Leaving the Back Door Open

Long ago, I wrote a post called "Outflanked by the Commies", in which I said:

[T]he bad news really only begins with M-13. It seems that Central America and northern South America are rapidly falling under the influence of the Marxist government of Venezuela, which is headed by Hugo Chavez....

In that article, I focused more on how Chavez might help smuggle terrorists into the United States, but I soon started tracking China's increased influence in Latin America. (I most recently alluded to Chavez's flirtations with China here.)

An article appearing today in the Washington Times (HT: TIA Daily) gives me the cold comfort that I was right to be alarmed.

China, striving to match the superpower status of the United States, is boosting military contacts throughout Latin America and eyeing the region as a market for its growing arms industry, U.S. officials say.

Chinese military officials made 20 visits to counterparts in Latin America and the Caribbean last year, says Gen. Bantz Craddock, who heads the U.S. Southern Command.

Gen. Craddock, in congressional testimony, reported that nine Latin American defense ministers visited Beijing during the same period.

"An increasing presence of the People's Republic of China [PRC] in the region is an emerging dynamic that must not be ignored," he said.

The article discusses Chinese arms dealing in more detail, and then notes that Chinese interest in Taiwan also plays a factor.

Part of China's interest in Latin America stems from rival Taiwan's success in maintaining diplomatic relations with several nations in the region.

China continues to refashion its military for a potential attack on Taiwan, the democratic island nation that it regards as a breakaway republic. Officials and analysts widely agree that China's key political goal in the Western Hemisphere is to strangle Taiwan diplomatically.


"China is also interested in matching its economic power with political influence in the region," Charles Shapiro, deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, told Congress in recent testimony. "China's desire to compete with and ultimately isolate Taiwan diplomatically is a key factor in Latin America."

This article is a must-read.

Incidentally, China, already known for its interest in influencing American politics, has a willing assistant for the same purpose in Hugo Chavez, who is already known for bribing his own people with government handouts and for meddling in the affairs of other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. This is the whole blurb on the subject from The American Thinker.

If you think Hugo Chavez's regional meddling is confined to Bolivia, you're in for a surprise. Chavez not only meddles in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua and any other country he can find an opportunity in, he also is actively meddling [via Citgo --ed, link added] in U.S. politics. Not only is it through his phony Citgo subsidy program, a pork-barrel scheme targeted at the underclass here to buy pro-Chavez votes in Congress, he's also seeking influence through leftwing groups who have now-re-Christened themselves "Bolivarian Circles." It's something we should be concerned about because it's the exact same thing he's doing to win influence in places like Bolivia. Miami Herald has a good descriptive piece here but you can see more -– much more –- about the extent of Chavez's penetration of leftwing domestic groups here on sites like Indymedia. They aren't hiding a thing.

Bolivarian Circles? That has a vaguely familiar stench to it as well.... (Scroll down about a screen.)

-- CAV