Russia Wants to Be Latin America's New BFF

When Donald Trump dines with Latin American presidents at Trump Tower in New York tonight (Monday), the conversation could be strained. For one, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who's chafed at Trump's talk of walling the border and sending Mexico the bill, declined the invitation. Colombia's Juan Manuel Santos is still reeling from Washington's threat to decertify the country as a good actor in the war on drugs, while Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of Peru has pointedly called for "bridges," not walls.

OK, so it's still an opportunity for the U.S. leader to hear about a patch of real estate that his government has all but redlined. And yet even as Trump tries to make nice with his not-so-distant neighbors, he's already behind the diplomatic game. It's not just because of China: The Asian powerhouse’s two-decade run on New World resources and markets is part of the new normal in the Americas. Today, a resurgent Russia wants to become Latin America's new best friend.