[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                 COMMUNISM ON OUR DOORSTEP: THE THREAT 
                   OF CHINA'S MALIGN INFLUENCE IN LATIN  
                   AMERICA

======================================================================= 

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                   SUBCOMMITTEE ON WESTERN HEMISPHERE

                                 OF THE

                      COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                           SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

                               __________

                           Serial No. 118-51

                               __________

        Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
        
        
        
        
        
            
              [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 
              
                                                       
              


Available: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/, http://docs.house.gov, 
                       or http://www.govinfo.gov  
                     



                                 ______

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE  

54-780PDF                  WASHINGTON : 2024   



















                      COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS

                   MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas, Chairman

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey     GREGORY MEEKS, New York, Ranking 
JOE WILSON, South Carolina               Member
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania            BRAD SHERMAN, California
DARRELL ISSA, California             GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
ANN WAGNER, Missouri                 WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
BRIAN MAST, Florida                  DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island         
KEN BUCK, Colorado                   AMI BERA, California      
TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee              JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas               
MARK E. GREEN, Tennessee             DINA TITUS, Nevada                
ANDY BARR, Kentucky                  TED LIEU, California                    
RONNY JACKSON, Texas                 SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania              
YOUNG KIM, California                DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota                 
MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, Florida        COLIN ALLRED, Texas      
BILL HUIZENGA, Michigan              ANDY KIM, New Jersey       
AUMUA AMATA COLEMAN RADEWAGEN,       SARA JACOBS, California                    
    American Samoa                   KATHY MANNING, North Carolina          
FRENCH HILL, Arkansas                SHEILA CHERFILUS-McCORMICK, Florida                      
WARREN DAVIDSON, Ohio                GREG STANTON, Arizona                
JIM BAIRD, Indiana                   MADELEINE DEAN, Pennsylvania     
MICHAEL WALTZ, Florida               JARED MOSKOWITZ, Florida      
THOMAS KEAN, JR., New Jersey         JONATHAN JACKSON, Illinois                 
MICHAEL LAWLER, New York             SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE, California                        
CORY MILLS, Florida                  JIM COSTA, California       
RICH McCORMICK, Georgia              JASON CROW, Colorado              
NATHANIEL MORAN, Texas               BRAD SCHNEIDER, Illinois             
JOHN JAMES, Michigan                                  
KEITH SELF, Texas                        
                                     
                     Brenda Shields, Staff Director

                    Sophia Lafargue, Staff Director 
                    
                                 ------                                

                   Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere

                     MARIA SALAZAR, Florida, Chair
KEN BUCK, Colorado                   JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas, Ranking Member   
MARK GREEN, Tennessee                GREG STANTON, Arizona 
BILL HUIZENGA, Michigan              JARED MOSKOWITZ, Florida 
WARREN DAVIDSON, Ohio                SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE, California 
KEITH SELF, Texas 

                      Ana Quintana, Staff Director 
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                      
                            C O N T E N T S

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                                                                   Page

                               WITNESSES

HANNAN, KERRI, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU OF WESTERN 
  HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE...................     8
GUILARTE, MILEYDI, DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, BUREAU OF 
  LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN, U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL 
  DEVELOPMENT....................................................    14
                                                                      4

                                APPENDIX

Hearing Notice...................................................    35
Hearing Minutes..................................................    36
Hearing Attendance...............................................    37

             RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS SUBMITTD FOR THE RECORD

Responses to questions submitted for the record..................    38

 
                  COMMUNISM ON OUR DOORSTEP: THE    
                   THREAT OF CHINA'S MALIGN INFLUENCE  
                   IN LATIN AMERICA 

                      Thursday, September 28, 2023

                              House of Representatives,
                Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere,
                          Committee on Foreign Affairs,
                                                    Washington, DC.

    The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:06 p.m., in 
room 210, House Visitor Center, Hon. Maria Elvira Salazar 
(chair of the subcommittee) presiding.
    Mrs. Salazar. The Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere 
will come to order. The purpose of this hearing is to examine 
China's growing diplomatic, economic, and security engagement 
in Latin America and the Administration's effort to counter the 
PRC's influence in our own hemisphere.
    I now recognize myself for an opening statement. China, in 
my understanding, is the greatest threat to the United States, 
the greatest threat that the United States has ever faced. That 
is not fantasy. This is a fact.
    China is the second economic power behind the United 
States. Their GDP is now nearly 75 percent of ours, greater 
than Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia. They are the top source of 
spying and cyberattacks in the world. They have the worst human 
rights record in modern history, and they have brought military 
equipment and Marxist ideology to our shores.
    Today I am here to announce the great power competition is 
back in the Americas. The hammer and the sickle has returned in 
full force, and the Chinese Communist Party's first order of 
business is to own Latin America, our backyard. Their playbook 
is accomplished in three ways, economically, militarily, and 
ideologically.
    Let's go to the economic front. In the last 20 years, China 
has secured a presence in Latin America through what we could 
call a Trojan Horse strategy, to become the No. 1 trading 
partner in our region. We have seen their tactics, low quality 
goods, slave labor, securing critical infrastructure in 
exchange for access, and destroying the environment at every 
opportunity with no remorse.
    Let me repeat it. Our hemisphere has been invaded by China. 
And they are now the No. 1 trading partner in the region, No. 1 
trading partner in the region. Twenty years ago they traded $12 
billion. Twenty years later, last year, they hit $450 billion. 
That is a 3,000 percent increase, 3,000 percent increase. Right 
now China has free trade agreements with Chile, Costa Rica, 
Ecuador, Peru, and another one with Uruguay is on the way.
    Specifically in South America they have surpassed the 
United States as the top trading partner. What? And 10 years 
from now, everything indicates if we continue with this trend, 
in Latin America, the trade with China will exceed $700 
billion. That's only trade.
    Now let's talk about loans. In the last 20 years, China has 
lent almost $150 billion to the region and, of course, they are 
doing business with our enemies, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua. 
Twenty-one Latin American countries have signed onto China's 
nefarious Belt and Road Initiative, which is a pretty name for 
something that is very simple, to create infrastructure to 
dominate world trade.
    Today they control key ports in Peru, railroads in 
Argentina, airports in Honduras, dams in Ecuador, factories in 
Brazil, critical minerals in Bolivia, creating a major security 
risk for us in the United States. Needless to say, they are bad 
actors with very bad intentions. And their only intention is to 
own power.
    Now the military presence in our hemisphere. Cuba is 
hosting four Chinese spy bases to intercept United States' 
communications only 90 miles away from our shores because in 
Florida, the State that I represent, has 20 military bases, and 
this military base gives the ability to intercept 
communications.
    And they are also thinking, the Chinese are also thinking, 
of creating a military base to house Chinese troops in Cuba. 
Chinese troops in Cuba, 90 miles away.
    All right. Now let's go to Argentina. Right now they 
operate a satellite space station, which has the size of 400 
football fields. And the worst part of it all is that the 
Argentinian government cannot even go in because the trade 
agreement or the agreement between both countries does not 
allow the Argentinian government to go in and inspect what's 
happening in that military or that spy base.
    Venezuela, China sold to Venezuela $650 million in arms in 
the last 10 years, including VN1 tanks and state-of-the-art 
radar systems.
    But the most serious threat, according to my understanding, 
is their ideology and information control. Their propaganda 
machine is brainwashing Latin American youth. There are 40 
Confucius Institutes across Latin America, dedicated to 
spreading their repressive ideology, Communism.
    They also want to control their phones. Huawei, their 
state-owned telecommunications company, operates in 20 
countries in Latin America. In Brazil, Huawei controls 50 
percent of the phone market, not only phones, but they also 
want to control internet services. And why do they want to do 
that? Because Communists silence anyone who gets in their way.
    I have just proven with a few examples that China is on the 
offense while the United States is ignoring our allies in Latin 
America. Chairman Xi Jinping has made official visits to 11 
Latin American countries, 11 times in the last 10 years.
    So if we sit back as the No. 1 force, military force, in 
the world, we will watch in the next decade that Mandarin will 
replace English as the second language in Latin America. 
China's Belt and Road Initiative will overtake the USMCA trade 
deal. There will be a monumental cold war style military 
buildup in our backyard. And worst of all Communist censorship 
will overwhelm Latin America's democracies. So we must engage 
now as a country. Communism is on our doorstep once again, and 
it is time for us to wake up.
    I am just going to say a few words because these hearings 
are also watched in Latin America throughout our allies in the 
hemisphere. So I'm going to say a few words so our friends will 
know what we are thinking.
    [Speaking foreign language.]
    Now I would like to welcome our guests and the witnesses, 
Ms. Kerri Hannan. She is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the 
Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the Department of 
State. Thank you for being here. I should have said hi to you 
before I started speaking, but they said that I needed to start 
the hearing. So thank you. And welcome, and thank you very much 
for being here, answering our questions.
    And Mileydi Guilarte, whom I haven't seen in many years. 
Good to talk to you again. She is the Deputy Assistant 
Administrator for the Bureau for Latin America and the 
Caribbean at the United States Agency for International 
Development. So now I think I'm going to give the opportunity 
for the ranking member, Mr. Castro from Texas, to say a few 
words. Thank you.
    Mr. Castro. Thank you, Chairwoman, and thank you to our 
panelists also. Thanks for convening this hearing on the 
influence of the People's Republic of China in Latin America. 
And thank you, Ms. Hannan and Ms. Guilarte, for joining us 
today.
    We are by far the biggest economic and security actor in 
the Western Hemisphere. But we must recognize that countries 
have deepened their economic and political ties with the PRC. 
And our foreign policy must acknowledge that.
    As we have this important discussion about the PRC's 
influence in the region, I hope that our approach is one that 
respects the sovereignty and independence of the countries in 
Latin America and the Caribbean.
    We cannot repeat the mistakes of the 20th Century where in 
the name of combating the influence of the Soviet Union, the 
U.S. perpetrated and enabled horrific abuses, including 
military coup d'etats and death squads.
    Make no mistake, I'm not saying that I support China's 
deepening engagement in the Western Hemisphere or that I want 
it to be successful. The PRC is enabling authoritarianism in 
countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. They are 
exporting surveillance technologies to deepen repression in 
those nations.
    They make false promises and investment that create and 
dash the hopes of those looking for prosperity. In Chinese 
fishing fleets, hundreds of ships illegally fish in the waters 
of Central and South America and hurt the livelihoods of 
thousands.
    The United States must help our partners in our hemisphere 
in the face of the PRC's efforts. And there are a few 
principles that I would like to lay out in how we should do so.
    First, when we decide to oppose the foreign policy actions 
of China, we need to be specific about what we oppose and why 
those actions are not in the best interest of the people of the 
Western Hemisphere. If we oppose China just because it's China 
without being specific, our message will not be heard in Latin 
America.
    Second, we need to stand by our values when engaging with 
the region. During the cold war, the U.S. backed many 
authoritarian leaders in our effort to keep the Soviet Union 
out of the Western Hemisphere. The brutality of these leaders' 
reigns is still felt today jut as the Soviet-backed regime 
brutality in Cuba continues to be felt today.
    Thousands of people still do not know where their parents 
and grandparents disappeared during the Pinochet dictatorship 
and so many others. People remember that their country suffered 
in part due to the actions of the United States and that still 
matters today.
    Last, the United States needs to prioritize the region in a 
way that we simply haven't in the past. In the last decade, 
China has significantly expanded its diplomatic presence in the 
hemisphere, including by opening diplomatic relations with 
Panama, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and 
Honduras.
    Meanwhile, House Republicans have posed significant cuts to 
our diplomatic programs in the Western Hemisphere. And we have 
had a number of nominees that have cleared the Senate Foreign 
Relations Committee, but haven't had a vote by the whole Senate 
because of holds by Republican members of the U.S. Senate.
    That includes, for example, Mr. Roger Nyhus, the Ambassador 
to Barbados, Ms. Stephanie Syptak-Ramnath to Peru, Mr. Art 
Brown to Ecuador, Mr. Dennis Hankins to Haiti, Mr. Tobin 
Bradley to Guatemala, and Mr. Leo Martinez to be the U.S. 
Executive Director for the Inter-American Development Bank. 
These positions need to be filled immediately. And their 
vacancies are harming the United States. And they are harming 
the United States when it comes to our competition with China 
in the hemisphere.
    So we need these nominees confirmed and at their post. And 
we need to reject the serious cuts proposed by House 
Republicans to our diplomatic and development programs in the 
Western Hemisphere.
    In this week, we're on the verge of a shutdown in the 
Federal Government, and I need to raise this. We are competing 
with the hearts and minds of the people of the Western 
Hemisphere and speaking to the strength of America's democratic 
system over China's authoritarian one. As we speak, our 
diplomats in Mexico City, Bogota and Brasilia are sharpening 
their talking points to explain to the governments and the 
people of Mexico, Columbia and Brazil, the embarrassing reality 
of political dysfunction in the United States and in this 
building.
    If this government shuts down this weekend because of the 
demands of the far right and this congress, it would severely 
undermine faith in the American democratic system. And I urge 
my colleagues who care about China's influence in the Western 
Hemisphere to think about that.
    I will look forward to hearing from our witnesses on how 
we're currently working on those goals and what more Congress 
can do to support these efforts. With that, I yield back, 
Chairwoman.
    Mrs. Salazar. Thank you, Ranking Member. And I now 
recognize Ms. Hannan for her opening statement.

 STATEMENT OF KERRI HANNAN, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU 
   OF WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

    Ms. Hannan. Chairwoman Salazar, Ranking Member Castro, 
distinguished members of the subcommittee. Thank you for the 
opportunity to testify on the Department's efforts related to 
People's Republic of China engagement in the Western 
Hemisphere.
    As Secretary Blinken has said, our strategic competition 
with the PRC represents one of the defining challenges of the 
21st Century. This challenge remains particularly important in 
our hemisphere. It requires close coordination with interagency 
colleagues, international organizations, and allies and 
partners around the world.
    Just as important, it requires strong cooperation between 
the Administration and Congress, so I welcome continued 
engagement on these issues with the committee and the chance to 
be with you today.
    Our strategic goal remains to promote a more democratic, 
inclusive, secure, prosperous, and climate-resilient Western 
Hemisphere, aligned with U.S. values and interests. We advance 
a positive agenda for the hemisphere, based on values we share 
with our partners, respect for human rights and diversity, 
democratic governance, inclusive economic growth and 
entrepreneurship, and the rule of law.
    Managing the strategic competition with the PRC in the 
Western Hemisphere requires long-term solutions, which include 
strengthening governance and democratic institutions, reducing 
corruption, and helping our partners build economies that 
attract more investment from U.S. businesses and trusted 
partners.
    All U.S. embassies in the Western Hemisphere have staff 
that focus on tracking and reporting PRC activities, and each 
country team seeks to advance a coherent interagency response 
to the challenges posed by the PRC.
    The Department has four regional China officers based in 
the WHA region, each with deep expertise on the PRC, to support 
embassies and consulates in addressing this challenge. Our 
embassies and consulates have developed country-specific 
strategies to counter problematic PRC activity in more than 
two-thirds of the countries in the hemisphere.
    The United States works with democratic partners from 
outside the hemisphere as well. European partners, Japan, the 
Republic of Korea, and Taiwan all promote stability and growth 
in the region.
    With seven of Taiwan's 13 official diplomatic partners 
located in WHA, we remain focused on countering the PRC's 
campaign to induce these countries to switch recognition and 
squeeze out Taiwan from multilateral organizations.
    On the economic front, we focus on ensuring competitive and 
transparent investment environments that help level the playing 
field for U.S. companies.
    The United States remains by far the greatest source of 
investment and remittances for the region. We offer higher 
standard and transparently procured infrastructure investment 
alternatives that uphold labor, environmental, and social 
safeguards. They also foster inclusive growth in line with 
international best practices, including those initiatives like 
the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, Deal 
Teams, and the Blue Dot Network.
    We continue to respond to structural corruption problems by 
encouraging civil society, activists, and journalists to raise 
concerns with governments regarding opaque deals.
    On security, the proliferation of PRC-linked 
telecommunications and surveillance equipment highlights risks 
to national security, human rights, and privacy. Many of our 
technical delegations and engagements have focused on ICT and 
cybersecurity sectors for which an aggressive economic campaign 
by PRC-backed companies threatens free-market access.
    Our robust foreign military sales program far outpaces the 
PRC and demonstrates that regional partners prefer to work with 
the United States. The Department also works to counter PRC 
propaganda and disinformation campaigns in the region.
    The Global Engagement Center works specifically to address 
propaganda and disinformation. We build resilience through 
targeted support to independent civil society organizations and 
journalists. And by funding independent third-party research, 
we help shine a spotlight on PRC information manipulation.
    Public diplomacy remains key to our efforts to counter the 
PRC. The American Spaces Network of 131 brick and mortar 
locations in the region are the U.S. government's primary in-
country public-facing platforms to connect foreign audiences to 
the United States. Our American Spaces are outnumbered by a 3-
to-1 ratio the Confucius Institutes in the region.
    While American Spaces provide open access to accurate 
information reflecting American values, including the promotion 
of democratic and civic engagement, the rule of law, and the 
protection of human rights, the Confucius Institutes expand PRC 
cultural influence in the hemisphere and aim to send thousands 
of young people to the PRC on exchanges. Meanwhile, our 
American Spaces are hosting English Language programs and 
exchanges and successfully reinforcing economic, commercial, 
cultural, and political engagement with the United States.
    These exchange programs ensure the United States is seen as 
a steadfast partner to the region by promoting academic ties 
and professional development opportunities as well as building 
institutional capacity. This includes programs such as our 
Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative Fellowship, among 
others.
    YLAI, launched in 2015, has since hosted over 1,500 young 
entrepreneurs, over half of them women, from 37 countries 
throughout the Western Hemisphere, collaborating with over 100 
U.S. companies and organizations in 85 cities across 34 states.
    YLAI promotes U.S. business models, increases trade, 
encourages job creation, and builds lasting and sustainable 
networks of young entrepreneurs and business and social leaders 
across the Western Hemisphere, including the United States.
    To conclude, as we work to compete with and counter the 
challenges posed by the PRC in the region, we are intently 
focused on promoting a more democratic, inclusive, secure, 
prosperous, and climate-resilient Western Hemisphere, aligned 
with U.S. values and interests, so we can remain the region's 
preferred partner. That will remain our steadfast goal.
    Thank you again for this opportunity. I look forward to 
your questions.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Hannan follows:]

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    Mrs. Salazar. Thank you, Ms. Hannan.
    I now recognize Ms. Guilarte for her opening statement.

STATEMENT OF MILEYDI GUILARTE, DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, 
  BUREAU OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN, U.S. AGENCY FOR 
  INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

    Ms. Guilarte. Chairwoman Salazar, Ranking Member Castro, 
members of the subcommittee, good afternoon.
    [Speaking foreign language.] Thank you for the opportunity 
to discuss the way that USAID is responding to the PRC and 
Latin America and the Caribbean.
    The work to prevent the PRC from gaining hold in the region 
is personal to me. My family came to the U.S. from Cuba when I 
was 9 years old. Like so many who fled here to escape 
Communism, I know firsthand the type of corruption and tyranny 
that it fosters. And you have to look no further than many of 
the countries fueling the surge in migration, Cuba, Nicaragua, 
and Venezuela to see the influence of the roots of Communism 
the PRC promotes.
    In my current role, I oversee our operations in countries 
where concerns about the PRC's growing footprint, predatory 
economic colonialism, unsustainable infrastructure, and 
security investments are warranted.
    Since launching the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, the 
PRC has become the region's largest provider of official 
finance, offering more than $215 billion, largely for 
infrastructure projects that come with strings attached.
    The United States is not forcing countries in the Western 
Hemisphere to choose between the United States and the PRC, but 
at USAID we offer them an alternative to the PRC's approach. 
And we are grateful for the support of Congress, like the 
Countering PRC Influence Fund, which allows us to offer our 
neighbors that clear alternative with an affirmative agenda 
based on our shared values.
    Our neighbors in the region recognize the difference. They 
see that more than 35 percent of BRI infrastructure projects 
have been linked to corruption scandals, labor violations, 
environmental hazards, and public protests, like the Coca Codo, 
Sinclair Dam in Ecuador, which was riddled with cracks, cost 
significant erosion and came with terms that required Ecuador 
to hand over up to 90 percent of its oil production.
    The governments in the region are becoming increasingly 
aware of the down sides of working with the PRC. USAID tracks 
perception of the PRC across the hemisphere, and people's trust 
in the PRC has fallen by nearly 20 percentage points over the 
past 10 years while trust in the United States has risen by 
about the same amount since 2019.
    So we work to take advantage of those changing dynamics. 
Our approach to mitigating the challenges posed by the PRC 
focuses on four strategic lines of effort.
    First, we help our neighbors strengthen their democratic 
institutions and the rule of law to show that democracies can 
deliver results. We invest in programs that strengthen checks 
and balances and support actors, like investigative 
journalists, who shine a light on the actions and motivations 
of the PRC and their own governments.
    Second, we focus on increasing our partners' economic 
resilience so they rebuff external coercion. USAID works with 
governments in the private sector to create transparent, 
efficient, public procurement systems that reduce corruption 
and expose the risk of PRC transactions.
    In the Dominican Republic, our work on procurement 
standards created the transparency necessary to prevent 
backroom deals that PRC was pursuing for the Port of Manzanillo 
infrastructure projects. Instead, U.S. and other non-PRC firms 
won tenders for construction with better terms and 
environmental safeguards.
    Third, we focus on creating secure digital ecosystems. 
USAID provides a secure alternative to the PRC digital 
investments in 5G technology and cybersecurity. In Jamaica, for 
example, we invested $3.5 million to strengthen the 
government's cybersecurity and provide trusted technologies to 
reduce vulnerabilities to cyberattacks that could expose data, 
grind operations to a halt, and jeopardize national security.
    And finally, we advance the transparent management of 
natural resources. By supporting climate finance partnerships, 
like the Blue Green Bank in Barbados that supports renewable 
energy and water conservation projects, we help our neighbors 
attract capital and reduce their reliance on PRC's finance for 
infrastructure and energy.
    In summary, we will continue to search for new tools and 
opportunities alongside our interagency and multilateral 
partners to provide what partners are looking for and 
outcompete the PRC. We thank Congress and this committee 
especially for your support as we work to tackle this challenge 
together.
    Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Guilarte follows:]

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    Mrs. Salazar. Thank you, Ms. Guilarte for your opening 
statement. Now I'm going to recognize myself for 5 minutes of 
questioning. And thanks again to both of you. Let me just start 
with you, Ms. Hannan, and I just have a few questions about 
different countries.
    Do you know how many countries President Biden has visited 
since he assumed office? He has been to 32 countries. And do 
you know how many countries in Latin America, or I should say 
in South America, he has visited? Zero, zero. And do you know 
how many times Chairman Xi Jinping has visited South America? 
Eight times.
    So what message do you think that sends to the region? I 
understand that You're telling me you have great plans and 
wonderful ideas, but perception is reality. So if you do not go 
visit your neighbors, what does that say?
    Ms. Hannan. Thank you for the question, Chairwoman. I can 
say that the Secretary of State has traveled to the region 11 
times in the last 2 years.
    Mrs. Salazar. Yes, but that's the Secretary of State. 
That's not the President.
    Ms. Hannan. That's the Secretary of State. It is not the 
President. It's the Secretary of State. And he has deeply 
engaged in diplomacy in the region. Additionally, President 
Biden has met with numerous leaders at various events, 
including last week where we were able to conduct important 
diplomacy.
    Mrs. Salazar. Well, we are going to talk about many Latin 
American Presidents the President of the United States has 
invited to the White House. But I am going to get to that 
later.
    Now, have you, as one of the top officials dealing with 
Latin America in the State Department, have you advised the 
Biden Administration, hey, you have to go to Latin America?
    Ms. Hannan. I can offer that any regional bureau would ask 
that the President visit their region. Of course, we would love 
for the President, for the Secretary, for every----
    Mrs. Salazar. What makes you believe that he has not been 
able to go--I mean, we are pretty close.
    Ms. Hannan. Yes, I cannot speak to the President's travel 
schedule. But I can stay that it is still a top priority.
    Mrs. Salazar. But have you advised them regularly? Have you 
advised the White House to take that step, to visit Latin 
America?
    Ms. Hannan. We continually advocate for robust diplomatic 
engagement with our leadership in Latin America.
    Mrs. Salazar. You know that there was a visit to Brazil and 
Chile for October, but the trip was canceled. Why? Why was it 
canceled? Do you know?
    Ms. Hannan. No, I do not know. I am sorry.
    Mrs. Salazar. You know why it was canceled? Because there 
was no interest. I mean, Chile is only 8 hours away, and Brazil 
is nine. But, you know, that does not really send a good 
message.
    Now let's go to Honduras. President Xiomara Castro is the 
wife of Manuel Zelaya. Manuel Zelaya was a friend of Fidel 
Castro and told Fidel, and we know this, that capitalism was 
the most repugnant system he knew and that he had a profound 
aversion to the United States.
    President Biden celebrated her election, Xiomara Castro, 
who is the actual President of Honduras, sending Vice President 
Harris to her inauguration. Something that this White House 
denied to President Lasso of Ecuador, President Chaves of Costa 
Rica, President Pena of Paraguay. Those three Administrations 
are conservative. But Manual Zelaya's wife received the honor 
of having the Vice President of the United States at her 
inauguration. What type of message does that send?
    Ms. Hannan. I think that we engage with every democratic 
re-elected government. Our participation in the inauguration of 
Honduras demonstrates the incredibly important bilateral 
relationship that we have with Honduras addressing a whole 
range of issues that they continue to work with us on, 
including migration.
    Mrs. Salazar. I am just asking you specifically. The White 
House sent the Vice President to Honduras, and he did not do 
that with Lasso in Ecuador, who is a conservative. It's very 
clear to see the difference in treatment to these two 
countries.
    Ms. Hannan. What I can say is just yesterday I participated 
in a meeting with the foreign minister of Ecuador as we signed 
a SOFA between the United States and Ecuador. So our robust 
diplomacy continues with all countries. Regardless of travel, I 
think we demonstrate continued commitment to all of those 
countries you named.
    Mrs. Salazar. Did you know that the President of Honduras 
was going to break relations with Taiwan and recognize 
Communist China?
    Ms. Hannan. So I was in Honduras in 2022 raising the issue 
of the value of a relationship with Taiwan as a democratic 
partner to the region. You know, countries make their own 
sovereign decisions about the relationships they have as 
Honduras did in this case. But we continue to advocate strongly 
for Taiwan to maintain international----
    Mrs. Salazar. But they decided to part ways with Taiwan and 
embrace China. That has been decided already. And apparently we 
did not have any type of influence over her decision.
    Now do you know that in Honduras, like you said, it is such 
an important ally so close to the United States, they have been 
implementing the Chavez agenda, meaning Venezuela's Chavez 
agenda, ex appropriating businesses, defending Cuba, Nicaragua 
and Venezuela of the United Nations and creating something 
called the Colectivos, which are a nefarious word because those 
are the gangs that are enforcing the Socialist government 
agenda. Are you aware of that?
    Ms. Hannan. I can offer that we continue to engage with 
Honduras at the highest levels about all of the issues that you 
are raising.
    Mrs. Salazar. And what do they say back to you?
    Ms. Hannan. I am not in those conversations personally, but 
I----
    Mrs. Salazar. Are you making any inroads because it is very 
worrisome that Honduras, which is so close, and like you said, 
most of the migrants are coming to the United States through 
Central America have to go through Honduras. And Honduras is 
really not doing anything in order to stop that flow. On the 
contrary, they are charging those migrants to make it easier. 
And the government of Honduras, according to our sources in 
Miami, the district that I represent where we have hundreds of 
thousands of Hondurans, now the government of Honduras is using 
the desire to come to the United States as a business 
proposition. Are you aware of that?
    Ms. Hannan. I am aware that Honduras continues to partner 
with us closely to address irregular migration. I know that we 
remain----
    Mrs. Salazar. Partner with us, in which way are they 
partnering with us if they are charging $25 for every migrant 
that goes from Point A to Point B?
    Ms. Hannan. I cannot speak to that particular scheme you 
are describing. But I can say that we continue to work closely 
with the government of Honduras as well as the rest of the 
Central American countries to address migration and to find 
solutions to try and reduce the flow of irregular migrants.
    I will also offer that we remain the preferred partner of 
the Honduran people. And I think----
    Mrs. Salazar. Oh, people, of course, the people of 
Venezuela and the people of Nicaragua and the people of Cuba. 
Of course, the people always side with the Americans. No doubt 
about it. But I am talking about the people that make the 
decisions, the governments.
    Ms. Hannan. And we continue to engage with the government 
at the highest levels. We have raised our concerns about the 
switch to PRC recognition and the potential for, you know, 
buyer's regret. We have seen other countries in the region 
switch recognition from Taiwan to the PRC, and we see how that 
plays out.
    Mrs. Salazar. Now, I am going to--I do not want to fatigue 
you. Let me go to Guatemala, a next door neighbor. The Biden 
Administration had tagged President Giammattei for being too 
conservative. How do I know that? Because the President himself 
told me. He is on his way out. Everything indicates that Mr. 
Bernard Arevalo is going to be the next President of Guatemala, 
and he has expressed interest to increase ties with Communist 
China. Have you had any conversations with the President-elect 
about engaging with China and leaving Taiwan behind?
    Ms. Hannan. I have not personally had conversations with 
President-elect Arevalo, but I know that we are in conversation 
with the democratically elected President and that Taiwan 
remains, you know, promoting Taiwan as a responsible and 
democratic partner in the region is one of the topics of 
conversation that we have.
    Mrs. Salazar. Thank you. I am going to then stop my 
question. I am going to give time, and I will pass the time 
over to the ranking member.
    Mr. Castro. Thank you, Chairwoman. Well, I want to say 
first, thank you, USAID and the State Department. Thank you for 
working with Latin America and hopefully with leaders who are 
on the left or the right who are democratically elected. I 
think that we should respect the will of the people as long as 
the elections were democratic and the leaders are not 
brutalizing their people.
    Unfortunately, throughout Latin American history, not to 
mention world history, but there are times when there are 
leaders on the left or the right who have become authoritarian 
and have committed brutality.
    I see it less as a matter of ideology. And, you know, at 
some point when a person, when a President, or prime minister 
becomes like that, it no longer becomes about ideology but 
rather this brutality and authoritarianism.
    And, you know, I do have a question. But I think as we have 
these discussions, and obviously the Congress is very focused 
on China, we want the United States to prevail to compete 
against China in different parts of the world, including Latin 
America and win. We want to stop China's repressive actions and 
human rights violations. For example, what they are doing to 
Uyghur Muslims is an atrocity.
    But, you know, I am always--when I have spoken to folks in 
Latin America and others, once in a while, sometimes I feel 
like that they may be feeling too polite to challenge us on it. 
But, you know, here, well, you know, the United States is one 
of China's largest trading partners. We, really, I mean, you 
have got a Communist country, and we are literally one of 
China's largest trading partners, which is enabling part of 
their success including in ways the expansion of Belt and Road 
Initiative. We also do a lot of trade with Vietnam, for 
example, which is a Communist country.
    So, but on the issue of China, it is tough to--the reason I 
said in my opening remarks that we cannot just say do not work 
with China because it is China. Well, they would just put a 
mirror back at us and say, well, the United States is feeding 
the beast so to speak if that is your perspective. And how do 
you confront that diplomatically and at the same time hopefully 
prevail in this competition?
    And then I wanted to ask with respect to USAID and our aid 
footprint there, our initiatives, what do you see--so it is 
kind of two questions here, one for both of you. But what do 
you see as from their development side, from their aid side, 
how is it different from ours and how is it evolving, if it is 
evolving? So I open those questions for you all.
    Ms. Guilarte. Thank you, Congressman, for your question. 
Our motto is very different and that is very clear. We work 
through partnerships and values, not transactions. And just to 
give you a snapshot. For every dollar of foreign aid, PRC 
creates $9 of debt. I think it is very clear that our motto is 
very different. And as I mentioned in my opening remarks, I 
think we are seeing buyer's remorse already in some of the 
countries that have already flipped to China.
    So that is, I think, a clear indication that their motto is 
not, you know, what they are making it out to be. I think the 
fact that we provide the type of assistance that is more 
sustainable in the long-term, that is more in line with our 
values, goes a long way.
    We have doubled down our efforts on supporting civil 
society, especially human right defenders, those that are on 
the front lines on reporting the different violations and 
harmful impacts that are creating serious consequences, right? 
You have communities that have been displaced. So there are 
endless examples on how the investments with the PRC is 
creating negative impacts.
    We are also investing on transparency procurement 
assistance to reduce corruption. The example that I mentioned 
in the Dominican Republic is one. So that is one way where our 
money can go a long way.
    We also, you know, support improving the cybersecurity 
systems that protect against surveillance from foreign 
adversaries, like the PRC. Of course, we have done that in 
Jamaica. And, again, the work that we have done with 
investigative journalists has really been effective to be able 
to call citizens' attention to, you know, a set of issues that 
are either again environmental and financial dependency perils.
    So I think that model has been very clear and that is where 
we are making our bed in the long-term.
    Mr. Castro. Thank you. Maybe a quick answer?
    Ms. Hannan. Sure. Quickly I would offer that, you know, the 
Secretary laid out the invest, align, and compete model for how 
we are dealing with China. And I think, you know, we focus a 
lot on the compete part. But I think the invest and align part 
matters. And that, you know, we are not seeking to block China 
from the role that they play in the world. So we are trying to 
give options so that they are not forced to make opaque 
investment choices that might leave countries in debt. And it 
is important that we give that option, especially in Latin 
America. Thank you.
    Mr. Castro. Thanks. I yield back.
    Mrs. Salazar. Now I will recognize Mr. Mark Green from the 
wonderful State of Tennessee.
    Mr. Green. Thank you, Chairwoman Salazar, and I thank 
Ranking Member Castro for holding this hearing. I want to thank 
you to our witnesses for being here today.
    If you thought COVID-19 was the deadliest disease to come 
from China, think again. Authoritarianism is a far deadlier 
disease, having killed hundreds of millions of people 
throughout history. And like COVID-19, it's highly contagious.
    I've spoken before the full committee about how the CCP's 
censorship regime has made its way to the United States through 
Hollywood. And even Biden's Defense Department agrees with me 
on that.
    Now we are faced with a much bolder and a far more 
dangerous case of Authoritarianism affecting Latin America. The 
Chinese Communist Party has made it no secret that it is 
willing to export a particularly insidious strand of 
authoritarianism across the globe. and its preferred method is 
the Belt and Road Initiative.
    Using this Initiative, the CCP is rapidly and aggressively 
spreading its malign influence in Latin America and the 
Caribbean. Not only does it allow the CCP to extend its 
dictatorial reach and plunge vulnerable countries into virtual 
indentured servitude, but it is also squeezing Taiwan out of 
the region. Twenty-six of the thirty-three countries in the 
region now have diplomatic ties with China and have severed 
their relationship with Taiwan.
    Many of these same countries have military and security 
agreements with China, posing such a high risk that SOUTHCOM 
has concluded that the CCP now has not only the intent but also 
the capability, and I quote, ``to eschew international norms, 
advance its brand of authoritarianism, amass power, influence, 
and expense at the existing and emerging democracies in our 
hemisphere.`` This situation is no longer a mere future threat 
to the United States. It is a reality that we are now living 
with.
    It is China that is largely responsible for trafficking 
fentanyl coming into our country through the southern border. 
It is China that is sourcing Mexican cartels with the precursor 
chemicals that kill tens of thousands of Americans every year. 
It is China that is exploiting the unstable countries in Latin 
America and the Caribbean, and it is the same brand of CCP 
authoritarianism that is causing the mass of illegal migrations 
into the United States in the first place.
    Do not talk about the crisis at the southern border and the 
crisis that the leading source of death for American adults 
aged 18 to 45 without talking about the CCP's involvement. If 
we continue to ignore our allies in Latin America and the 
Caribbean, we will fully cede control of the region to a 
Communist dictator, and more American lives will be at risk.
    The first phase of ensuring America's interest in the 
region are identical to the first phase of the CCP's 
involvement in the region and that is economic engagement. 
China used predatory economic engagement to set itself up in 
the region, but we can combat it by /genuinely investing in our 
partners and seeking mutual benefits.
    And that is why I introduced by Nearshoring Bill, which 
accomplishes three things. First, it pushes the CCP out of the 
region by re-engaging with our partners. Second, it rebuilds 
diplomatic ties and establishes regional stability, key 
prerequisites for prosperity.
    Third, it builds Latin American Caribbean economies, 
provides job opportunities, thereby reducing mass migrations 
that overwhelm our southern border. And I will just thank 
Secretary Blinken for actually his team helping me write that 
bill.
    China's growing influence in the region is good news for no 
one. China has and will continue to destabilize the region, 
keep these countries from becoming prosperous and independent 
and turn them against the interest of the United States. We 
must not allow the CCP to continue its malign activities.
    To ignore our partners in the hemisphere is to ignore the 
critical realities that threaten our national security. Without 
quick and decisive action, the CCP brand of authoritarianism 
will metastasize.
    My first question is for Ms. Hannan. Have there been any 
attempts by the State Department to engage China regarding its 
supply of fentanyl precursors into the region and if not, why?
    Ms. Hannan. Thank you for the question, Mr. Green. We have 
had successful cooperation with the PRC on counternarcotics in 
the past, but we do need them to do more to disrupt illicit 
drug supply chains. You know, we approach the problem of 
fentanyl from several channels, including sanctions which 
attack the cartels, like the Sinaloa cartel. We----
    Mr. Green. I mean, we're back--I get the cartel piece. But 
has the CCP given you one piece of information or one piece of 
evidence that show they have decreased the flow from China to 
the Latin American area? I mean, the price of fentanyl on the 
street now is one-third of what it was when Biden came into 
office.
    Ms. Hannan. Yes, so Secretary Blinken actually launched the 
global coalition at the U.N. General Assembly last week, which 
has over 50 countries working globally to address illicit 
drugs, including fentanyl.
    We have engaged heavily diplomatically with the PRC. We 
have worked with them both at the diplomatic level but also to 
address things like----
    Mr. Green. I get the engagement. But have they done one 
thing, given you one piece of information, helped in one way--
--
    Ms. Hannan. They have----
    Mr. Green [continuing]. That has decreased the flow of 
fentanyl?
    Ms. Hannan. Well, I mean, I cannot say the direct impact of 
the PRC action to decrease fentanyl. But I can say that we are 
partnering with them to address standards, customer 
recognition, manufacturing, labeling. But they absolutely can 
do more. This is an absolute scourge. And the PRC has a role 
that needs to be addressed.
    Mr. Green. Thank you for saying that last part. That's an 
important admission. Thank you.
    Mrs. Salazar. We now recognize Congressman Greg Stanton of 
the State of Arizona.
    Mr. Stanton. Thank you, Chairwoman, very much. The Health 
Foreign Affairs Committee has already held several hearings 
regarding China's global influence, a topic that is critically 
important to my home State in Arizona.
    Arizona is a border State, and it is a thoroughfare for 
illicit fentanyl traffic from Mexico, which is often 
manufactured using precursor chemicals shipped from China. So 
my question is--we will play a little upon Chairman Green's as 
well. But before we get to that, I do want to talk a little bit 
about budgets.
    As we are aware of how important it is that the United 
States continue investing in our relationship with Latin 
American nations so that we can work with our neighbors on 
critical issues like drug trafficking and migration. We can 
also check the PRC's presence in our own backyard. That is a 
bipartisan goal. We have heard that today. We just need budgets 
that match the policy goal, budgets that match the rhetoric.
    Fortunately, in the majority's proposed budget earlier this 
year, it would cut the State and foreign operations budget a 
full 24 percent from what the President had asked for all the 
way back to 2009 levels. And, of course, the world is very 
different than it was 15 years ago.
    Arizona is seeing an increase in numbers of migrants 
crossing our southwest border. But unfortunately, the majority 
want to cut funding, for example, immigration processing 
centers in Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, that screen 
migrants before they get to our borders.
    The proposed continuing resolution that we will likely be 
voting on hopefully tomorrow, maybe Saturday. We do not know 
what day the CR is going to come before this Congress, would 
cut funding for 800 Border Patrol agents. And, of course, a 
shutdown would be horrific, forcing Border Patrol agents to 
work without pay. All this would mean less support for border 
communities and would hamstring Federal law enforcement's 
abilities to prevent drugs like fentanyl from being trafficked 
across our borders.
    Fentanyl is behind an exponential spike in overdose deaths 
in Arizona. We know China tragically plays a deadly role in 
this crisis as an estimated 97 percent of fentanyl here in the 
U.S. is manufactured using precursor chemicals exported from 
China.
    You mentioned we are working directly with the PRC and 
through other multilateral organizations to put pressure on 
China to do more to crack down on the trade of precursor 
chemicals. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be working at 
this point.
    So I want to followup with what Chairman Green asked. How 
is the Biden Administration working with not only China but the 
Mexican government to clamp down on the flow of precursor 
chemicals from China to drug cartels currently?
    Ms. Hannan. Thank you for your question, sir. You know, we 
work with Mexico to target TCOs. As I mentioned, the Sinaloa 
cartel is one that we sanctioned. The Treasury, we used the 
Fentanyl Sanction Act. We sanctioned over 90 entities or 
individuals, many of which come from Mexico and over 20 from 
the PRC.
    We are cooperating with Mexico in the bicentennial 
framework for security, public health, and safe communities. 
And in fact, next week we have the high level security dialog 
where fentanyl will be one of the topics we discuss.
    You know, we are using every sanction tool we have. We are 
also working with the PRC. We also do diplomatic engagement. 
Our Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement puts 
combating illicit fentanyl and the precursor chemicals at the 
top of their list of things of things to address.
    Mr. Stanton. Switching gears, I am very lucky. In my 
community, the Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is 
building a $40 billion manufacturing facility in Phoenix. We 
are supplying chips through the next generation of Apple 
iPhones. So the safety of the people of Taiwan, protecting the 
democracy in Taiwan, protecting trade with Taiwan is critically 
important to the local economy in Phoenix. Thousands and 
thousands of jobs are being created because of that foreign 
direct investment by TSMC. And therefore, recognition of Taiwan 
is very important around the globe.
    Deputy Assistant Secretary Hannan, a number of South and 
Central American countries have switched diplomatic recognition 
from Taiwan to PRC. Honduras just switched earlier this year. 
You talked about it a little bit, maybe a little bit more now, 
if you would. How can the U.S. preempt more countries from 
switching their diplomatic ties to the PRC, especially as we 
think about nearshoring parts of our semi-conductor supply 
chain?
    Ms. Hannan. Certainly. Thank you for the question. We have 
seven countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean who 
still recognize Taiwan. In all of our public and private 
discussions in the region, we continue to emphasize that 
Taiwan's relationships, both with countries that recognize them 
and that do not are reinforcing the hemisphere's democratic 
values and supporting sustainable development.
    We continue to support the United States' support of 
Taiwan's robust and meaningful participation, both throughout 
the U.N. system and the international community where 
appropriate. And we strongly are encouraging all countries to 
expand their engagement with Taiwan.
    Mr. Stanton. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I yield back.
    Mrs. Salazar. Thank you. And now I am going to recognize 
Congressman Keith Self of Texas.
    Mr. Self. Thank you, Madam Chair. I want to comment on my 
colleague across the aisle's comments about the border. The 
border is lawless, and it informs a lot of my opinions about 
South America, Latin America as a whole.
    This Administration makes no effort on the border. He 
considers this Congress irrelevant. He considers the law 
irrelevant, and the border shows it.
    I may end with some questions, but I hear your talking 
points and responses so I may have some questions at the end. 
My questions would be, but I do not want to spend a lot of time 
on them, do you actually consider China as the greatest threat 
to the U.S.? Because I think there is ambivalent responses to 
that question in the Biden Administration.
    But I do want to--before I do that, soft power must still 
be power. I wish we had a hard power balanced approach in this 
hearing, but we do not. So what sanctions have you put on 
nations that have removed recognition from Taiwan. What actual 
sanctions have you put in the soft power realm on the nations 
that have removed recognition from Taiwan?
    Ms. Hannan. Thank you, sir. We do not put sanctions on 
countries.
    Mr. Self. I suspected that would be the answer.
    Ms. Hannan. Those are sovereign decisions of nations to 
determine who they have to----
    Mr. Self. It is also in our best interest to make sure that 
they do not recognize Taiwan. The President has said--the way I 
understand the official position of the United States is that 
we will provide Taiwan the weapons to defend themselves. 
However, this President has said four times recently that we 
will defend Taiwan. So I do not see that in the official policy 
of the United States so I'm not sure what to believe about the 
Administration's policy.
    Do you actually want to counter China in Latin America or 
do you simply want to have this soft competition? That would be 
a question--I am not sure I see any efforts to actually counter 
China. We talk about it, but I am not sure the efforts are 
there.
    Do you have any examples of how you have actually 
countered, responded to China's involvement in Latin America as 
a whole, and what are the red lines that you have for their 
involvement in dual use facilities? Do you have any red lines?
    Ms. Guilarte. Thank you, Congressman, for your questions. I 
will give our perspective from a development perspective. Of 
the seven countries that remain recognizing Taiwan and Latin 
America, we have seen and actually created valuable 
partnerships with Taiwan to be able to demonstrate why working 
with Taiwan and the countries where we are is worth the 
investment.
    I can give you examples from Uruguay, Guatemala, and even 
in the Caribbean, where investments in education, agriculture, 
food security, and women's economic empowerment has gone a long 
way. These are areas where the PRC has not----
    Mr. Self. Has it deterred any country from de-recognizing 
Taiwan?
    Ms. Guilarte. Not de-recognizing.
    Mr. Self. Can you give me an example?
    Ms. Guilarte. Not de-recognizing, we haven't, no.
    Mr. Self. Because there are nations that still recognize 
Taiwan. Has any of this--do you know of an example where a 
country have used your efforts, have persuaded them not to de-
recognize Taiwan?
    Ms. Guilarte. I can give you one concrete example. I 
recently traveled as part of my job, because I think it is 
important to be in Washington, but it is just as equally 
important to visit the region and our partners.
    I was just in Belize, a country where USAID does not have a 
presence, we are actually considering in places where USAID 
does not have a presence increasing our footprint or 
considering being there exactly for those same reasons.
    Mr. Self. Well----
    Ms. Guilarte. The way that they have----
    Mr. Self. Well, that's----
    Ms. Guilarte. I just give you an example, they have not 
recognized PRC. They are a strong partner with Taiwan-Belize. I 
had meeting with our counterparts, Taiwanese counterparts while 
I was there. And there is definitely an eye-to-eye, you now, 
same level approach toward development----
    Mr. Self. OK.
    Ms. Guilarte [continuing]. With the Belizean government, 
where they are not interested in PRC.
    Mr. Self. Thank you. Thank you. You used the term buyer's 
remorse earlier. And I do not see that in the move away from 
Taiwan in Latin America because they understand how important 
this is. I hope they understand how important this is to the 
United States.
    I think the move away from Taiwan is a major indicator of 
the failure of our soft power in Latin America as a whole. 
Madam Chair, I yield back.
    Mrs. Salazar. Thank you, Congressman. And now we are going 
to begin a second round of questions. And I want to recognize 
myself for 5 minutes. And I want to go to two different 
countries and continue with you, Ms. Hannan.
    Let's go to Argentina. You know that next month there are 
going to be elections. And everything indicates, we do not 
know, we cannot control that process, but everything indicates 
that Javier Milei will be elected the next President of 
Argentina.
    Milei is the opposite of Xiomara Castro in Honduras. And he 
has said repeatedly on many television interviews that he does 
not--I'm going to quote him--that he does not deal with 
Communists. That the Chinese government kills people who want 
to be free. That he is going to break ties with Cuba, 
Venezuela, Nicaragua, and China, which I think are policies 
that are actually pretty good for the United States' interest 
in the region.
    So my question to you is if Milei were to win the 
Presidency in Argentina, would you recommend to the White House 
to send Vice President Harris to attend his inauguration if he 
were to win the presidency?
    I understand that you do not control the President's 
schedule. I understand that you do not. But you are highly 
influential. The State Department sends a clear message to the 
White House as to what should be the right policies that we 
should pursue.
    Ms. Hannan. I cannot predict who wins an election. I can 
say that we always engage with democratic elected governments 
for any country. So if Milei were to----
    Mrs. Salazar. I am saying in case that were to be true. And 
Milei, who has stated those statements repeatedly shared with 
the press what his presidency will look like, what will the 
Biden Administration do?
    Ms. Hannan. What I can offer is that our relationship with 
Argentina is incredibly important. I cannot say who would 
attend the particular swearing in of a President. I do not 
think that necessarily predicts totally the importance of a 
relationship that we have. We have robust diplomatic engagement 
in a variety of scenarios.
    I will say that we will continue to work with Argentina 
whoever is elected.
    Mrs. Salazar. You understand what I am trying to say. The 
Biden Administration has not shown the same respect toward 
those governments who are democratically elected. And they 
tended to be on the conservative side. They have not shown the 
same type of respect to those on the conservative as on the 
left. And I think that is very worrisome.
    So I am explaining--I am asking you in this case, which the 
Biden Administration has a new opportunity to demonstrate 
equality, equity, and diversity, could you commit to the fact 
that Milei, if he were to be President, deserves the same type 
of respect as Xiomara Castro?
    Ms. Hannan. I can commit to the idea that every 
democratically elected leader in Latin America deserves a 
robust diplomatic engagement with our government, with our 
current Administration.
    Mrs. Salazar. But they are not having it because that is 
not the case with the Dominican Republic. It was not the case 
Guatemala. So all we are trying to find is the same respect for 
one side of the ideology as for the other. And you can 
definitely influence those decisions.
    Now let's go to Cuba. Cuba is currently hosting at least 
four Chinese spy bases, four. And now they are thinking about 
opening up a new base to harbor Chinese troops, Chinese troops, 
90 miles away from us. That is part of Project 141, which is a 
secretive project to have military bases all over the world.
    My question is, have you shared with the Cubans that it is 
unacceptable to the United States to have Chinese troops 90 
miles away? Yes or no?
    Ms. Hannan. So our strategy begins with diplomacy. And we 
are engaging governments about hosting PRC bases at high 
levels, exchanging information with them. I would refer you to 
the classified briefing that you had or to ODNI for additional 
information. But I will offer that we have raised our concerns 
with the PRC at the highest levels, including when Secretary 
Blinken was in Beijing last about Cuba.
    Mrs. Salazar. All right. Now that you said about the 
classified hearing that we attended, since we cannot share that 
information with the public, could you commit to publish an 
unclassified report of what the United States knows about the 
Chinese presence in Cuba so we can share it with my 
constituency, which is the Cuban exile community in the United 
States?
    Ms. Hannan. I can take that back to my team to inquire. 
Thank you.
    Mrs. Salazar. To inquire if you can publish an unclassified 
report?
    Ms. Hannan. I can take that back to my team. I cannot speak 
to whether or not we can, but I can take it back. Absolutely.
    Mrs. Salazar. All right. Thank you. I yield back. I now 
recognize the ranking member, Mr. Castro.
    Mr. Castro. Thank you, Chairwoman. You know, we are talking 
about China and competition with China. One thing that I did 
not mention, had not addressed, was the success and the 
cooperation of our business community in Latin America. And, 
you know, Representative Self asked the question, well, what 
are we doing to counter China?
    Well, one of the things that we have been working on is 
pressing them not to purchase and accept and integrate 
technology like Huawei into their infrastructure systems. That 
is an important counter that I know the United States is 
working on day in and day out. But I also want to make sure, 
and I know that we do it, but I guess partially in answer to 
his question is helping our business to succeed.
    I do think, like I said, I think that there are ways in the 
world where China cheats on human rights, for example, and 
should be held accountable. Debt traps is another one. But 
there are other ways where they are competing against the 
United States and Europe around the world. And I believe that 
we need to compete with them, and I believe that we can beat 
them, that our businesses can beat them. That our systems, our 
aid system, can beat them. So I think that's an important part.
    But I want to ask the question, I have about three and a 
half minutes left, on a separate topic, and that is the rise of 
illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in Latin America 
and the Caribbean. And it is a major concern that affects 
livelihoods in communities and labor rights and the environment 
and regional security. And combating IUU fishing has been a 
priority for numerous Latin American countries and is a key 
policy framework of the Biden Administration.
    Much IUU fishing is perpetrated by large scale operations 
of Chinese fishing fleets, sometimes supported by ports 
financed by the PRC. I am currently working on legislation to 
address this issue.
    Beyond supporting Naval and military capacities, which I 
know falls under the DOD, Ms. Hannan, how is the United States 
addressing the challenges and impact of IUU fishing in 
coordination with our allies in the region?
    Ms. Hannan. Thank you so much for the question. I think IUU 
fishing is an incredibly important issue because it also 
resonates with Latin America because they see it as their 
resource. And so we do a lot of soft diplomacy. I do not know 
if I agree with the term soft, but we reach out. We draw 
attention to actions by the Chinese fleets.
    I know SOUTHCOM has helped to draw attention to what they 
are doing. I personally participated in a working group in Peru 
that brought together NGO's and the Peruvian Coast Guard and 
the American Embassy to talk about ways that we can address IUU 
fishing where they launched a program that will focus on the 
impact that the fisheries are having, looking at the zero 
tolerance policy that the PRC has in holding them accountable 
to the same standards.
    We have a working group. We have the SAFE Act that we can 
use. We are deeply supportive of Sea Mar. That is one of the 
most important areas in the world in terms of being a fishery 
bed. You know, we are looking at deep sea squid fisheries. We 
take the issue very seriously. We work on it with governments, 
but also with NGO's and with aid programs.
    Mr. Castro. Well, thank you for that. Thank you so much for 
your testimony today, both of you. I appreciate it. I yield 
back, Chair.
    Mrs. Salazar. All right. We are going to begin a third 
round of questions, and I recognize myself for 5 minutes. And 
after that, I'm not sure if the ranking member would like to 
continue, but let's just extract and just get more information 
out of you.
    And this question is for Mileydi Guilarte. Thank you. I am 
sorry that I could not talk to you before. But definitely we 
very much appreciate the fact that you are coming and as a 
Cuban American you recognize the threat of that Communist 
ideology penetrating our hemisphere.
    This has nothing to do with political parties. This has to 
do with being an American and caring about the American values 
being carried into our back yard, into the hemisphere that we 
belong to. So thank you, Mileydi, for being here once again.
    So I am not sure if you know that after Daniel Ortega came 
back from China, he started raffling off all expenses paid 
trips to China for whatever Nicaraguan wanted to adopt that all 
expenses paid trip.
    And according to the Nicaraguan press, no one participated. 
I mean, it is really weird that if they are paying for your 
room and board and for your plane tickets to go to a country 
that no one cares about it, or no one has raised their hand. So 
that is very interesting. And everyone like free trips. But 
according to the Nicaraguan press, I repeat, no one 
participated in this offering from the Ortega regime.
    You are, through USAID, in charge--you are in charge 
indirectly of the public diplomacy in favor of the United 
States. So we understand that Latin Americans like the United 
states a lot more than they like China. And this is a very good 
example. How do you think that--what else can we do in this 
Congress to help people like you take the message that we are 
still the best game in town?
    Ms. Guilarte. Thank you, Congresswoman, for your question. 
You know, I think Nicaragua, as you know the region really 
well, it is really hurtful to see how things continue to 
deteriorate. I mean, you saw in GAIA, you saw the VUCA 
organizations, people are fleeing.
    Our investments are modest. USAID, most--all of our 
partners are not operating in Nicaragua no longer. So our 
investments have been to double down on ensuring that when 
there is an opening that those that remain outside and continue 
to fight for a free Nicaragua 1 day are ready to do so. And I 
think that's really where our funding should continue to be 
focused on.
    There is a lot of work that is being done to continue 
putting a spotlight on the human rights violations that are 
happening in Nicaragua. We have from USAID work very closely 
with interagency colleagues to ensure that our partners in the 
multilateral institutions keep a close eye on not approving any 
loans on Nicaragua.
    So it's a multi-prong approach. I think development does 
play a role. And we flex our development muscle in supporting 
those that are fighting the good fight outside. But it also 
requires other institutions to play a role. I mean, there are 
regional financing institutions that keep giving them a 
lifeline, right?
    Mrs. Salazar. So what do your people--are telling you--
people that are based in Nicaragua still, what are they telling 
you?
    Ms. Guilarte. I think it is very obvious that the 
conditions--I mean, there is no closing of civil space, there 
is none, right? But our work is not focused inside of 
Nicaragua.
    Mrs. Salazar. And that is very sad the fact that the soft 
diplomacy is not in place right now in Nicaragua. What about 
Venezuela? Do we have any activity in Venezuela?
    Ms. Guilarte. We have----
    Mrs. Salazar. USAID, do you have any programs? What type of 
participation are we having in Venezuela at this hour with the 
Maduro Regime?
    Ms. Guilarte. In Venezuela, and forgive me because I am not 
as knowledgeable in Venezuela. I cover all of Mexico and 
Central America. But in terms of our focus, it is on the 
upcoming election. And I think that is where we are ensuring 
that there is fair representation from opponents.
    Mrs. Salazar. And now that you say that, I can ask Ms. 
Hannan, and she is saying that the focus is on the coming 
election. There is a candidate by the name of Maria Corina 
Machado that everything indicates that may be--if the Maduro 
regime accepts free and fair elections, that she may be the 
next President, in which way we are helping, let's say, the 
diplomatic forces, I mean, the democratic forces in Venezuela 
to help have--to give the opportunity to the Venezuelan to 
speak their conscience and not be suppressed by the Maduro 
regime?
    Ms. Hannan. I think you are asking--I mean, we continue, I 
mean, it is a top priority to support the free and fair 
election in Venezuela.
    Mrs. Salazar. But in particular the State Department, not 
so much USAID, but the Statement Department, what can we be 
doing right now in order to help those democratic forces in 
Venezuela?
    Ms. Hannan. Inside of Venezuela?
    Mrs. Salazar. Inside Venezuela?
    Ms. Hannan. We continue to respect the will of the 
Venezuelan people in their efforts to do free and fair 
elections. We continue to have some aid programs that provide 
food security and give opportunity for them to continue to 
live. But we are waiting for the Maduro regime to--I do not 
want to say waiting. You know, we are supporting the free and 
fair election process that is being administered between the 
opposition and the Maduro regime. And we will continue to 
work----
    Mrs. Salazar. But you know that he is not willing to help 
any type of program that involves free and fair elections----
    Ms. Hannan. Yes, yes, it is the regime.
    Mrs. Salazar [continuing]. Or help the opposition have any 
air time or any type of support. So what can we do, the State 
Department, soft diplomacy, what are the activities right now 
happening?
    Ms. Hannan. We continue drawing attention to the plight of 
the Venezuelan people. We also support the Venezuelans that are 
outside of Venezuela that have had to leave because of the 
economic situation.
    Mrs. Salazar. But in particular with the Maduro regime, do 
we have any type of contact?
    Ms. Hannan. I would like to come back to you on that 
question. I do not have the answer right here. Sorry.
    Mrs. Salazar. Please do because the Biden Administration 
has been good to the Maduro regime, and we are talking about 
oil purchases. So if we are good to them economically speaking, 
maybe they would be wanting to hear on the diplomatic side. So 
it would be very interesting to know what type of contact when 
it comes to helping those opposition forces are we having from 
the State Department. Thank you. Please get back to us. I yield 
back.
    Mr. Castro. Thank you. Just one last question from me. I 
know some of the challenges USAID and State face in posing 
ourselves as an alternative to the PRC and our funding 
limitations and restricted presence on the ground.
    So I wanted to ask you all, can each of you speak to the 
challenges and barriers you are currently facing in developing 
sustainable and mutually beneficial ties with regional 
governments and then what effect would the proposed cuts by the 
Republican majority have on these operations if they were to go 
through?
    Ms. Guilarte. Thank you, Congressman. Any type of 
government shutdown or lapse in funding would cause a 
disruption to our presence in the region. I think basically it 
would come down to ceding space to China because they do not 
have to--they do not have the same rules as we do.
    I think one important piece where USAID has been playing a 
critical role given the migration and the influx of migrants 
that are crossing and fleeing is the integration work that we 
have throughout the region.
    So any type of budget cuts would pose significant harm in 
the settlement of some of these returnees, and I think would 
result in increased flows to our border. So that's definitely 
one direct impact that the budget cuts would have.
    And I think something else would be--the human rights 
budget would be detrimental to protecting the courageous human 
rights defenders that are doing that work. So any pause would 
be harmful.
    So those are some of the things that I could think of right 
away that would be impacted by any budget cuts.
    Ms. Hannan. I mean, I think she laid it out well. I would 
just add that, you know, we have so many programs and projects 
that support the values that we share with the hemisphere. And 
we are trying to advance a positive agenda. And, you know, 
these programs take time. And they are investments, and we want 
to see them continue.
    Mr. Castro. Thank you. I yield back.
    Mrs. Salazar. So pursuant to committee rules, all members 
may have 5 days to submit statement questions and other 
materials for the record. Without objection, the committee 
stands adjourned. And once again, thank you for your presence.
    [Whereupon, at 3:20 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]

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