The $40M Freshman: How Crypto PACs Bought Bernie Moreno’s Foreign Policy

By February 2026, Bernie Moreno was done with campaign talk. He moved straight into policy, pushing the Mexican government to let the U.S. military step in. After the cartel boss 'El Mencho' died, Moreno didn't see a diplomatic puzzle—he saw an opening. He called it a 'tactical opportunity' for American 'military backup' to wipe out narco-terrorists. It’s a sharp turn away from working together and a leap toward the kind of hawkishLoaded Language interventionism we saw during the Trump years. It's already trashing relations with neighbors like Colombia.

To understand what Moreno is doing, you have to follow the money. And there's a lot of it—$100 million, to be exact. His 2024 win against Sherrod Brown was the most expensive race in Ohio's history. Critics called him a 'car salesman,' but he had a $40 million engine under the hood thanks to crypto Super PACs like Fairshake. These Super PACs are political committees that can raise unlimited sums from corporations and individuals, provided they don't coordinate directly with the candidate. These funds let Moreno drown out Brown's populist message with $51 million more in ads. He didn't just win; he outspent the competition into submission.

The vibe shift with Colombia is even more dramatic. Under President Gustavo Petro, Colombia has moved toward a 'Total Peace' policy that prioritizes social reform over just burning coca crops. Moreno hates it. He's framing Petro’s progressivism as a direct threat to U.S. security. Now, he’s trying to weaponize Foreign Military Financing (FMF)—a U.S. program that provides grants for buying American defense equipment. Moreno is pushing to cut off this aid unless Colombia hits aggressive military targets. Critics say he’s just trying to shake up the Petro administration to help the conservative business elites his family has always been close to.

“Moreno’s candidacy relied on a record-breaking war chest, spending $51 million more than incumbent Sherrod Brown on advertisements alone.”

Moreno talks a lot about his immigrant roots, but he isn't exactly a 'huddled masses' story. He was born into Bogotá’s high society. His brother, Luis Alberto Moreno, ran the Inter-American Development Bank. He’s part of a 'transnational elite' that’s more at home in Miami or D.C. boardrooms than in an Ohio factory or a Colombian farm. By wrapping his agenda in 'anti-drug' rhetoric, he’s giving a security-themed cover to policies that mostly protect his friends in high places.

Let’s be fair: Moreno wasn’t the only one with deep pockets. Sherrod Brown had tens of millions in PAC money too, making that 2024 Ohio race a massive $500 million slugfest. And while some left-leaning outlets claim Colombia is under 'direct threat' from the GOP, let’s get real. There aren't boots on the ground yet. The real threat is a massive diplomatic deep-freeze and the loss of development subsidies that keep things running.

What we don’t know is whether Moreno is acting as a lone wolf or if he's working with the White House. He was spotted cutting health care deals with the administration in January 2026. That suggests his hawkishLoaded Language foreign policy might just be a chip he’s willing to trade for domestic wins. With the 2026 midterms looming, this 'military backup' talk will be the ultimate test for the Republican party's new Latin American strategy.

For the rest of us, this isn't just talk—it's a potential return to 'forever wars' in our own backyard. Mexico and Colombia are huge trade partners. If these relationships blow up, you’re going to see it in the price of everything you buy. We’ll be watching the upcoming Defense Appropriations bill. That’s where we’ll see if Moreno’s rhetoric actually gets funded.