With Honduras having switched sides to Beijing in March 2023, only 13 countries worldwide recognize Taiwan over China. More than half are in Latin America and the Caribbean. Why are so many of Taipei’s allies based in the region? What happens after a country chooses China? And what do upcoming elections in Paraguay and Guatemala—the two biggest economies that still recognize Taiwan—mean for the future of this East Asian diplomatic tug of war? Florida International University’s Leland Lazarus, who served in U.S. Southern Command and the U.S. foreign service, answers these questions and more in a conversation with AS/COA’s Carin Zissis.

Learn more about upcoming elections with AS/COA’s 2023 guide: www.as-coa.org/2023
Hear about elections in Guatemala in a prior episode: t.ly/1vU2q
Read about Paraguay’s elections: t.ly/Qhb8

Read our guest’s research:
Red Flags among Golden Passports—An Analysis of Chinese Influence in Five Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Program at FIU t.ly/iCPX
What Taiwan Can Learn from Honduras’ Switch to China, Foreign Policy, co-authored with Ryan C. Berg t.ly/Srxo

The music in this episode is “El Choclo” performed by Sergio Reyes and Emilio Teubal for Americas Society. Watch the performance: https://youtu.be/czRjMxxM_eM

Find out about upcoming concerts: musicoftheamericas.org

This episode was produced by Jon Orbach. Luisa Leme is the executive producer. Carin Zissis is the host. Learn more about and subscribe to Latin America in Focus: www.as-coa.org/podcast

Send us feedback at [email protected] or via Twitter @ASCOA.

Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members.

Follow us on social media:
X: @ASCOA
Instagram: @ascoa
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ascoaonline/
Bluesky: @ascoa.bsky.social 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ASCOA/