'We Used To Care': Warren Davidson Grills Sec. Blinken On China's Growing Influence In The Americas

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During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) spoke to State Secretary Antony Blinken about China's growing presence in the Americas.  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript   Stay Connected Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com

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00:00America is less free, less safe, more burdened by debt under, frankly, your leadership in

00:05this administration's.

00:07That's really, unfortunately, the macro trend since the end of the Cold War.

00:10We really haven't managed it well, and part of the reason is China has really responded

00:16to the end of the Cold War just fine.

00:17They've really focused on China's national security, and they've managed to be at peace.

00:22The United States has focused everywhere else in the world but China.

00:25I think a lot of my other colleagues have addressed specific concerns, but I want to

00:30focus right here in our own hemisphere.

00:33Do you still believe that the Monroe Doctrine has any relevance for the direction of security

00:38in our own hemisphere?

00:40I'll have to come back to you on that in terms of refreshing my memory on the details of

00:45the Monroe Doctrine.

00:46What I can tell you is two things.

00:48One, in terms of China, we're in a much stronger position than we were two years ago.

00:51Let me focus not on China, like I said, on our own hemisphere.

00:55Here's the cliff notes.

00:56Should we pay more attention to our own hemisphere than to other parts of the world?

01:01Does the border with the United States and Mexico matter?

01:04Does the border with Guatemala and Mexico matter?

01:09Does China's expansion into South America matter to the United States?

01:12Because we used to care when other countries came in to this sphere more than we cared

01:18where they went over in their own parts of the world.

01:20We've been more focused on this hemisphere than any previous administration I can think

01:24of, including, by the way, administrations I participated in.

01:27Look, I will commend you on using fishing rights off of Ecuador to push China out of

01:34that region.

01:35I can say, hey, there's been a win, maybe not much more than that.

01:39But we haven't done much to counter China's influence all over this hemisphere.

01:44And notably with Cartel, is there any illicit finance going into Mexico?

01:49Oh, certainly.

01:50Illicit finance going into Mexico, yes.

01:51What are we doing about it?

01:52We're engaged with the Mexicans virtually every single day.

01:54We've sanctioned any financial institution?

01:56We've sanctioned people, and we've also, beyond sanctioning people, we've worked to give Mexico

02:00the assets, the authorities, the capacities they need to help take down these cartels,

02:05to disrupt the financing.

02:06How's that turning out?

02:07Are we taking down the cartels?

02:09We've seen significant progress over the last three years, yes, in taking down cartels,

02:13disrupting drug supply, seizing more fentanyl over the last couple of years than ever before.

02:17So here's the thing.

02:18The cartels, the cartels under the Trump administration were trafficking humans across the border.

02:24And the New York Times say that the Trump administration, they were making around $500

02:28million a year.

02:29One and a half years in, so that's at the midway point from here back, the Biden administration,

02:35they said that the cartels are making over $13 billion a year smuggling people across

02:40the border.

02:41Is that helping rein in the cartels by what you're doing to stop the cartels?

02:46Why wouldn't you reverse the remain in Mexico policy?

02:49Well, again, I would, I would commend to the Congress the bill that is before it, I think.

02:53No, no, that doesn't reverse the policy.

02:55That just funds more illegals everywhere in the country and actually puts a cap on the

02:59future administration for getting them out.

03:01Let me turn to the the influence that is going on in Guatemala.

03:06You were recently there and just before your visit, members of the Guatemalan Congress

03:10were threatened by our embassy there that they would lose their U.S. visas and their

03:15kids who are studying here would lose their visas to study in America if they didn't

03:20support removal of Guatemala's attorney general.

03:22Do you think the United States should be manipulating members of a foreign Congress in this manner?

03:26Not a question of manipulating members of foreign Congress.

03:28It's the fact that in the recent election in Guatemala, there was a very strong attempt

03:33made to prevent the democratically elected president of Guatemala from taking office.

03:37There was an attempt to disrupt the inauguration of that president.

03:40And if we stand for democracy anywhere, we have to stand for it everywhere, including

03:44in Guatemala.

03:45So is the State Department's opposition to the attorney general at all related to her

03:49recent investigations to determine if the Biden administration is complicit in the trafficking

03:54of children into the United States?

03:57Nothing to do with that?

03:59Correlation not causation?

04:01That is absurd.

04:02Good to hear.

04:04If last one question about NATO, NATO is front and center for the war in Ukraine.

04:11Back when CIA Director Burns said this in February of 2008, quote, Ukrainian entry into

04:17NATO is the brightest of all red lines for the Russian elite, not just Putin.

04:21In my more than two and a half years of conversations with key Russian players, from knuckled draggers

04:26in the dark recesses of the Kremlin to Putin's sharpest liberal critics, I have yet to find

04:31anyone who views Ukraine and NATO as anything other than a direct challenge to Russia's

04:37interest.

04:38Today, today's Russia will respond.

04:42Do you believe Mr. Burns's assessment was accurate?

04:45What year was that?

04:46I'm sorry.

04:472008.

04:48May have been at the time.

04:49I think we've seen everything.

04:50Everything we've seen since from Russia and from Mr. Putin certainly argues in the other

04:53direction.

04:54No, it says that it's really important to them.

04:56They're literally invaded.

04:57I mean, if you look, you left Afghanistan on August 31st of 2021 on September 1st, you

05:04entered into a strategic partnership with Ukraine to support their membership in NATO.

05:10And then you continued to, you continued to escalate and Vladimir Putin invaded there.

05:15That doesn't excuse his invasion, but it's clearly a red line.

05:18I wish I had more time.

05:19I yield my time back and I now recognize the gentleman, Mr. Costa, for five minutes.

05:25Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I don't want to retread.

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