AI War Spreads to Latin America; Nvidia Denies Region is Channel for Chip Smuggling to China
Nvidia's Latin America head denies the region is a channel for restricted chips to China, responding to an Anthropic report.
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- 📰 Published: June 12, 2026 at 15:32
- 🔍 Collected: June 12, 2026 at 15:49 (17 min after Published)
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(Central News Agency, San Francisco, 11th, Combined Foreign Reports) Marcio Aguiar, Nvidia's head of Latin American operations, denied that the region has become a channel for restricted chips to China. Weeks earlier, US AI company Anthropic alleged that recent technological progress by Chinese labs relied in part on smuggled processors.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, amid intensifying US-China competition over artificial intelligence, Aguiar, speaking at the Web Summit Rio, acknowledged that the pressure of export controls is significant, even affecting his sales department, even when suspicious orders originate from other regions.
"For example, some companies appear in countries where we have never done business, but want to make large purchases," Aguiar said.
"So we ask: What are you buying this for? Where is the data center? I need to see documentation." Aguiar stated that when the other party cannot provide a satisfactory answer, the company decisively refuses.
The allegations he responded to stem from a report published by Anthropic in mid-May. At the time, US President Trump was meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. This state visit yielded few concrete results in the technology sector, where the two major powers are fiercely clashing.
The report urged Washington to maintain a one-to-two-year lead over China in AI, stating that Chinese labs have approached the technological frontier by smuggling restricted US chips, remotely renting data centers outside the reach of US export regulations, and replicating capabilities using outputs from US models.
The report outlined two possible futures for 2028: one where "democratic countries set the technology rules," and another where Chinese companies, backed by government subsidies and "good enough" hardware, promote low-cost, functional AI to developing countries.
The latest national security strategy of the Trump administration prioritizes the Western Hemisphere. Trump has vowed to counter what he calls China's years-long economic infiltration of the Americas.
According to the Brazil-China Business Council, Brazil attracted $6.1 billion in Chinese investment in 2025, a 45% increase year-on-year, making it the country attracting the most Chinese capital globally.
Rio de Janeiro is also developing physical infrastructure of high interest to both major powers. With support from the Rio city government, a data center campus called "Rio AI City" is being planned, which could become the largest data center in Latin America. (Editor: Chen Yuting) 1150612
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, amid intensifying US-China competition over artificial intelligence, Aguiar, speaking at the Web Summit Rio, acknowledged that the pressure of export controls is significant, even affecting his sales department, even when suspicious orders originate from other regions.
"For example, some companies appear in countries where we have never done business, but want to make large purchases," Aguiar said.
"So we ask: What are you buying this for? Where is the data center? I need to see documentation." Aguiar stated that when the other party cannot provide a satisfactory answer, the company decisively refuses.
The allegations he responded to stem from a report published by Anthropic in mid-May. At the time, US President Trump was meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. This state visit yielded few concrete results in the technology sector, where the two major powers are fiercely clashing.
The report urged Washington to maintain a one-to-two-year lead over China in AI, stating that Chinese labs have approached the technological frontier by smuggling restricted US chips, remotely renting data centers outside the reach of US export regulations, and replicating capabilities using outputs from US models.
The report outlined two possible futures for 2028: one where "democratic countries set the technology rules," and another where Chinese companies, backed by government subsidies and "good enough" hardware, promote low-cost, functional AI to developing countries.
The latest national security strategy of the Trump administration prioritizes the Western Hemisphere. Trump has vowed to counter what he calls China's years-long economic infiltration of the Americas.
According to the Brazil-China Business Council, Brazil attracted $6.1 billion in Chinese investment in 2025, a 45% increase year-on-year, making it the country attracting the most Chinese capital globally.
Rio de Janeiro is also developing physical infrastructure of high interest to both major powers. With support from the Rio city government, a data center campus called "Rio AI City" is being planned, which could become the largest data center in Latin America. (Editor: Chen Yuting) 1150612
FAQ
What did Nvidia deny?
It denied that Latin America is a channel for restricted chips to China.
What did the Anthropic report allege?
It alleged that Chinese labs rely on smuggled US chips.
How much Chinese investment did Brazil attract in 2025?
$6.1 billion, a 45% increase year-on-year.