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Pompeo to Latin America: 'We love you,' China doesn't
by Joel Gehrke
| April 12, 2019 04:22 PM
China and Russia are “pretended friends” of Latin America who buy off corrupt leaders in exchange for political and economic influence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.
“China, Russia, they’re showing up at the doorstep, but once they enter the house, we know they will use debt traps, they will disregard rules, and they will spread disorder in your home,” Pompeo said while traveling in Santiago, Chile.
Pompeo, who is on a four-country tour to intensify opposition to Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, lashed Russia and China as “hypocritical advocates for nonintervention” against the regime in Caracas. But his speech ranged more broadly, as he placed the Venezuela crisis in the context of a broader competition among the United States, China, and Russia.
“On this continent, the United States is showing up as never before, reminding our friends of how much we have in common, of how much our interests align, and how much we love you,” he said.
Despite his discussion of Chinese and Russian inroads in the region, Pompeo's focus on China signaled that U.S. officials may see Beijing as a more significant threat to U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere.
“When China does business in places like Latin America, it often injects corrosive capital into the economic bloodstream, giving life to corruption and eroding good governance,” Pompeo said.
He anchored that charge by describing a dam construction project in Ecuador that was funded with $19 billion of Chinese loans. Workers have died in preventable accidents at the dam, the top U.S. diplomat said, and the project led to corruption charges against top government officials accused of bribery.
“China in exchange received 80% of Ecuador’s oil at a discount and then resold that oil to make a profit,” said Pompeo. “This does not seem like a reliable partner to me. I am confident this does not seem like a reliable partner to you, either."
Pompeo has been carrying a similar message around the world, but his speech shows how concerned U.S. officials and analysts have become about China’s growing influence among America’s neighbors. Sales of advanced surveillance technology are giving Communist officials the chance to build a “security surveillance state at our front door,” as a top Republican senator put it recently.
“The United States will always encourage Latin American partners to avoid these [debt-trap deals],” said Pompeo. “We’ve entered a new era, as governments across the region are shrugging off failed socialist models, plucking out the thorns of corruption, and creating dynamic economic systems with real and true reforms that will be lasting, that will benefit your children and your grandchildren.”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...peo-to-latin-america-we-love-you-china-doesnt
by Joel Gehrke
| April 12, 2019 04:22 PM
China and Russia are “pretended friends” of Latin America who buy off corrupt leaders in exchange for political and economic influence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.
“China, Russia, they’re showing up at the doorstep, but once they enter the house, we know they will use debt traps, they will disregard rules, and they will spread disorder in your home,” Pompeo said while traveling in Santiago, Chile.
Pompeo, who is on a four-country tour to intensify opposition to Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, lashed Russia and China as “hypocritical advocates for nonintervention” against the regime in Caracas. But his speech ranged more broadly, as he placed the Venezuela crisis in the context of a broader competition among the United States, China, and Russia.
“On this continent, the United States is showing up as never before, reminding our friends of how much we have in common, of how much our interests align, and how much we love you,” he said.
Despite his discussion of Chinese and Russian inroads in the region, Pompeo's focus on China signaled that U.S. officials may see Beijing as a more significant threat to U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere.
“When China does business in places like Latin America, it often injects corrosive capital into the economic bloodstream, giving life to corruption and eroding good governance,” Pompeo said.
He anchored that charge by describing a dam construction project in Ecuador that was funded with $19 billion of Chinese loans. Workers have died in preventable accidents at the dam, the top U.S. diplomat said, and the project led to corruption charges against top government officials accused of bribery.
“China in exchange received 80% of Ecuador’s oil at a discount and then resold that oil to make a profit,” said Pompeo. “This does not seem like a reliable partner to me. I am confident this does not seem like a reliable partner to you, either."
Pompeo has been carrying a similar message around the world, but his speech shows how concerned U.S. officials and analysts have become about China’s growing influence among America’s neighbors. Sales of advanced surveillance technology are giving Communist officials the chance to build a “security surveillance state at our front door,” as a top Republican senator put it recently.
“The United States will always encourage Latin American partners to avoid these [debt-trap deals],” said Pompeo. “We’ve entered a new era, as governments across the region are shrugging off failed socialist models, plucking out the thorns of corruption, and creating dynamic economic systems with real and true reforms that will be lasting, that will benefit your children and your grandchildren.”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...peo-to-latin-america-we-love-you-china-doesnt
