WASHINGTON _ Latin American diplomats say the United States has only itself to blame for retreating from the region, allowing China to move into the region and establish stronger economic and diplomatic ties in the Western Hemisphere.
The Trump administration announced late Friday it was at least temporarily pulling its ambassadors out of El Salvador and the Dominican Republic and the charge d'affaires out of Panama after the three countries broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan in an effort to get closer with China, a U.S. trade adversary. China doesn't recognize Taiwan's independence.
The administration describes Chinese President Xi Jinping's signature Belt and Road Initiative, the global investment and lending program, as a debt trap fueling greater economic dependency. It has warned that the communist government would not think twice about taking Latin American shipping ports and assets, as it has before.
