Chile Halts 12,000-Mile Hong Kong Cable as U.S. Threatens Family Visa Bans

1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 16

A January warning from a U.S. Embassy official pushed Chile to put its planned 12,000-mile undersea cable to Hong Kong on hold, according to Chilean officials.
In a six-minute meeting in Santiago, the U.S. official said the project could expose Chile to Chinese cyberattacks and warned that officials involved — plus their spouses and children — could face U.S. travel bans.
Guillermo Petersen, chief of cabinet at Chile’s telecommunications ministry, said the threat changed the government’s stance the same day it had authorized the cable, which officials had promoted as a connectivity boost reaching Easter Island.
Claudio Araya, then Chile’s telecommunications under secretary, called the message "basically a threat," underscoring how Washington is using visas as a pressure tool in Latin America alongside tariffs, sanctions and other interventions.