LatinNews Daily - 06 January 2026

*The new US ambassador-designate to Costa Rica, Melinda Hildebrand, has highlighted “Chinese economic influence” as a key challenge facing Costa Rica, as outlined in a press release issued as she arrived in San José yesterday ahead of assuming her duties on 8 January. Her comments come amid continued US concern regarding Beijing’s influence in Costa Rica, particularly in areas like technology.  In 2023 President Rodrigo Chaves issued a decree regulating 5G mobile network development which outlawed firms from countries that have not signed up to the 2001 Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. This caused tensions with China (with which Costa Rica became the first Central American country to forge diplomatic ties, in 2007), as it means that firms like China’s Huawei cannot compete with other 5G providers in Costa Rica. The US embassy press release issued to mark Hildebrand’s arrival in Costa Rica highlighted “transnational organized crime, drug trafficking, cybersecurity threats, [and] illegal immigration” as other challenges.