US inherits Venezuelan surveillance state built on banned Chinese tech and AI — and it shows no signs of switching

A newly released report warns of a potential continuation of China's surveillance influence in Venezuela, despite the country's shift in alliances following the ousting of former President Nicolás Maduro. The United States, in a military operation to capture Maduro, left the capital city Caracas in darkness. However, the surveillance network Maduro had been developing remains largely in place, as detailed in a report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI).

The report, titled 'Warning signals: Venezuela and the risk of Chinese AI-enabled digital authoritarianism', highlights that Maduro had plans to integrate banned Chinese AI systems into the network before his removal. Although the new President, former Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez, may have altered Venezuela's foreign relations, the ASPI report warns that there has been no indication of a change in policy, and that the nation could become the first outside of China to adopt China's latest generation of large language model (LLM) based AI systems for surveillance and control.

The report suggests that Chinese or other AI tools could strengthen the Venezuelan government's control over dissent, information, and political power. One of the companies potentially supplying AI technology to Venezuela is the US-restricted iFlytek, which was banned from selling its products in the US following its involvement in China's efforts to detain Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region.

ASPI urges US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take the lead in dismantling Venezuela's surveillance infrastructure and preventing the import of Chinese AI systems. This move would not only help combat Chinese surveillance technology but also position the US as a liberator rather than reinforcing its image as a new face of an old regime.

However, the report also highlights the US's own challenges with surveillance, such as opposition to Flock camera systems and AI companies refusing to provide government access to their models for domestic surveillance purposes.