More than any of its predecessors since the first edition in 1987, the Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy (NSS) reflects a belief that the Western Hemisphere is the paramount zone of strategic interest for the United States. It dashes any hopes that the Western Hemisphere would be ephemeral to the U.S. national interest and signals a promising trajectory for hemispheric relations.

The first year of the second Trump administration has already featured a strong focus on the Western Hemisphere. On the diplomatic front, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s first trip abroad was to Central America, a once-in-a-century move that came after penning an article adumbrating an “Americas First Foreign Policy.” At least five cabinet secretaries have visited the region so far, many of them multiple times. Militarily, the United States has undertaken a critical build-up of air and naval assets in the Caribbean and just this week imposed a blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers.

More than any of its predecessors since the first edition in 1987, the Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy (NSS) reflects a belief that the Western Hemisphere is the paramount zone of strategic interest for the United States. It dashes any hopes that the Western Hemisphere would be ephemeral to the U.S. national interest and signals a promising trajectory for hemispheric relations.

The first year of the second Trump administration has already featured a strong focus on the Western Hemisphere. On the diplomatic front, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s first trip abroad was to Central America, a once-in-a-century move that came after penning an article adumbrating an “Americas First Foreign Policy.” At least five cabinet secretaries have visited the region so far, many of them multiple times. Militarily, the United States has undertaken a critical build-up of air and naval assets in the Caribbean and just this week imposed a blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers.

The foreign-policy establishment, however, has regarded the Americas First approach as mistaken policy at best and suicidal strategy at worst. This is misguided. The Trump administration’s strategic pivot aims to rebuild the foundational source of U.S. global power—a prosperous, economically integrated, and secure hemisphere. Now the question is how much the 2025 NSS will actually guide U.S. policy. If U.S. President Donald Trump wants to make good on the strategy in the remaining three years of his term, several long-term trends in the U.S. approach toward the Western Hemisphere must change.

The new NSS places the Western Hemisphere first in the regional section, dedicating four pages to outlining U.S. strategy in its neighborhood. Principally, the NSS asserts U.S. desire to “restore American preeminence” in the Western Hemisphere and “enlist” and “expand” the number of regional partners that can serve as force multipliers on the administration’s key issues: curtailing illegal immigration, reducing drug trafficking, and combatting China.

Strikingly, the NSS leads with the development of a “Trump Corollary” to........

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