China and Russia continue to be a threat to the stability of the region. That is what emerges from the recent report by the head of the United States Southern Command, General Laura Richardson, who maintains that “democracy and democratic values are under attack at a global level.”
Along these lines he points to the two main actors mentioned above, “the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia.” Both countries, he warns, “are strategic competitors that operate without respecting international law or norms.” “They condone and perpetrate corruption, disinformation campaigns, cybercrime and human rights abuses that undermine the existing democratic political processes of fragile democracies in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Furthermore, he emphasizes that his actions also “reinforce the authoritarian government of the regimes in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.”
The effects of COVID-19
The situation, at least in the short and medium term, is not positive since, in his opinion, the health crisis caused by the coronavirus “has taken its toll on this region.” “Economies are suffering, there is a decrease in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) that ranges from 8.5% to 18.5%,” he detailed to justify that in this scenario “there are organizations that have taken advantage.”
“There is the capacity of evil state actors such as the People’s Republic of China, Russia or Iran, to be able to intervene and offer help due to the insecurity and instability in these democracies,” he points out during an intervention at the Wilson Center, a think tank. based in Washington.
The role of Southern Command
However, she is convinced that the role of the US Southern Command is to “help break that cycle” through “diplomatic, information, military and economic” policies.
“That’s very important as we see democracy under attack today and I see these authoritarian regimes or these authoritarian leaders running for president and using democracy and then dismantling it,” Richardson says.
Strategies in the region
For this reason, its strategy also involves forging alliances with other countries in the region. “Everything we do in terms of security cooperation, the training we do, is based on human rights, the rule of law and the professionalization of the military,” he says.
“We work very hard to talk about constitutions, the importance of honoring your constitution and what that means, because when you get into these gray areas, when the military is called in to help the police in crisis, it is important to understand their role and which means honoring that constitution and not a person,” he says, recalling that “several countries have also signed the human rights initiative” which, although not binding, represents “a commitment to take human rights very seriously.”
For this reason, the United States government is attentive to the movements of Russia and China in the south of the American continent. Richardson, during a hearing before the US Senate shortly after taking office, expressed his concern about the “aggressive expansion” of both countries in that region.
“What opened my eyes the most was the extent to which China and Russia are aggressively expanding their influence in our neighborhood, in Latin America and the Caribbean,” says Richardson, emphasizing that this area “is experiencing insecurity and instability,” he points out.
China: “the long-term strategic competitor”
Regarding the Asian giant, which the White House considers as its “long-term strategic competitor,” it warns that Xi Jinping’s Government “continues its relentless march to expand economic, diplomatic, technological, information technology and military influence.”
However, he considers that “the negative influence of the People’s Republic of China in this region could soon resemble the predatory and selfish influence that it now has in Africa,” but insists that the Asian country’s interest is not to invest but to “extract” all the resources that suit China.
“Let’s be clear, the People’s Republic of China does not invest. They extract,” says General Laura Richardson.
Rise of Chinese influence
In recent years, China’s government has stepped up efforts to expand influence in the West. Latin America has been one of its objectives through million-dollar investments in different sectors or with the formalization of credits with apparently good conditions.
According to some experts consulted by the Voice of AmericaMany times, these agreements involve investing in projects in certain sectors or directly bringing Chinese employees to work on the ground, which, without a doubt, increases control of the region.
Carola Ramón, director of the Latin American Affairs Studies Committee of the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI), highlights that “China is a key external actor for the region” and that its presence has increased in the last 20 years. In fact, in some nations in the hemisphere, the Asian country has become the main investor.
“It has become a key investor in the export market to Chile, Peru and Uruguay,” says Ramón.
The strategy that the Chinese government has followed has always been the same pattern: through investments. “Trade relations between China and Latin America through consortia complement the economy and these are patterns of behavior that have already occurred in the past,” says Sergio Ley, who was Mexico’s ambassador to China.
And it is precisely the collaboration agreements between China and the governments of some Latin American countries that have allowed Xi Jinping’s government to successfully establish itself in the territory.
Russia and democracy
The Southern Command is also very vigilant regarding the Kremlin’s contacts with Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. Regarding those three countries, Richardson says that “they maintain close ties with Russia and offer Putin a foothold in our hemisphere.”
This scenario, Richardson warns, has opened the door for criminal organizations to operate practically “without opposition” in the region, which represents a climate of instability and insecurity that will be difficult to appease in the short term if, in addition, they have the support from China and Russia.
“Transnational criminal organizations operate almost unopposed and open a path of corruption and violence that creates a gap and allows the People’s Republic of China and Russia to exploit these countries,” he says.
All of this, says the head of the United States Southern Command, represents “a threat to the security of citizens, undermines public trust and government institutions, and drives irregular migration to our homeland.”
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