- Speaking on a panel at the Foro Madrid conference in Santiago, U.S. Ambassador Brandon Judd said Chile is already carrying out the "Donroe Doctrine" and that doing so "becomes very easy" under President José Antonio Kast, according to La Tercera.
- Opposition lawmakers accused Judd of interference and demanded a public response from Kast's government, while the Foreign Minister and Interior co-minister distanced themselves from the remarks without directly rebuking the ambassador.
- Judd's reference to the "Shield of the Americas" program sits awkwardly next to Defense Minister Fernando Barros's own statement, weeks earlier, that Chile has not joined that program and won't decide until November.
Nearly six months into President José Antonio Kast's term, Chile is facing fresh questions about sovereignty and its relationship with Washington, after U.S. Ambassador Brandon Judd told a Santiago audience that Chile is already carrying out Donald Trump's so-called "Donroe Doctrine" — and that Kast's government makes the job unusually easy.
What Judd Actually Told the Panel
Judd made the remarks on September 3 during a panel titled "The New Role of the United States in Ibero-America" at the fifth regional gathering of Foro Madrid, a conservative political forum tied to Spain's Vox party. The panel was moderated by Venezuelan journalist Orlando Avendaño and also featured Heritage Foundation fellow Mike González, Venezuelan writer Alejandro Peña Esclusa, and Continental Strategy partner Eric Farnsworth.
Asked about Chile's place in Washington's regional posture, Judd argued that every U.S. ambassador has room to apply the "Donroe Doctrine" — a term blending Trump's name with the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine — however local conditions allow. He then singled out Chile's government, telling the panel that "when you have an administration like President Kast's, it becomes very easy," according to La Tercera's account of the panel.
Judd tied the comment to the "Shield of the Americas," a Washington-led anti-narcotics initiative he said would let Kast make good on the anti-crime pledge that won him the presidency, and waved off critics of the broader doctrine as missing the point of a forward-looking security partnership.
Opposition Lawmakers Push Back
Center-left and left-wing lawmakers reacted almost immediately. Socialist Party deputy Nelson Venegas argued the comments left many Chileans feeling humiliated, while deputy Jaime Mulet went further, telling reporters "the ambassador should be quiet" because Chile alone decides its own foreign policy, per BioBioChile.
Communist deputy Marcos Barraza said he would formally ask both the president and the Foreign Ministry to detail how the government plans to respond, calling Judd's comments highly interventionist and warning that Chile's foreign and military policy cannot be dictated from Washington. Frente Amplio deputy Gonzalo Winter argued the episode exposes real subordination on Kast's part, telling the president directly that he governs for Chileans rather than for what Donald Trump wants. Not every lawmaker objected: Republican deputy Luis Sánchez defended Judd, framing the remarks as recognition of Chile's clarity and seriousness on security matters.
The Government's Mixed Response — and a Quiet Contradiction
La Moneda's public reaction has leaned toward downplaying the doctrine talk while still defending closer security cooperation with Washington. Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna told reporters "I don't know what it means for Chile to accept the Donroe policy," adding that no formal declaration exists and that talks with Washington cover specific joint projects rather than a sweeping alignment, according to El Periodista.
Interior and Segegob co-minister Claudio Alvarado struck a similarly hands-off tone, saying Judd is free to say what he believes fits and that Chile still welcomes deeper security collaboration with Washington.
Neither minister addressed a statement Defense Minister Fernando Barros made three weeks earlier. Responding to similar Monroe Doctrine rhetoric from U.S. officials, Barros said Chile is "not the backyard of any country" and confirmed Chile has not joined the "Shield of the Americas" program at all, with a formal decision not expected until November. That leaves an open question for readers weighing Judd's claim: the ambassador described Chile as already benefiting from a program its own defense minister says the country has not formally joined.
Part of a Bigger Pattern
This week's uproar extends what has become an unusually turbulent run for Judd, who was confirmed as ambassador in October 2025 and presented his credentials in Santiago on November 10, 2025, while Gabriel Boric was still president. Within about two weeks, comments he made about Boric and Trump prompted a formal protest from Chile's Foreign Ministry, according to El Mostrador's timeline of his tenure. It's also not the first friction point under Kast specifically: in late July, Judd publicly warned Chilean ministers against criticizing U.S. tariffs, prompting a similar round of pushback, per BioBioChile.
In the roughly ten months since his arrival, Judd has drawn criticism over Venezuela policy, Chile's ride-hailing regulations, a proposed undersea cable to China, the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, and tariff talks — making the "Donroe Doctrine" remark the latest entry in a recurring pattern rather than a one-off slip. Whether Kast's government moves from distancing language to a firmer response may depend on how much pressure opposition lawmakers can sustain in Congress in the weeks ahead.
