The United States maintains its position as the largest foreign investor in Latin America and the Caribbean across "all relevant indicators," despite China's rapid expansion in the region, according to a report by the Atlantic Council published this Wednesday.
The study, titled Mapping US investment in Latin America and the Caribbean and prepared by experts such as the economist and former Mexican Secretary of the Treasury José Antonio González Anaya, was presented at an event called "Expanding US investment in the Western Hemisphere."
"In the last two decades, no other country has come close to matching the scale, breadth, or consistency of the commitment of the American private sector in the region," the document states.
Foreign direct investment in newly established capital projects —the so-called greenfield projects— in the U.S. averages 28.7 billion dollars annually in sectors such as energy, digital infrastructure, manufacturing, and services.
In contrast, Chinese investment in that same category rose from less than $1.5 billion annually at the beginning of the century to $13.1 billion in 2024, reflecting a significant increase, although it is still far from the scale of the United States.
The report also highlights the differential quality of American capital: "The greenfield FDI from the U.S. generates 65% more jobs for every 1 billion dollars than Chinese investment and 22% more than European investment, making it the most productive capital in terms of available employment for the region."
Geographically, since 2020, around 70% of U.S. investment has been concentrated in Mexico, Brazil, and Guyana, while strategic partners such as Central American nations, Argentina, Chile, and Peru remain "neglected," according to analysts.
The report highlights Costa Rica as a replicable model: between 2020 and 2023, 73.2% of its foreign direct investment came from the U.S., with a strong presence in medical device manufacturing and technology, achieving "an intensity of U.S. investment that rivals that of much larger economies."
Despite U.S. leadership, the document identifies a concerning gap: investment in mining barely averages 200 million dollars annually, while China allocates twenty times more to that sector in the region.
This is particularly relevant because Latin America and the Caribbean hold some of the largest global reserves of lithium, copper, and nickel, which are essential minerals for chips, batteries, and strategic equipment.
China, for its part, has tripled its greenfield investment in the region since 2020 and is gaining ground in automotive manufacturing, logistics infrastructure, and mining, a sector that accounted for 38.41% of its total investment in Latin America and the Caribbean between 2020 and 2024.
In Cuba, this presence has materialized into concrete projects: the Cuban regime has invested in Chinese companies following the new sanctions and Beijing has committed to the construction of 92 solar parks on the island by 2028, with a capacity of 2,000 megawatts.
The report frames the dispute as a matter of national security: the Trump administration's strategy links regional economic partnership to its strategic priorities, and U.S. private capital is already moving in that direction, although experts warn that specific government actions could significantly broaden the scope.
"The urgency is real," concludes the Atlantic Council, highlighting the "gap in critical minerals" as the clearest opportunity for Washington to strengthen its presence while simultaneously securing its internal supply chains.
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