Military Generals Issue Warning About China Amassing ‘Power and Influence’ in South America

General Glen VanHerck, Commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington, DC on Capitol Hill March 24, 2022. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

U.S. generals have warned about China’s aggressive expansion and influence campaign in South America and the Caribbean, with Beijing investing in infrastructure while also pushing authoritarian governance in the region.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) “continues to expand its economic, diplomatic, technological, informational, and military influence in Latin America and the Caribbean. The PRC has the capability and intent to eschew international norms, advance its brand of authoritarianism, and amass power and influence at the expense of these democracies,” General Laura J. Richardson, Commander of the U.S. Southern Command, said during a House Armed Service committee hearing on March 8, referring to the Chinese regime by its official name the People’s Republic of China.