Russia and China are attempting to establish a foothold despite diminishing U.S. leadership, according to a new leak of classified intelligence data from the United States, which seems to validate what many observers of Latin America and the Caribbean have been warning about recently. Screenshots of some of those documents, which were acquired by the Miami Herald, reveal that Russian mercenaries were preparing to provide a security strategy for Haiti following months of inconclusive discussions to create a multinational force to assist combat the country’s rising armed gang violence.
The Russian government was attempting to take advantage of Brazil’s offer to arbitrate in the conflict it started with Ukraine, as these documents also indicate. Additionally, the highly-classified documents claim that China is profiting from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in nations like Nicaragua where Moscow is a significant security partner.
- Advertisement -
President Joe Biden was recently informed when the government “first got word that there were some documents out there,” according to National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby. Kirby responded, “We don’t know. We truly don’t know” when asked whether further papers were circulating and if they thought the leak had been stopped.
“I won’t speak to intelligence collection one way or another, on any given day,” Kirby told reporters when asked if the stolen papers had any effect on American attempts to acquire intelligence in Russia.
Kirby mentioned that given some of the disclosures over the past several days, U.S. authorities have spoken with pertinent allies and partners and that they will continue to have those discussions as necessary. Reports of China and Russia’s advancement in the Western Hemisphere emerge as more countries renounce Taiwan’s status as a diplomatic partner in favor of Beijing, and as nations like Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Cuba are willing to allow their political ties with Russia to be exploited for provocative threats against the United States at a smaller degree.
According to Evan Ellis, a research professor of Latin American Studies at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, he is unable to “confirm, or deny, or explicitly comment” on the confidential documents since he works for the U.S. government as a civilian. However, it is evident from publicly available records that American officials are becoming increasingly concerned about China, Iran, and Russia’s involvement in the region.
According to Ellis, a senior associate at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, the region is “at an unprecedented level of political and economic crisis in which you have many different states, which are kind of teetering on the edge in terms of whether they continue to be transparent democratic regimes or something more radical.” The sensitive information mostly includes top-secret U.S. intelligence reports on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The documents have been making the rounds on social networking platforms for weeks.
Officials from the Pentagon have admitted that the majority of the team is genuine, but some seem to have changed. However, the Herald was unable to independently validate them. Currently, the FBI is looking into the leak’s origin. According to one report based on data gathered by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, as of late February, members of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary force, “planned to discreetly travel to Haiti to assess the potential for contracts with the Haitian government to fight against local gangs.”
Ellis noted that he has no firsthand knowledge of their plans, but added that it wouldn’t be a shock if Wagner would be exploring for commercial prospects. However, he added that there’s a distinction to be made between seeking for business prospects and really engaging in a genuine dialogue with a potential client.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry has not discussed or pursued assistance from the Wagner Group or any Russian officials, according to a senior Haitian official who spoke to the Miami Herald. Henry has asked for the international community to send a quick response force to Haiti to assist the national police in combating gangs.
