National Security Adviser John Bolton said the United States will not allow a resurgence of communism in the Western Hemisphere, vowing to defend "freedom fighters." | Mark Wilson/Getty Images Foreign Policy Bolton praises Brazil's Bolsonaro as a 'like-minded' partner

White House national security adviser John Bolton on Thursday praised Jair Bolsonaro, the bombastic, far-right nationalist who triumphed in Brazil’s presidential election over the weekend, calling him a “like-minded” partner whose ascent should be seen as a welcome development in the region.

In a speech on U.S. policy toward Latin America, Bolton said Bolsonaro could be a partner in fighting against leftist leaders who sow instability in the region. He slammed socialist leaders in three countries — Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua — as the “troika of tyranny.”


Bolsonaro is a legislator whose presidential campaign was punctuated by openly racist, sexist and homophobic comments he made — for instance, saying he would rather his son die than be gay. President Donald Trump also previously congratulated Bolsonaro on his election.

Bolton grouped Bolsonaro’s election with that of Colombian President Iván Duque, a rightist politician who has not been embroiled in similar controversies.

“The recent elections of like-minded leaders in key countries, including Iván Duque in Colombia and, last weekend, Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, are positive signs for the future of the region, and demonstrate a growing regional commitment to free-market principles, and open, transparent and accountable governance,” Bolton said at Freedom Tower in Miami, a national historic landmark that served as a processing center for Cuban refugees in the 1960s.

Latin America was a major staging ground for the Cold War, leading to U.S. policies such as the one that allowed Cubans fleeing Fidel Castro’s rule to resettle stateside. Bolton said the United States would not allow a resurgence of communism in the hemisphere, vowing to defend “freedom fighters.”

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“This troika of tyranny, this triangle of terror stretching from Havana to Caracas to Managua, is the cause of immense human suffering, the impetus of enormous regional instability, and the genesis of a sordid cradle of communism in the Western Hemisphere,” he said.

With the midterm elections just around the corner, the Trump administration has taken to bashing socialist policies around the world, arguing without evidence that the election of Democrats would turn the United States into Venezuela, the nation mired in an economic and political crisis that has produced an exodus of refugees in the region. Bolton also announced a fresh round of sanctions against Venezuela, which will prevent Americans from doing business with corrupt actors in the the country’s gold sector.

“As the president has said, the problems we see in Latin America today have not emerged because socialism has been implemented poorly,” Bolton said. “On the contrary, the Cuban, Venezuelan and Nicaraguan people suffer in misery because socialism has been implemented effectively.”

It remains to be seen whether Bolsonaro, who has called immigrants “scum,” will be willing to help Venezuelan refugees arriving at the border with Brazil. In August, residents of a Brazilian border town drove Venezuelans out with attacks that included beatings and arson.

Bolton’s speech was reminiscent of his time in the George W. Bush White House, when, as the United Nations ambassador, he made a name for himself as a foreign policy hawk. He previously named Cuba as part of the “beyond” axis of evil for opposing the U.S. fight against terrorism after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Since taking office, Trump has unraveled the rapprochement with Cuba that former President Barack Obama had sought, imposing travel restrictions and pulling out diplomatic staff from the U.S. Embassy following mysterious sonic attacks.

Bolton also railed against his boss’s predecessor by name, saying that no member of the Trump administration would ever pose in front of an image of Che Guevara, the right-hand man to Castro. Obama came under scrutiny during his visit to Cuba in 2016, when he was seen at a ceremony in Havana’s Revolution Square against the backdrop of the Cuban Ministry of Interior building, which has a mural of Guevara’s likeness.

In Miami, Bolton’s message resonated. The influx of Latin Americans fleeing leftist dictatorships has made the city a stronghold of anti-communist fervor and support for Republicans. Flanking Bolton was Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), a Cuban-born former chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who is the embodiment of that political and demographic shift.

“The troika will crumble. The people will triumph. And the righteous flame of freedom will burn brightly again in this hemisphere,” Bolton told a crowd thundering with applause.