{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.curtis.senate.gov/press-releases/curtis-questions-kari-lake-highlights-growing-ccp-influence-in-caribbean", "Curtis Questions Kari Lake, Highlights Growing\u00a0CCP\u00a0Influence in Caribbean", "2026-06-18", "2026", "2026-06", "Republican", "Senate", "UT", "John R. Curtis", "C001114", "www.curtis.senate.gov", "curtis", "https://www.curtis.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "During his questioning, Curtis, chair of the SFRC Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, cited recent statements from Chinese officials describing Jamaica as a \u201cstrategic partner\u201d of China and pressed for greater scrutiny of Beijing\u2019s objectives in the region. Curtis also highlighted concerns surrounding Chinese involvement in Jamaica\u2019s port infrastructure and the expansion of Huawei telecommunications technology, noting the potential risks related to data security, supply chain visibility, and regional stability.\n\nThe full transcript of the exchange is below, and video can be found here.\n\nSenator Curtis: Ms. Lake, as you know, I\u2019ve enjoyed getting to know you better. If I\u2019m honest, I knew you from your persona, and you and I had really never met. I\u2019ve spent a lot of time trying to get to know the real Kari Lake, and I\u2019m grateful for the visit you made to my office and for the chance that we\u2019ve had to talk about a number of issues.\n\nSo, I\u2019m somewhat satisfied on all those questions and would like to turn my attention today to Jamaica, and particularly China. We\u2019ve heard today about drugs and gangs, but also equally concerning to me is China and its relationship with Jamaica. The Chinese ambassador to Jamaica said in May that President Xi Jinping emphasized that Jamaica is a strategic partner of China. What\u2019s your assessment of China\u2019s strategic objectives in Jamaica, and really, what are their true motives there?\n\nKari Lake: Thank you, Senator Curtis. And yes, thank you for the time that you afforded me in your office. I enjoyed getting to know you as well. I had never met you before, and I sometimes have to go and prove to people I don\u2019t have horns growing out of my head because the media has done a number on me. So, thank you for giving me the chance.\n\nCurtis: I mentioned, as a Utahn, sometimes we have that same problem.\n\nLake: The media\u2019s tough there, too?\n\nCurtis: Well, people thinking we have horns.\n\nLake: Well, we appreciate you, and you\u2019re our neighbor, Utah. We love Utah. We have a lot of good friends who live there as well. So, thank you so much.\n\nI think I\u2019m learning a lot more about it. I don\u2019t know as much as you do, and I appreciate your service as Chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee. We talked a little bit about it, but there are massive concerns\u2014not just from their strategy of taking a huge section of the ports, but also when you look at 5G and telecom, with Huawei expanding. It\u2019s very concerning what could happen.\n\nYou know, there\u2019s always strings attached with China. The question is: Do you want all of the information going through Huawei, where all of a sudden that information would be trickled back to the CCP and China? There are massive concerns. And this need right now to rebuild has created a lot of opportunity for companies to come in. I\u2019d rather see\u2014and I know you would, and everybody here would\u2014American companies coming in to assist, not the continued increase of Chinese companies.\n\nCurtis: Speaking of that, as you know, a Chinese firm won a major contract for the Kingston Port expansion in 2025. What questions should the U.S. be asking about data access, port resilience, logistics, and dual-use risks when it comes to ports?\n\nLake: Well, in this case, specifically the port. From what I\u2019ve been briefed on, some of the concerns are that when they\u2019re controlling and seeing everything that\u2019s coming in, it puts American security at great risk. When they have access to and control over everything coming into the country, there are huge risks. I think the Department of War is probably looking closely at that. I\u2019m looking forward to getting more briefings on this. As you know, everything I\u2019ve been briefed on is what\u2019s publicly available. As I learn more, I\u2019d be happy to meet with you, or if you want to share concerns, I\u2019d be happy to listen.\n\nCurtis: You have a unique background in communications. How can you use that background to work with Jamaica and help them see exactly what comes with the Chinese relationship versus the U.S. relationship?\n\nLake: You know, if you\u2019re not putting out your story, somebody else is. The Americans have done such great work with our partners in Jamaica. They\u2019re neighbors. We have a great relationship. Culturally, we\u2019re more similar than China is with Jamaica, and we need to tell the people what we\u2019re doing. We were on the ground in massive numbers after the hurricane. The U.S. military carried out 133 flights in the hours after the hurricane struck, and we brought in almost 500\u2014480-some\u2014humanitarian relief workers.\n\nWe brought in search-and-rescue crews and heavy equipment to move debris off roads. Entire communities were cut off, and sadly there were 45 deaths, and many others were hurt. A quarter of a million people were displaced and needed housing. America was there. We need to tell that story. We will continue to be there, but we cannot continue to watch as China makes huge moves right here in our front yard.", 1, "2026-06-19T06:50:32Z", "2026-06-19T06:53:40Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.curtis.senate.gov/press-releases/curtis-questions-kari-lake-highlights-growing-ccp-influence-in-caribbean"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8383160457015038, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}