My TakeWhy Beijing is now the only true partner of Africa and Latin America
In contrast to friendly China, the United States has weaponised foreign aid on one continent and returned to gunboat diplomacy in the western hemisphere
Last month in Florida, many leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean showed up for the so-called Shield of the Americas summit. Prefacing his speech, the self-styled US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth declared, “I only speak American.”
Most people there spoke Spanish and/or English. Both the northern and the southern parts of the hemisphere are called American, but there is no such language as Hegseth’s, at least linguistically. However, it was clear what he meant. The United States just conducted an illegal raid in Venezuela to abduct its president and his wife.
Meanwhile, in Africa, Washington has been delivering a less physically violent but potentially deadlier threat by weaponising foreign aid.
The State Department threatened to withhold vital HIV drugs from Zambia unless the country agreed to give the US greater access to its critical minerals and the private health data of patients suffering from specific diseases, including HIV.
Bravely, Zambia said no. About 1.3 million of its 22.5 million population rely on daily HIV treatment.