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MCALLEN, Texas - U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez has responded to criticism that the Biden Administration has not had a strategic plan for Latin America.\\xa0

The McAllen Democrat, who attended the recent Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, said the U.S. has neglected its neighbors to the south for a lot longer than the last two years.\\xa0

\\u201cI don\\u2019t think the United States has paid enough attention to Latin America for the past 30 years, since the Cold War has ended,\\u201d Gonzalez said, in his review of the summit.

\\u201cOne of the major conversations (at the summit) was, hey, we need to engage more because China and Russia are eating our lunch, especially China,\\u201d Gonzalez said.\\xa0

\\u201cI think we need to show up; show up with resources and start building relationships the way we used to.\\u201d

According to a recent story in Politico, China\\u2019s bilateral trade with Latin America surpassed $400 billion in 2021, compared to $295 billion for the U.S. The newspaper said Beijing has also signed up 21 out of 24 Latin American and Caribbean countries for Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure investment projects. \\u201cBRI financing has contributed to the $150 billion that China has funneled to Latin American countries for construction of roads, ports and railways between 2005-2019,\\u201d the story stated.\\xa0

Gonzalez responded: \\u201cOur absence (from Latin America) is really not good for our national security or our business relationships because we allow China to come in and take advantage. And they have done it very well. We need to up our game in Latin America.\\u201d

The Summit of the Americas 2022 ran from June 6 to June 10 and was held in Los Angeles, California. It was the ninth such summit and marked the first time the United States had hosted the event since the inaugural meeting in Miami in 1994.

Rep. Gonzalez is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee\\u2019s Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, Migration and International Economic Policy. In an exclusive interview with the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service, Gonzalez said he was disappointed Mexican President Andr\\xe9s Manuel L\\xf3pez Obrador did not attend the Summit of the Americas, though members of his government were there.\\xa0

\\u201cIt is really shameful when 38 percent of your country is overrun by cartels,\\u201d Gonzalez said. \\u201cWhere they know for sure the insecurity of their country is going to come up in various conversations (at the summit).\\u201d

Editor's Note: To read the full story go to the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service website.\\xa0

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.