LChina-funded mega-projects are causing “damage” to the environment in Latin America, a region also plagued by organized crime and drug trafficking, said Laura Richardson, head of US Southern Command (Southcom) on Wednesday. . “Actors like the People’s Republic of China are also causing damage in our region,” she said, according to the official translation, at the South American Defense Conference to be held in Quito.
“Independent studies by Latin American organizations have concluded that many China-funded megaprojects are causing river erosion, water pollution, destruction of fertile lands and destabilization of fragile ecosystems,” he added, citing the example of Chinese fishing fleets that are stationed regularly at the off the Galapagos Islands Exclusive Economic Zone, threatening their fragile ecosystem, which is listed as a World Heritage Site.
disinformation campaigns
He also accused Chinese companies of building faulty hydroelectric dams in Ecuador, as well as exploiting oil and minerals there. The South American Defense Conference “Southdec 2022”, attended by representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Uruguay, will take place until Thursday in the Ecuadorian capital.
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The meeting should address issues such as drug trafficking, illegal mining and fishing, organized crime and cyber defense. According to Laura Richardson, organizations linked to China “attempt to manipulate populations through disinformation campaigns and malicious cyber activities and continue to support authoritarian regimes in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua”. Ecuador is engaged in a war against drug traffickers, who vie for power in the streets and prisons, unleashing a wave of crime.
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