During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing last week, Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) spoke about China's growing influence in Latin America.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Nice representative self for five minutes
00:04Thank You madam chair
00:09First question for you is what is the political trend we heard a lot about inputs from you
00:14What do you think is the political trend in Central America?
00:19Toward or away from democracy. What how do you judge the trend?
00:23Thank you very much. So it's a mixed bag
00:26I think that we've seen some some positive trends and and our
00:30Goal is to meet partners where they are always in the US interest
00:33Under the root causes strategy to work together to reduce a regular migration
00:36I would say one example one very positive example is in Guatemala
00:41Where we've worked very closely with president-elect with now president Revelo. Okay, so we've got a mixed bag. Okay. Thank you
00:49The ruling parties in Honduras, Nicaragua and Cuba are each members of the Foro de Sao Paolo
00:57I quote from last year
01:01This is their statement the US project of domination over Latin America and the Caribbean is facing an environment marked by threats to its
01:09Hegemony, that's us
01:12The dispute with China in the growing presence of progressive
01:16The dispute with China in the growing presence of progressive or leftist political forces in regional governments
01:24Central America and the Caribbean
01:26Constitute an important challenge to a country. That's us
01:30Affected by multiple crises that are manifesting themselves in the political economic social and cultural spheres
01:39Now you said earlier that
01:42And I'm going to ask you if you believe that
01:45The Biden administration can pull these three countries out of the orbit of the forum
01:52You said before and I want to get to this because this is important that you would conduct this review
01:59Under the guidelines set by Congress the law set by Congress. Why should this committee believe that?
02:06Why should this committee believe that?
02:08Because the view is that the Biden administration on this what you call
02:13irregular immigration
02:17We consider that lawless
02:19There is no attempt to secure the southern border
02:22So do you believe and there are other examples around the world that I could give you do you believe that the administration believes?
02:28Do you that's you?
02:30Do you believe that you can pull Honduras, Nicaragua and Cuba out of the forum?
02:36This is an independent forum. So I wouldn't say that we would have a role to do that, but venues like the Sao Paolo forum
02:43Could have the potential to play a role in advancing hemispheric progress
02:46But only if they move away from past past criticism and toward consensus building
02:52So the comments that have been referenced we find unconstructive in many ways
02:56You find not constructive and yet
02:59You give in fact you've requested in the FY 2025
03:0325 budget request millions of dollars for these three countries. How do you reconcile that?
03:12You're you're you admit you're it's an independent forum you're not going to pull them out
03:17How do you reconcile that because the root strategy?
03:21Strategy that you have here the root cause strategy that you have here
03:26How are you going to change their behavior? That is the bottom line question
03:30So the root cause of strategy provides resources to non-governmental organizations
03:34Implementers throughout the region. This is not a blank check to governance governments
03:39There's very little money that goes directly to governments themselves
03:41We work with governments we partner where we can and where we should
03:45But these are resources that are intended to support societies at large
03:48So i'll go back to one of your colleagues and I don't remember who it was said that we yeah
03:53It's true. We are no longer the chief trading partner with central in south america. China is
03:59We're the chief finance partner with central in south america
04:05So, I don't I don't see how you are going to influence these governments if
04:10You're simply giving the people who are suffering the NGOs under them money and yet you're not working to change them and I
04:17I I say again
04:19I I don't know what confidence we can have in the administration of doing it under the laws that congress passes
04:26Madam chair, I yield back
04:29Thank you congressman self now I recognize ranking member castro for another