The Caribbean area is the soft underbelly of the United States, just as the Mediterranean was to the Axis in World War II. Most of the Anglo-American war efforts prior to D-Day took place in North Africa and Italy. A present or future enemy would look likewise at the Caribbean. This area has been in the American sphere of influence since the late 19th Century. Even before that, some enthusiastic expansionists dreamed about annexing Cuba and other areas into the United States. The very fact that several of the Central American nations are unstable underscores the need for increased American involvement. China is making large scale deals in the Western Hemisphere. Increased Sino-Brazilian and Sino-Venezuelan ties are not favorable to long-term American interests.
If Ortega came back to power in Nicaragua, or the leftist PRD won the Mexican elections, toppling hostile regimes in those countries should be a top U.S. priority. If NAFTA and CAFTA can forestall takeover of these countries by anti-American forces without bloodshed, this may be an acceptable tradeoff for the loss of automobile or textile jobs to the nations to our south. Better to lose it to them than to an Asian nation.