As China continues to seek and establish global dominance, Republicans continue to criticize the lack of response from the Biden Administration, considering the Chinese are in talks with Cuba to establish a spy base on the island. Representative Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) recently appeared on NBC, where he stated Biden "is asleep at the wheel."
"My district is only 90 miles away from Communist #China’s new spy base in Castro’s #Cuba & the Biden Administration has yet to brief me on these disturbing threats to our national security. Communist #China has infiltrated our hemisphere & @JoeBiden is asleep at the wheel!" tweeted Rep. Gimenez.
Rep. Gimenez added he did not find the plans for a spy base surprising since Cuba is the largest threat to the United States in the Western Hemisphere while China is our largest threat worldwide, though he still found it concerning.
🚨My district is only 90 miles away from Communist #China’s new spy base in Castro’s #Cuba & the Biden Administration has yet to brief me on these disturbing threats to our national security.
Communist #China has infiltrated our hemisphere & @JoeBiden is asleep at the wheel! pic.twitter.com/gs4KH6uQSf
— Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (@RepCarlos) June 26, 2023
However, Gimenez expressed equal concern for the spread of Chinese influence in South America and the Caribbean.
"But also I'm concerned around our hemisphere. They're in the Bahamas, they control the ports on both sides of the Panama Canal, they have space tracking stations down in South America," Rep. Gimenez continued.
In 2021, The Hill reported on massive investments in the Bahamas made by China, such as the construction of ports on Abaco and at Freeport, along with a highway construction project.
Similarly, the Republic of Panama has acted favorably towards the Chinese, up to no longer recognizing Taiwan and allowing Chinese investment along the Canal.
Finally, Rep. Gimenez referenced the building of a Chinese military satellite station in Patagonia, Argentina, which Representative Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) interrogated Secretary of State Antony Blinken about in late March.
"They're getting close to many other countries in South America and we have been, frankly, asleep at the wheel. We need to wake up to what China is doing not only in Cuba but around our hemisphere," Rep. Gimenez concluded.
