President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to spend almost $200 million on programs aimed at countering China’s growing influence in Central America.
According to a congressional notification obtained by The Associated Press, the State Department could oversee $175.8 million in an effort to replace aging undersea telecommunications cables in the Caribbean and Central America.
The project is intended to prevent China from expanding its influence in the region through telecommunications infrastructure, benefiting projects in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Haiti.
According to the congressional notification, the program would fund “the installation of strategically selected undersea cable infrastructure” and help foreign governments partner with private-sector cable installers.
Policymakers and experts alike believe the administration’s efforts are crucial to America’s national security.
A State Department official, who spoke anonymously, told PBS that China’s economic activities in the Western Hemisphere pose risks to U.S. national security and economic prosperity.
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When asked if this is an adequate move from the administration, Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., told the Daily Signal that despite countries like Venezuela and Colombia reestablishing relations with the United States under the Trump administration, “it is clear that the Chinese are abandoning things,” and “we have to make it clear that the Western Hemisphere belongs to America.”
Last week, Fine took part in the first congressional delegation to visit Venezuela in over a decade.
Steve Yates, a former White House national security adviser and current national security policy expert at The Heritage Foundation, told the Daily Signal that “this kind of Chinese influence from the Western Hemisphere is essential because undersea cables carry the vast majority of data traffic,” and because China’s control “creates persistent intelligence, surveillance, and disruption risks on America’s southern approaches.”
“Chinese influence is already significant in ports, telecommunications equipment, space tracking facilities, and select digital projects across the region,” Yates continued. “This cable initiative is a timely step to prevent further entrenchment before the costs of remediation rise.”
This is a practical way to implement the 2025 National Security Strategy’s mandate to deny non-hemispheric competitors the ability to own or control strategically vital assets in the hemisphere, he added.
The project aligns with the Federal Communications Commission’s June 2026 rules that tighten security standards, restrict Chinese equipment, and accelerate the deployment of trusted submarine cables.
Yates added that this effort to reduce Chinese leverage around the Panama Canal supports the disruption of the China-origin fentanyl networks that rely on vulnerable regional infrastructure.
A Broader Strategy
This effort comes as part of a broader strategy to curb China’s influence across vulnerable corners of the globe.
According to another internal department document obtained by The Associated Press, the State Department is considering spending nearly $500 million more on initiatives designed to counter China throughout the Western Hemisphere, Africa, and Asia.
“The United States must respond to the [Chinese Communist Party’s] growing economic, technological, and diplomatic leverage around the world, which undermines our national interests,” the document states.
In a statement to PBS News, a senior U.S. official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the administration plans to increase funding to counter China but declined to discuss specific projects. The official added that many proposals remain under discussion.
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