump administration terminated funding for twenty-two OAS programs, and the preliminary U.S. FY 2026 budget proposal “recommends pausing most assessed contributions and all voluntary contributions to international organizations.”[x] Considering that the United States contributes almost a third of the OAS budget, this reduced funding and leadership will very likely produce worsened electoral oversight, weakened anti-corruption efforts, slower disaster relief, and a more volatile security environment in the region. Increased insecurity invariably displaces more people, who will likely continue to try entering the United States for better opportunity despite the Trump administration’s attempts to curtail immigration.[xi] Alternatively, a rumored U.S.-Venezuela war would almost certainly send shockwaves throughout the region; according to the OAS Charter, “Every State… has the duty to abstain from intervening in the affairs of another State.” This non-intervention clause has remained a hallmark in regional relations, and a U.S. invasion against a recent OAS member state as large as Venezuela would almost certainly alienate the United States and undermine OAS authority.[xii] By pursuing short-term, bellicose policies, President Trump is alienating U.S. neighbors and empowering alternative organizations that exclude Washington.
A strong OAS rewards member states, promotes greater inter-American cooperation, and disincentivizes members from deepening ties with U.S. adversaries. However, the Trump administration’s reduced funding provides adversaries with the opportunity to drive a wedge between Washington and other OAS member states. For example, Argentina planned to formally enter BRICS in January 2024, a growing body of rising economies with varying degrees of anti-Western sentiment, but President Milei reversed course almost immediately after taking office in December 2023 in a move signaling immediate realignment with the U.S.-led international order.[xiii] Although many factors likely contributed to President Milei’s decision, the perks of regional economic and diplomatic integration, thanks in part to the OAS, appear to have been too vital to the national interest to risk. Since President Trump’s return to office and the ensuing shakeup of global alliances, however, OAS member states are more incentivized to pursue policies of self-interest. In October 2024, Argentina received a $20 billion bailout by the Trump administration and then immediately took advantage of the ongoing U.S.-China trade war to strike a deal with China to sell them a record-high number of soybeans, a market previously dominated by U.S. soybeans but now severely disrupted by President Trump’s tariffs.[xiv]
Another growing organization is the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). Founded in 2011, CELAC is a regional forum of countries in the Caribbean and Central and South America promoting regional integration, sustainable development, and political cooperation. Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua are members, while the United States and Canada are not.[xv] During its April 2025 summit, member states “critiqued [President Trump’s] tariffs and strategized about the future of the United Nations,” and the group has said it will hold meetings with the European Union, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the African Union, and China.[xvi] While CELAC indeed represents a logical step toward greater integration among Latin American states with a shared heritage, it would be unwise for U.S. policymakers not to take the OAS seriously in response to growing diplomatic competition. CELAC would only be a potential national security concern to the United States if it overtook the OAS as the premier diplomatic body of the Western Hemisphere, which would almost certainly be the fault of continued U.S. neglect and signal that there are worse problems to solve back home.
Works Cited
AP News. “US Calls Nicaragua’s Decision to Leave Organization of American States a ‘Step Away from Democracy,’” November 19, 2023. https://apnews.com/article/nicaragua-organization-of-american-states-ac9df8e440c5196e4b282e892dbb8f53.
Cano, Regina Garcia. “Trump Has Accused Boat Crews of Being Narco-Terrorists. The Truth, AP Found, Is More Nuanced.” AP News, November 7, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-boat-strikes-drugs-cocaine-trafficking-95b54a3a5efec74f12f82396a79617ea.
“Caracas Declaration of Solidarity,” March 28, 1954. https://loveman.sdsu.edu/docs/1954Caracas.pdf.
CELAC International. “The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States,” n.d. https://celacinternational.org/.
CFR Editors. “The Organization of American States.” Council on Foreign Relations, April 12, 2012. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/organization-american-states#chapter-title-0-11.
Inter-American Development Bank. “History of the IDB.” IDB, n.d. https://www.iadb.org/en/who-we-are/about-us/history-idb.
Meyer, Peter. “Organization of American States: In Brief.” Congress.gov, May 21, 2025. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47230.
Madison Mills and Marc Caputo, “The U.S. Helped Argentina, Then Argentine Farmers Made a Deal with China,” Axios, September 24, 2025, https://www.axios.com/2025/09/24/trump-milei-us-argentina.
Moore, Jack. “Trump Vows to ‘Permanently Pause’ Migration from Some Countries after National Guard Shooting.” ABC News, November 28, 2025. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-permanently-pause-migration-countries-after-national-guard/story?id=127942078.
Organization of American States. “Anticorruption Portal of the Americas – MESICIC.” http://www.oas.org, August 1, 2009. https://www.oas.org/en/sla/dlc/mesicic/default.asp.
———. “Charter of the Organization of American States (A-41),” n.d. https://www.oas.org/en/sla/dil/inter_american_treaties_A-41_charter_OAS.asp.
———. “In Support of Haiti’s Request for a United Nations Peacekeeping Operation.” Un.org, November 13, 2025. https://docs.un.org/en/S/2024/847.
———. “OAS – Organization of American States: Democracy for Peace, Security, and Development.” http://www.oas.org, August 1, 2009. https://www.oas.org/en/.
———. “OAS Revokes Resolution Suspending Membership of Cuba in the Inter-American System.” OAS, August 1, 2009. https://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=GA-12-09.
Osborn, Catherine. “Latin American Leaders Gather in Honduras.” Foreign Policy, April 11, 2025. https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/11/celac-summit-trump-tariffs-un-secretary-general/. Plummer, Robert. “Argentina Pulls out of Plans to Join BRICS Bloc.” Www.bbc.com, December 29, 2023. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-67842992
[i] CFR Editors, “The Organization of American States,” Council on Foreign Relations, April 12, 2012, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/organization-american-states#chapter-title-0-11.
[ii] Organization of American States, “OAS – Organization of American States: Democracy for Peace, Security, and Development,” http://www.oas.org, August 1, 2009, https://www.oas.org/en/.
[iii] Peter Meyer, “Organization of American States: In Brief,” Congress.gov, May 21, 2025, https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47230.
[v] “Caracas Declaration of Solidarity,” March 28, 1954, https://loveman.sdsu.edu/docs/1954Caracas.pdf.
[vi] Inter-American Development Bank, “History of the IDB,” IDB, https://www.iadb.org/en/who-we-are/about-us/history-idb.
[vii] Organization of American States, “Anticorruption Portal of the Americas – MESICIC,” http://www.oas.org, August 1, 2009, https://www.oas.org/en/sla/dlc/mesicic/default.asp.
[viii] Organization of American States, “In Support of Haiti’s Request for a United Nations Peacekeeping Operation,” Un.org, November 13, 2025, https://docs.un.org/en/S/2024/847.
[ix] Regina Garcia Cano, “Trump Has Accused Boat Crews of Being Narco-Terrorists. The Truth, AP Found, Is More Nuanced,” AP News, November 7, 2025, https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-boat-strikes-drugs-cocaine-trafficking-95b54a3a5efec74f12f82396a79617ea.
[x] Peter Meyer, “Organization of American States: In Brief”
[xi] Jack Moore, “Trump Vows to ‘Permanently Pause’ Migration from Some Countries after National Guard Shooting,” ABC News, November 28, 2025, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-permanently-pause-migration-countries-after-national-guard/story?id=127942078.
[xii] Organization of American States, “Charter of the Organization of American States (A-41),” n.d., https://www.oas.org/en/sla/dil/inter_american_treaties_A-41_charter_OAS.asp.
[xiii] Robert Plummer, “Argentina Pulls out of Plans to Join BRICS Bloc,” Www.bbc.com, December 29, 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-67842992.
[xiv] Madison Mills and Marc Caputo, “The U.S. Helped Argentina, Then Argentine Farmers Made a Deal with China,” Axios, September 24, 2025, https://www.axios.com/2025/09/24/trump-milei-us-argentina.
[xv] “The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States,” CELAC International, https://celacinternational.org/.
[xvi] Catherine Osborn, “Latin American Leaders Gather in Honduras,” Foreign Policy, April 11, 2025, https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/04/11/celac-summit-trump-tariffs-un-secretary-general/.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
Lucas Wood-Gluck
Lucas is a second-year master’s student in the U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security program at SIS and a 2025-2026 Boren Fellowship awardee (Latvia, Russian). He is from Miami, Florida, received his bachelor’s degree in international studies from the University of Florida, and speaks English, Spanish, Russian, and Brazilian Portuguese
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