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U.S. President Donald Trump must be feeling confident about his ability to bend Latin America to his will. It is not just because he recently decapitated the government of Venezuela, which he claimed the United States will now “run,” but it is also because a broad electoral wave across the region has brought a new set of right-wing leaders to power who are happy to praise him and are eager for his favor.

Washington should curb its enthusiasm over Latin America’s political realignment, however, regardless of whether it is the result of elections or the abduction of leaders by U.S. special forces.

U.S. President Donald Trump must be feeling confident about his ability to bend Latin America to his will. It is not just because he recently decapitated the government of Venezuela, which he claimed the United States will now “run,” but it is also because a broad electoral wave across the region has brought a new set of right-wing leaders to power who are happy to praise him and are eager for his favor.

Washington should curb its enthusiasm over Latin America’s political realignment, however, regardless of whether it is the result of elections or the abduction of leaders by U.S. special forces.

Some wins for the right in the region followed similar trends as those that gave the U.S. presidency to Trump: A growing hostility toward migrants—which many countries in South America had not seen before in such numbers—and the related fear of rampant crime helped right-wing politicians who campaigned on hard-line policies to restore public safety.

These parallels, however, will not necessarily align Latin America’s right with Trump and his wish list. Critically, not even the most right-wing of right-wing governments, the most lavish in praise for the U.S. president, or the most grateful for Washington’s helping hand will be ready to deliver what the Trump administration claims to want: a continent that is........

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