Connor Pfeiffer, Senior Director of Government Relations at FDD Action, argues that the capture of Nicolas Maduro—Beijing’s most important partner in Latin America—creates a major opportunity to roll back China’s advances in the Western Hemisphere. Writing just days after Maduro’s capture, Pfeiffer notes that the dictator hosted China’s special representative for Latin American affairs just hours before the U.S. military operation, underscoring how intertwined Maduro’s regime was with Beijing’s regional ambitions.
Pfeiffer outlines how the 2026 USMCA joint review offers an opportunity to strengthen economic security cooperation in North America, including pressing Mexico to create a foreign investment screening mechanism to prevent Chinese companies from evading U.S. tariffs. He emphasizes that the U.S. must position itself as the hemisphere’s economic partner of choice, offering competitive alternatives to Chinese investment.