Heine on U.S. Pressure and Chile’s Digital Ambitions
Ambassador Jorge Heine, former Research Professor at the Pardee School of Global Studies, wrote a new article titled, Chile, meet Donroe: Rubio yanks visas over proposed China deal, published by Responsible Statecraft on February 26, 2026. The article responds to a recent diplomatic clash between the United States and Chile erupted after the U.S. State Department revoked the visas of Chile’s transport and telecommunications minister, the deputy minister, and his chief of staff. The move, justified by Washington as a response to “endangering regional security”, came as Chile was considering a proposal from China Mobile to build the first direct fiber‑optic submarine cable linking South America and Asia.
Heine argues that the U.S. action represents an unusually aggressive form of diplomatic pressure. As he notes, the sanctions targeted Chilean officials not for adopting a policy, but merely for considering one, calling it “designed to prevent not just policies Washington dislikes, but the mere consideration of them.” The U.S. ambassador’s claim of “incursions in Chile’s telecommunications systems by malign foreign actors” further escalated tensions.
The proposed $500 million cable would connect Valparaíso to Hong Kong, reducing Chile’s dependence on U.S.-routed digital traffic and supporting its long‑term strategy to become a regional digital hub. Chile’s legal framework also obliges the government to evaluate foreign investment proposals, making Washington’s objections especially problematic. As the article highlights, “what the United States is objecting to is the very fact that [the] Chilean government is considering such a proposal… even if no final decision had yet been made.”
Heine situates this episode within a broader pattern of U.S. efforts to limit Chinese technological influence in the Western Hemisphere, noting that a similar Chile‑China cable initiative was previously halted after pressure from then‑Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The piece concludes by underscoring the irony that President Gabriel Boric, described as one of the few left‑leaning leaders to consistently align with Washington on major international issues, now finds himself publicly criticized by U.S. officials, invoking Henry Kissinger’s line: “It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but to be America’s friend is fatal.”
The full article can be read here.
A former research professor at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, Jorge Heine is a diplomat, international relations scholar, and lawyer. He is currently a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute. He has served as an ambassador of Chile to China, India, and South Africa. Heine has written over fifteen books, including The Non-Aligned World: Striking Out in an Era of Great Power Competition (2025), which provides insights on how the Global South can navigate the changing diplomatic landscape amid the U.S.-China rivalry.