Amid rising geopolitical tensions, Latin America is emerging as a key stage for global power competition. China, Russia and Iran have used targeted energy and infrastructure investments to achieve an outsized political influence. To amplify it, they have also leveraged enhanced military cooperation, hybrid warfare tactics, and disinformation campaigns.
These are some of the key conclusions from the panel discussion on the “External Regional Actors” during the 10th Annual Hemispheric Security Conference (HSC) in Miami on May 13, 2025. Organized jointly by the Florida International University (FIU) and the Center for the Study of Democracy, the event featured a number of renowned regional experts including Vladimir Rouvinski, Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Icesi University, Jessica Ludwig, Fellow for Global Policy at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, Nancy Arellano, Founder and President of Veneactiva and Program Director at CEDRO and Douglas Farah, Founder and President of IBI Consultants
The session set the stage for a deep dive into how authoritarian regimes, specifically China, Russia, and Iran, along with transnational criminal organizations, are embedding themselves in the region in ways that challenge sovereignty, governance, and long-term stability.
Vladimir Rouvinski examined Russia's expanding strategic footprint in Latin America, notinghow Russia, once present in the region only symbolically, is now exerting more substantial influence through economic dependencies, such as the export of discounted commodities including fertilizers and petroleum products, as well as through sharp power instruments for elite capture.
The panel also compared the different motivations of authoritarian powers. Jessica Ludwig explained that while China prioritizes long-term economic influence through infrastructure investments and market access, Russia and Iran are more focused on using the region as a conduit for sanctions sanctions and power projection.
The panel then turned to Venezuela as a key example of foreign-backed foreign influence. Nancy Arellano highlighted how Venezuela has become a central node in this network of authoritarian cooperation. She discussed Iran’s defense partnership with Venezuela and its involvement in drone manufacturing projects. Arellano pointed out that Venezuela has effectively ceded parts of its sovereignty to the external authoritarian powers in the region, leading to the entrenchment of foreign-backed state capture.
The panel also discussed the increasing role of transnational criminal organizations in the region. Douglas Farah explained how criminal groups, including Italian, Albanian, and Turkish syndicates, are increasingly active in Latin America. Once considered peripheral to Latin American organized crime networks, these groups now intersect with the same authoritarian regimes that are investing in surveillance technology and propaganda infrastructures. Farah warned that this intersection creates a self-reinforcing cycle of corruption, repression, and disorder that exacerbates the region’s security challenges.
All speakers stressed the importance of regional coordination and a commitment to strengthening democratic institutions. They warned that without sustained investment in institutional integrity and cross-border cooperation, Latin America risks becoming a battleground not just for foreign powers, but for competing systems of governance.
