At Saturday’s hearing of new ambassadors appointed to El Salvador, Nicaragua and Uruguay this Thursday, several US senators advocated more pragmatic diplomacy in Latin America to combat Chinese influence (28).
Twenty-five years ago, the United States lived in a unipolar world. Today they face the Chinese Communist Party, a “commercial, technological, geopolitical, diplomatic and economic rival” as well as a “military threat to the country” and “interest” in Latin America and the Caribbean. declared Republican Senator Marco Rubio.
According to Democrat Tim Kaine, Washington should avoid focusing solely on “many problems in the region” and pay attention to “success stories” such as the Alliance for the Advancement of Democracy, which consists of Panama, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Panama. Ecuador.
Uruguay is “a model in many ways,” he added. The country is “working on a free trade agreement with Turkey and China” and its president, Luis Lacalle Pou, said it wanted to do the same with the United States and the United Kingdom, but Washington was “not looking south.” .
“Why don’t you invest in these countries?” she asked. Kaine insisted that the message should be: “If you’re doing the right thing, the United States will be your ally.”
Heide B. Fulton, designated as Uruguay’s ambassador by President Joe Biden, suggested “seeking new tools to strengthen the relationship”.
El Salvador, led by President Nayib Bukele, and Nicaragua, led by Daniel Ortega, whose re-election is seen as fraudulent by Washington, are on the other side of the diplomatic scale.
Rubio called for a “pragmatic” relationship with El Salvador “without applauding or celebrating everything people do.”
“The current president appears to be very popular right now. That’s the truth,” but there were facts that “do not seem to lead to a strengthening of democracy,” said William H. Duncan, the ambassador appointed to the Hand. Salvador.
A response that drove Democratic Senator Bob Menendez crazy. “Hitler was popular. Putin is popular in Russia. Just because he’s popular in a human country doesn’t mean we don’t have to put a lot of pressure on violations of human rights and democracy, can we agree?”
“We accept it,” Duncan replied, assuring him that he would defend “democracy, human rights and the fight against corruption and impunity” if approved in the post.
Republican Senator Rob Portman thought it relevant that Bukele “treated his relationship with the United States in a way that showed he was unwilling to cooperate” at a time when his country received more than US$7 billion in remittances from the region in 2021. America is home to two and a half million Salvadorans.
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The relationship with Nicaragua is the most problematic.
“Nicaragua is increasingly becoming a pariah state in the region,” replied ambassador-designate Hugo F. Rodriguez Jr.. To Kaine, who said that during the Summit of the Americas, several countries complained that Cuba and Venezuela were not invited to attend the meeting, but no one mentioned Nicaragua’s absence.
Rubio touched on another sensitive issue: the possibility of pulling Nicaragua out of the CAFTA free trade agreement with Central America.
“Is Nicaragua a free nation?” and if not, “what is the reason we continue to provide commercial benefits?” She asked.
“Expelling Nicaragua from CAFTA is potentially a very powerful tool and is something we need to seriously consider,” the aspiring ambassador said.
Also, Republican Bill Hagerty touched on the most sensitive issue for the entire American political class: the influence of China and, to a lesser extent, Russia.
In 2021, Nicaragua re-established diplomatic relations with China at the expense of Taiwan, which Beijing views as part of its territory. He also signed a cooperation agreement with the Chinese and allowed the presence of Russian troops on its territory.
“Abandoning Taiwan’s recognition” “deprives the citizens of Nicaragua of a reliable democratic partner,” Rodriguez said. Regarding Russia, they “openly follow the Russian playbook”.
source: Noticias
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