The U.S. government issued a severe warning to Peru on Wednesday, stating that it is losing sovereignty over a port near the capital, which is currently operated by a Chinese company. Previously, a local judge ruled that the port could be exempted from some regulations.
The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs posted a statement on social media X on Wednesday, saying, “We note recent reports that Peru may be unable to regulate one of its largest ports – Chancay Port, which is currently under predatory control by China. This rings alarm bells for the region and the world at large: Cheap Chinese funds will damage sovereignty.”
This is the most direct criticism of Peru’s close relationship with Beijing by the Trump administration so far. The United States is Peru’s largest trading partner, followed by China.
Chancay Port, owned by Chinese investment, cost $1.3 billion and was unveiled in 2024 by the Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping himself. The port is operated by China COSCO Shipping Ports Limited, with the aim of speeding up the transportation of South American goods to China.
After a local judge ruled that Peru’s national oversight of Chancay Port was invalid, Veronica Zambrano, head of Peru’s infrastructure regulator Ositran, publicly criticized the ruling, stating that it would leave port users unprotected.
Ositran is responsible for overseeing Peru’s other public ports. Following a lawsuit filed by China COSCO Shipping Ports Limited, the judge ruled that Chancay Port is a private port, so Ositran has no authority to regulate it.
In recent years, Beijing has made significant investments in Peru, including in sectors such as electricity, mining, and shipping. Meanwhile, the United States has designated Peru as a major non-NATO ally and is in negotiations for a contract worth up to $1.5 billion, to be paid by Peru, to build a new naval base for this Andean country just a few miles from Chancay Port.
The newly appointed U.S. ambassador to Peru, Bernie Navarro, posted on X: “Everything has a price. In the long run, buying cheap things costs more. There is no heavier price than losing sovereignty.”
He recently shared a photo of himself eating a cheeseburger with Peru’s President Jose Jeri, along with a caption saying, “Changing the menu.”
President Jeri of Peru was caught in a political storm in January when a video surfaced showing him secretly entering and leaving a Chinese restaurant, where he had private meetings with Chinese businessmen. These meetings were not recorded on the president’s official schedule as required.