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MIAMI (AP) — Sen. Marco Rubio As Russia, another US rival, swings its sword in the region amid rising geopolitical tensions over Ukraine, Biden urges the administration to pay more attention to China’s growing influence in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Florida Republican, as a senior member of the Latin American foreign affairs subcommittee, will co-chair a session Thursday with US officials and experts to discuss China’s deals and diplomacy in the region.

In an interview, Rubio said he is He is concerned that U.S. officials, and resources that rightly focus on the standoff with Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, will be distracted from the threat sent by Beijing during the Cold War in an area so directly aligned with the United States and often referred to as “Washington’s backyard.”

“Russia is an acute problem and a present-day challenge,” he said. Rubio. “But it’s a five-year or 10-year problem. China is a 100-year-old problem, both regionally and internationally.”

Immediately after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, senior officials in Moscow warned that Russia could deploy troops or military assets to Cuba and Venezuela if the United States and NATO insisted on intervening at Russia’s doorstep.

Rubio He said the threats were mostly aimed at gaining leverage over the United States and were addressed to ordinary Russians who sympathized with Putin’s great power narrative.

But he said the real strategic threat is China, whose influence has been unstoppable by successive US administrations. Beijing is now the largest trading partner for many countries in Latin America, financing major infrastructure projects and shipping medical supplies and vaccines needed during the pandemic as fast as airplanes.

The Trump administration has tried to warn that if they build their telecommunications systems by purchasing subsidized products sold by China, they will leave governments in the region vulnerable to hacking and national security threats. Huawei – prohibited from purchasing certain US components and technology.

However, these concerns have so far failed to deter cash-strapped governments.

“It’s hard to compete,” he admitted RubioConsulted frequently about US policy by conservative leaders in the region. “Obviously that’s what they can afford, and then they (Chinese authorities) finance it for you. So you have a legitimate need and there is only one company in the world that fits the bill in terms of cost effectiveness.”

he is He said the US needs to do more to spur the adoption of Open RAN technology, a cheaper, cloud-based alternative. Huawei5G technology.

“Hopefully we can present that as an alternative. But once these things are embedded in a country’s infrastructure grid, it’s hard to pull it out,” he said. he is said.