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

Date:
Fri, 18 Sep 2026 16:05:00 +0000

Description:
Venezuela's surveillance network is built on Chinese tech, and the new president wanted Chinese AI implemented as well.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter A new report has warned that efforts to install Chinese AI within Venezuela's surveillance network could still go ahead The plans were drawn up before former-President Nicols Maduro was ousted by the US Report warns there has been no shift in policy, and
calls on the US to take action When the United States decided to oust and capture Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro in a daring nighttime operation, the capital of Caracas was turned to complete darkness as the United States Cyber Command allegedly knocked power generation offline .

But this goes beyond giving US troops favorable conditions to infiltrate Maduro's compound. Since coming to power in 2013, Maduro had been building a huge surveillance network to help keep an eye on and - if necessary - quell opposition. A surveillance network that could capture the whole operation on tape. But as a President at odds with the US, Maduro sourced much of the surveillance tech from China with future plans to integrate banned Chinese AI systems into the network. While Venezuela may have changed allegiances, a new report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has warned that the implementation of Chinese AI could still go ahead. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: Venezuela looks to integrate Chinese AI into surveillance infrastructure ASPIs latest report, titled Warning signals: Venezuela and the risk of Chinese AI-enabled digital authoritarianism [ PDF
], warns that before the ousting of Maduro, then Vice-President Delcy
Rodrguez sought to sign an agreement to adopt Chinese-built AI systems to
use Chinese AI to enhance existing state-sponsored surveillance.

Following the operation to remove Maduro, Rodrguez was installed as the Venezuelan President just two days after. But since then ASPI warns that
there has been nothing to signal a change in direction from Rodrguezs plans, meaning that the US could be heading a nation filled with Chinese AI-assisted surveillance tech. You may like 'New arena for strategic rivalry': Chinas intelligence chief calls for regulations and guardrails on AI to prevent new arms race In a twist of irony, a Chinese open source GLM 5.2 AI model contained 'rogue' OpenAI GPT-5.6 Sol in a Hugging Face hack just as the US mulls banning open-weight AI 'Whoever wins AI, wins!' Trump warns 'traitors and leakers' to 'beware' claims AI only needs him

Venezuela will become one of the first countries outside China to import Chinas new generation of LLM-based AI systems for surveillance and control, and the most advanced adopter in the Western Hemisphere, the report states.

In the immediate aftermath of the likely fixed 2024 Venezuelan presidential elections, protesters and dissidents were identified online and subsequently monitored using video and drone surveillance. Numerous protest leaders disappeared, likely captured by the authorities for their activities. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Plans to adopt Chinese AI technologies as part of Venezuelas surveillance network would likely enable the state to continue repressing opposition. Chinese or other AI tools could strengthen a domestically directed apparatus already used to manage dissent, restrict information and preserve political power, the report says.

One of the companies looking to provide its technology for use in Venezuela
is iFlytek. The US held iFlytek as a responsible party during Chinas attempts to round up and detain the Uyghur Muslim in the Xinjiang region, and banned the sale of the companys products in the US in 2019. Moving Venezuela away from China The ASPI report calls upon US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to spearhead efforts to dismantle the surveillance network and prevent the
import of Chinese AI systems into Venezuelas apparatus. What to read next Chinese military reportedly uses American AI models to train its defense systems Its hard to feel sorry for AI companies when China is giving them a taste of their own medicine X says it found and took down a Chinese bot farm posting anti-AI data center content to thousands of followers

Chinas leaders appear to understand that assets and investments of its national champions are at risk in Venezuela. Beijings approach seems to be,
in part, strengthening oversight of state-owned assets abroad to assist in risk protection and management, the report states.

The report states that dismantling Venezuelas surveillance infrastructure would align efforts to combat Chinese surveillance tech, and encourage others to dismantle mass-surveillance systems. The dismantling of Venezuelas surveillance infrastructure would also help position the USs image as a liberator, rather than just a new face of an old regime.

But the slight irony therein is juxtaposed with the USs own current surveillance woes, especially in the wake of opposition to Flock camera systems , and AI companies refusing to provide government access to their models for domestic surveillance purposes . Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/us-inherits-venezuelan-surveillance-sta te-built-on-banned-chinese-tech-and-ai-and-it-shows-no-signs-of-switching


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