Editor's note

US President Donald Trump appears to have a fondness for his nation's armed forces, appointing three military men to high-level cabinet positions as well as proposing a 10% boost for military expenditure in his federal budget.

Given its long history of civilian control over the country's armed forces, the US could actually be at a delicate juncture, says Lillian Bobea. Its southern neighbours have tales to tell about what can happen when civilian control over the military is ceded.

Catesby Holmes

Global Commissioning Editor

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Who’s saluting whom? Mike Segar/Reuters

A warning from Latin America: Trump is opening the door to military rule

Lilian Bobea, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) - Dominican Republic

By appointing generals to top political posts and hiking defence spending, Donald Trump is imperiling a cherished tenet of the US constitution: civilian control of the military.

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