China’s deceitful, disastrous projects in Latin America and Africa

Half-baked and shoddy projects, labor exploitation, debt traps and devastating environmental damage are part of the Chinese Communist Party portfolio. And people are noticing.

In 2014, the China Railway Construction Corporation won the bid for the “bullet train” in Mexico — a multi-billion-dollar project which, after 11 years, remains a dead letter. Lack of transparency was one of the main criticisms of this important railway infrastructure project that promised to revolutionize transportation in Mexico.

The Chicoasen II hydroelectric plant is another example of Chinese investments that have been strongly criticized for alleged labor rights abuses. Twelve-hour workdays, insufficient protective equipment, control over unions and lack of overtime pay are among the main claims of Mexican workers.

In Brazil, China has been questioned by international organizations for practices similar to modern slavery, both within and outside its borders. According to organizations like End Slavery Now, repression and human rights abuses are a huge challenge. In China, ethnic and religious minorities (Christians, Muslims and others) perform forced labor in the name of “re-education.” That helps the Communist nation compete with lower prices against U.S. products.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been critical of so-called savage capitalism and social injustices. However, Brazil and China are now being questioned for something akin to modern slavery in a car factory. Authorities report that 163 Chinese citizens were brought to Brazil illegally to work on the construction site of a BYD plant.

In Peru, the $10 billion inter-oceanic railway megaproject sought to connect the Atlantic Coast with the Pacific Coast between Brazil and Peru. The project has been waiting for years and carries strong geopolitical, environmental and social costs for the region.

The dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and his wife in Nicaragua has devastated natural resources, contaminated rivers, destroyed forests, invaded indigenous communities and extinguished rich ecosystems. China ravages everything, and no local authority is authorized to inspect, interfere or sanction the Chinese companies in the country. In 2024, the mining sector generated $1.39 billion for the Nicaraguan regime.

In 2021, a compromised drainage system was suspected to be the primary cause of a flood in Matthews Ridge, Guyana. Local authorities reported that the reservoir, owned by Chinese company Guyana Manganese Inc., did not change drainage pipes that were laid years ago.

The story is similar in Africa. China promised $51 billion in investments in Africa over a four-year period in 50 countries in the region. Its goal was to seize mining resources — particularly critical materials such as copper and lithium. It’s all part of their industrial and military strategy under the so-called Plan 2049.

Just a few weeks ago, China caused the largest ecological disaster in Zambia’s history, dumping 50 million liters of acid and chemical waste into the Kafue River. This is part of China’s ambitious copper mining project.

China is moving forward with massive energy and mining projects in Zimbabwe, Uganda and South Sudan that are a serious concern for communities, water sources and the livelihood of local ecosystems.

The list of disastrous and deceitful Chinese projects — half-finished or never started, is extensive. The only way to reduce or reverse China’s global advance is with determined and decisive leadership from the U.S.

The Trump administration has begun this extraordinary and long overdue task with a strong focus on Latin America. Earlier this year, Mexico announced that it will review and reverse its China trade policy, putting an end to the nefarious back-door China uses to access U.S. markets. Last week, during his visit to Panama, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reached a historic deal to ensure deployment of U.S. troops in Panama, sending a strong message to China.

In addition, U.S. presence and partnerships in the region are being strengthened by visits from top ranking officials from the State Department, Homeland Security, the Department of Agriculture and the Southern Command, among others.

Defeating China in the Americas requires significant public and private investment, presence and power, but, above all, a strong political will to review and reverse the communist threat in the region. Fortunately, these changes are already underway, and the outlook seems promising.

Arturo McFields is an exiled journalist, former Nicaraguan ambassador to the Organization of American States, and a former member of the Norwegian Peace Corps. He is an alumnus of the National Defense University’s Security and Defense Seminar and the Harvard Leadership course.