Since Sunday night, the organizers of the G20 in Brazil have been floating a theory regarding what Donald Trump is coming to Latin America: the possibility that the Republican will appoint retired general Laura Richardson as his regional representative. She comes from heading the Pentagon's Southern Command and has hostile rhetoric towards China.
According to La Política On-Line, sources close to Lula Da Silva say that Richardson has a good relationship with Florida Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart , a Republican hawk who in turn is pushing Richardson to his friend, the next Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
Laura Richardson retired a few months ago and Díaz-Balart organized a celebratory dinner for her in Miami.
The four-star general has not yet confirmed her willingness to take up the post, but it would be a clear message to China: during her leadership of the Southern Command, Richardson spoke many times about Beijing's growing influence in Latin America and its intention to go after the exploitation of various natural resources.
It is a significant possibility because Richardson , in addition to agreeing with Rubio regarding the alleged Chinese threat, also has strong coincidences with the next Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth , who has been regularly attacking the Asian country on the Fox News channel.
On April 4 of this year, two days after the 42nd anniversary of the Malvinas War, Argentine President Javier Milei met with Richardson in Ushuaia. On this occasion, the president announced the launch of the Integrated Naval Base, as an operations center for Argentine Antarctic development, with American participation.
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