Chinese conglomerate ZTE is developing an identity card emission system for Venezuela. At the same time this year a Chinese bank funded a 250 million dollar project in Ecuador for the installation of an urban camera system in Quito. In 2021 the same model will be replicated in Nicaragua.

These movements are being closely followed by the Pentagon and in the past few days there was an unavoidable message to senior officials of the Mexican Defense Secretariat (Sedena) and the Mexican Navy (Semar) to dissuade them from engaging in similar contracts.

According to rumors within Sedena, there is growing anxiety in Washington about Chinese operations in the region.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Mike Esper argues that the Chinese military is not at the service of a nation or a constitution (like the Western military), but is controlled by a communist, authoritarian party that defends the police state.

As Mexican officials have heard from their counterparts in Washington, the Chinese Army will complete its modernization process by 2035. The final phase of that plan is to integrate artificial intelligence, notions of cyber warfare and a complement of aerospace technology.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper and the head of the U.S. Armed Forces Chief of Staff, General Mark Milley

Some of these technologies are being offered to governments in Southeast Asia and Africa for pilot testing. The Trump administration does not want these trials to expand in Latin America.

The Pentagon is still very concerned about Chinese contractors in Mexico. The presence in oil, infrastructure and technology is under permanent supervision.

LPO revealed the interest of Huawei in winning contracts to develop technology for the so-called Banco del Bienestar, the financial institution the Mexican government uses to process its welfare programs. Huawei is being targeted by the US for its dominance in the 5G race.