<P> In Argentine foreign policy, the Drago Doctrine was announced on December 29, 1902 by the Foreign Minister of Argentina, Luis María Drago . This was a response to the actions of Britain, Germany, and Italy during the Venezuela Crisis of 1902--1903, in which they had blockaded and shelled Venezuela's ports in an attempt to collect money owed as part of its national debt, accrued under regimes preceding that of president Cipriano Castro . Drago set forth the policy that no European power could use force against an American nation to collect debt . President Theodore Roosevelt rejected this policy as an extension of the Monroe Doctrine, declaring, "We do not guarantee any state against punishment if it misconducts itself". </P> <P> Instead, Roosevelt added the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine in 1904, asserting the right of the U.S. to intervene in Latin America in cases of "flagrant and chronic wrongdoing by a Latin American Nation" to preempt intervention by European creditors . This re-interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine went on to be a useful tool to take economic benefits by force when Latin nations failed to pay their debts to European and US banks and business interests . This was also referred to as the Big Stick ideology because of the phrase from president Roosevelt to "speak low and carry a big stick". The Roosevelt corollary provoked outrage across Latin America . </P> <P> The Roosevelt Corollary was invoked to intervene militarily in Latin America to stop the spread of European influence . It was the most significant amendment to the original doctrine and was widely opposed by critics, who argued that the Monroe Doctrine was originally meant to stop European influence in the Americas . They argued that the Corollary simply asserted U.S. domination in that area, effectively making them a "hemispheric policeman ." </P> <P> The so - called "Lodge Resolution" was passed by the U.S. Senate on August 2, 1912, in response to a reported attempt by a Japan - backed private company to acquire Magdalena Bay in southern Baja California . It extended the reach of the Monroe Doctrine to cover actions of corporations and associations controlled by foreign states . </P>

A unilateral declaration that the united states was the policeman of the western hemisphere was the