The ongoing proliferation of Chinese surveillance and information technologies in Latin America can be used to exert social control, erode democratic governance, and challenge U.S. and regional strategic interest, expert witnesses told a House panel on Thursday.

Margaret Myers, the director of the Asia and Latin America program at the Inter-American Dialogue, told the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere via written testimony that the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela have all implemented "Chinese-made intelligent monitoring" technologies.

Myers described the move as "exceedingly troubling," adding:

These systems are described by Chinese suppliers as promoting of citizen safety and security, but if used to exert social control (as they are in China or currently in Venezuela through the ZTE- backed "fatherland card"), can have critical implications for privacy and democratic governance.