Authoritarians Next Door

By Hernán Alberro

Saturday, July 27, 2024

 

Two significant events took place in Washington, D.C., during the first half of July: the NATO Summit and Captive Nations Week. Both addressed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how Putin, China, Iran, and North Korea are pushing for a multipolar world order. Understandably, all eyes were focused east. But there are good reasons for the United States to also pay attention to its own neighborhood. After all, if Russia, Iran, and China are focusing on the Western Hemisphere, so should we.

 

Two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin has launched a renewed Latin American influence campaign. As Iria Puyosa, a senior researcher at the Atlantic Council, clearly summarizes, “Russia intervenes in Latin America by supporting non-democratic leftist governments and fostering alliances with the most radical political sectors of the continent. Above all, Putin’s regime seeks to align the political interests and conflicts of the region’s countries with its narrative of a multipolar world, which means the consecration of Russia, a markedly illiberal regime, as the undisputed leader of international geopolitics.”

 

In conjunction with this diplomatic effort, the Kremlin’s propaganda arm is pushing a narrative of Washington as the main cause of every problem in Latin America — and it’s working.

 

Countries like Cuba, with historical ties to Moscow, Venezuela, which receives significant Russian oil investments, and Nicaragua are strategic allies of Putin both militarily and in the propagation of Russia’s preferred narratives. A new report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies warns that the Kremlin’s positioning of ships and submarines in the Caribbean should be seen as a “calculated response to the recent announcement by NATO countries that Ukraine can use Western military weaponry to attack targets on Russian soil.”

 

At the same time, Russia’s most important ally, China, has become South America’s top trading partner, a major source of foreign direct investment, and a key lender for regional energy and infrastructure projects. China has significant investments in Latin America’s space sector and is actively strengthening military ties with many countries in the region, especially Venezuela. Evan Ellis, a research professor at the U.S. Army War College, notes that these Chinese–Latin American partnerships are shoring up the authoritarian governments in the Western Hemisphere, where Bejing has become a “willing partner” in efforts to sow instability in Washington’s backyard.

 

One alarming outgrowth of this partnership, exposed by new satellite imagery, is the report of four “active sites in Cuba capable of conducting electronic surveillance operations.” These installations are likely used by China to spy on the United States.

 

Even Iran is strengthening its presence in the Western Hemisphere. In a June 2023 trip to Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Cuba, then-president Ebrahim Raisi emphasized his interest in expanding Iran’s strategic partnerships in Latin America. “We want to increase and deepen our relations in all political, economic, cultural, and all areas, especially in science and technology,” he said following his meeting with his Nicaraguan counterpart, Daniel Ortega.

 

During the same tour, Iran signed a treaty with Bolivia’s socialist president, Luis Arce, to increase bilateral cooperation in defense and security. This agreement allows for the operation of Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles for “border surveillance” in the Latin American country. This should be cause for concern in Washington.

 

Unfortunately, these are just a few examples of the increased activity of authoritarian regimes from the East meant to destabilize peace and democracy in America’s backyard. It is in the strategic interest of the United States and the democratic world to pay more attention to Latin America — before it is too late.