U.S. Official Discusses Potential “Competition” With China, Russia in Latin America

JUST IN: Senior U.S. Official Warns ‘Competition’ Russia, China and Latin America

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Some of the Defense Department’s most pressing adversaries are growing their presence right in the United States’ own backyard, Gen. Laura Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command, said Jan. 19.

China is considered a terrorist by the Pentagon “pacing challenge” Russia “acute threat” According to the National Defense Strategy, the United States has changed its priorities to avoid conflict with any nation by a variety of modernization efforts that mainly focus on operations in the Indo-Pacific.

However, Richardson noted that Beijing and Moscow’s activities are not isolated to the Eastern Hemisphere and each country has been growing its influence in Central and South America through a variety of projects — from investments in critical infrastructure to providing military equipment.

“I believe that we have some competition right here on the 20-yard-line to our homeland — right here in the red zone,” Richardson spoke at an Atlantic Council event. “We haven’t had competition like this before, and we have to do things a little bit differently.”

China’s leverage in the nations within Southcom’s jurisdiction are troubling, she said. She noted that Beijing has been a major trading partner to many Latin American countries, while also investing billions of dollars in infrastructure projects.

For example, 20 nations in Latin America have signed onto the Belt and Road Initiative — a global infrastructure development program funded by the Chinese government. Richardson stated that Beijing helped finance vital highways, railways, and deep-water ports throughout South and Central America through the project.

She also noted that China is heavily involved in the construction of 5G infrastructure in Latin America. Several nations depend on the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei— which the United States has banned from sale or import — as their wireless network providers, she said.

“I worry about these dual-use, state-owned enterprises that pop up from the [People’s Republic of China], and I worry about the dual-use capability — being able to flip them around and use them for military use,” Richardson spoke.

She said that many Latin American countries are still suffering from the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected their ability to import new equipment.

“These partner nations, due to the impacts of their economy, are starting to look at the financing that goes along with it — not necessarily the quality of the equipment, but who has the best finance deal — because they can’t afford it so much up front,” She said.

Meanwhile, Russia’s activities in Latin America are also concerning, and Southcom is working with partner nations to weaken Moscow’s influence, Richardson said.

She said that the command is currently trying to replace Russian-made equipment in nine countries with equipment made in the United States. Countries who do replace their equipment do have the opportunity to donate it to Ukraine’s effort against Russia, she added.

She said that disinformation from Russian media sources is also common in the region. There are spikes of activity in times leading up to crucial elections.

Richardson stressed that the United States has a vital role to play in Central America and South America and that it should be investing more economically as well as continuing to work with its partners nations.

“This region matters. It has a lot to do with national security, and we need to step up our game, and we need to be faster. And we need to work and deliver capabilities at the speed of relevance for this region,” She said.

Topics: International, Defense Department

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