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Biden Keeps Losing the War Against China in Latin America
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)
December 21, 2021
El American
Nicaragua’s decision to sever ties with Taiwan is a disturbing development for both the U.S. and the entire Western Hemisphere. Not only does it represent the further corruption of Nicaragua’s Ortega-Murillo regime, it also points to Beijing’s increased influence in our own backyard.
And yet, it appears that the Biden Administration’s foreign policy will continue to undercut America’s national interests. What the United States needs is a real strategy for strengthening democracy and the rule of law in Latin America and countering the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
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China’s goal in gaining control over developing nations is the creation of its own economic sphere of influence, one that can eclipse the West. It is all part of Beijing’s long-term plan to overtake the U.S. as the world’s superpower and remake the international order in its own authoritarian image. Nicaragua’s decision to cut diplomatic relations with Taiwan is the latest step in Beijing’s attempt to gain power over our hemisphere.
The Ortega-Murillo regime sees the CCP as a better ideological ally than the U.S. because Ortega’s long list of crimes and human rights violations are of no concern to the genocidal regime in Beijing. Ortega also wants continued Chinese funding for the construction of an Atlantic-to-Pacific canal through Nicaragua, which People’s Liberation Army warships can then use to access the Caribbean.
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Unfortunately, the current administration has not put forth such a response. President Biden claims to support Taiwan and champion freedom. But a few weeks ago, during his virtual Summit of Democracies, the U.S. downgraded Taiwan’s level of participation and censored its representative. Halfhearted State Department criticism of Nicaragua’s break of relations with Taiwan will not be enough to stop the CCP from furthering its authoritarian goals in East Asia, and now in Latin America.
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In fact, it’s likely that Biden’s incompetence and catastrophic foreign policy convinced Ortega that now was the perfect time to act. So many of America’s rivals are choosing to move against our interests right now because they know our executive leadership is weak.
Read the rest here.