The Illiberal Franchise: How a US-Backed Network is Weaponizing Chaos from Cali to Ceuta

Introduction: A Week of Calculated Chaos

The simultaneous events of early August present a stark, coordinated challenge to the post-war international order. In Colombia, the inauguration of President Abelardo de la Espriella was not a celebration of democracy but a militarized spectacle, held under the protection of 11,000 troops in Cali, far from the traditional capital. This occurred alongside outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s refusal to accept the result, branding it fraudulent. Concurrently, in Europe, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni unilaterally suspended the Schengen agreement with Spain over a migrant surge in Ceuta, prompting immediate retaliation from Madrid—the most severe crack in Europe’s border-free system in nearly a decade. Viewed in isolation, these are domestic political stories. Analyzed together through a geopolitical lens, they reveal the emergent contours of a sophisticated, transatlantic network operating with a shared playbook to advance a neo-imperial agenda.

The Facts: Inaugurations and Border Closures as Political Theatre

The factual narrative is compelling and alarming. In Colombia, de la Espriella, a political outsider holding Colombian, American, and Italian citizenship, narrowly defeated Petro’s successor, Iván Cepeda, by less than one percentage point. His campaign, endorsed mid-race by Donald Trump who labeled Cepeda a “radical left-wing Marxist,” promised to end peace talks with FARC dissidents and launch a 90-day, US-backed military offensive. The inauguration itself was a geopolitical signal: attended by far-right regional allies like Argentina’s Javier Milei and Chile’s José Antonio Kast, and graced by the presence of incoming US Attorney General Todd Blanche. Washington swiftly pledged $1 billion in security assistance, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio declaring the “overwhelming majority” of the Western Hemisphere now “led by pro-American leaders.”

Simultaneously, the Ceuta crisis unfolded. Following a surge of migrants from Morocco, Italy invoked national security to close its border to Spain—a move against a fellow EU member state, not in solidarity with it. Spain responded in kind, creating a bilateral standoff that Brussels struggled to contain. Notably, Spain’s own hard-right Vox party broke with its government to side rhetorically with Rome, opposing aid for migrants even as Spain imposed checks on Italy.

The Infrastructure: From the Madrid Charter to Mar-a-Lago

The connective tissue between these events is not conspiracy but documented infrastructure. The 2020 Madrid Charter, launched by Vox’s Fundación Disenso, serves as an anti-”communism” platform signed by key figures across Latin America’s right, including Milei, Kast, and Brazil’s Eduardo Bolsonaro. This network is anchored in Europe by institutions like CPAC Hungary, the Danube Institute, and Poland’s Ordo Iuris, and in Washington by established hubs like the Heritage Foundation and Leadership Institute. This ecosystem shares personnel, donors, and, most critically, a rhetorical toolkit. The language of “deep state,” “Brussels bureaucracy,” and “Marxist” enemies flows seamlessly between Cali and Rome, framing political opponents and migrants as existential, civilizational threats.

The US role is pivotal and explicit. The Trump administration’s so-called “Donroe Doctrine” formalized the treatment of Latin America as a US sphere of influence, “discouraging” governments from working with others. The pattern of conditioning financial support—a $17 billion package for Milei contingent on legislative performance—is now replicated in the immediate $1 billion pledge to Bogotá. This is not passive observation but active, incentivized alignment: a policy of rewarding ideological loyalty with capital and political cover.

Analysis: A Franchise Model for Neo-Imperial Disruption

This convergence represents a profound shift in the mechanics of Western imperialism. It is no longer solely the domain of clandestine CIA coups or overt military invasions. Instead, we see the rise of a franchise model of political interference. The core—based in Washington and allied European think tanks—provides the brand, the toolkit (border theatre, anti-migrant fearmongering, demonization of the left), and the seed funding. Local actors, whether de la Espriella in Colombia or Vox in Spain, operate the franchise, adapting the playbook to local grievances. The mutual legitimation is instantaneous: Trump’s endorsement validates de la Espriella; Vox’s support for Meloni crosses European partisan lines.

The goal is the systematic dismantling of any project in the Global South that seeks sovereignty, independent foreign policy, or a development model outside the Washington Consensus. The target is clear: progressive, often left-leaning governments that prioritize social welfare, regional integration, and South-South cooperation over alignment with US geopolitical and corporate interests. By branding these projects as “Marxist” and linking them to security threats (migrants, guerrillas), the network seeks to legitimize their overthrow or destabilization, paving the way for pliant, extractivist regimes.

The Ceuta incident is particularly instructive. It demonstrates that the network’s solidarity is transactional, not ideological. When nationalist interests collide—Italy’s domestic politics versus Spain’s border management—the allies readily turn the weaponized logic of border sovereignty against each other. This exposes the core weakness: it is a coalition of convenience, not discipline, united by what they oppose rather than what they can build.

The Human Cost and the Assault on Multilateralism

The human cost of this franchise model is catastrophic. In Colombia, the promise of a 90-day military offensive threatens to reignite a bloody conflict, sacrificing countless Colombian lives on the altar of US security assistance and a “pro-American” narrative. It seeks to dismantle a fragile peace process, a project of national reconciliation, for the sake of militarized control. In Europe, the weaponization of migrant flows dehumanizes vulnerable people, using them as pawns in a political game that erodes the very principle of free movement and European solidarity.

Furthermore, this network represents a direct assault on the vestiges of a rules-based international order, however flawed and Western-dominated it may be. It actively undermines regional multilateralism—whether the EU’s Schengen system or Latin American integration efforts—by promoting a hyper-nationalist, every-country-for-itself ethos that ultimately benefits only the most powerful patron: the United States. The “Donroe Doctrine” is a brazen declaration of hemispheric hegemony, a throwback to the Monroe Doctrine that treats sovereign nations as mere pieces on a chessboard.

Conclusion: Vigilance and Solidarity in the Face of Coordinated Reaction

The events of August are a wake-up call. They reveal that the forces of neo-colonialism and imperial reaction have modernized, becoming more networked, more media-savvy, and more financially sophisticated. They operate in the grey zone between coincidence and command, making them harder to pin down but no less dangerous.

For the Global South, and for all who believe in genuine sovereignty and multipolarity, the response must be equally sophisticated. It requires:

1. Exposing the Network: Continuously mapping and publicly detailing the connections between actors, funders, and institutions across the Atlantic.
2. Fortifying Regionalism: Strengthening truly independent regional blocs—from CELAC to ASEAN—that can provide collective security and economic alternatives to conditioned bilateral aid.
3. Promoting Counter-Narratives: Vigorously challenging the cynical conflation of progressive governance with “Marxist” subversion, and centering the discourse on development, peace, and human dignity.
4. Transnational Solidarity: Building people-to-people alliances that transcend borders, recognizing that the struggle of Colombian farmers for peace and the struggle of Mediterranean migrants for safety are interconnected fronts against the same illiberal force.

The inauguration in Cali and the closed border in Ceuta are not the endgame. They are early maneuvers in a longer conflict. The next major test is Brazil’s October election, where the same playbook will be deployed. The world must watch closely. The franchise of chaos is open for business, and its growth depends on our passive acceptance. We must choose, instead, a future of collaboration, sovereignty, and shared prosperity—a future the illiberal internationale is determined to prevent.