Chinese Cosco Shipping Rose container ship sails the newly inaugurated Cocoli locks, during the visit of China's President Xi Jinping, in the Panama Canal, on December 3, 2018.

Last month I traveled to Panama, Colombia and Argentina. The purpose of my trip was to get an update on the fight for freedom and liberty in Venezuela, to highlight the important economic relationships between Latin America and my state of Florida and to continue building on the progress made to stop narco-trafficking.

On all of those fronts we made important progress and had great conversations about the future.

I came away with another impression that I, quite honestly, hadn't expected. But it's one that is stark and unmistakable. All across Latin America, we're seeing the creeping influence of China in our hemisphere.

We know that China is a bad actor. China is not our friend. China sees the United States as its global adversary and is taking the steps necessary to "win" the great power conflict of the 21st Century.

We know they've been stealing our technology and our intellectual property. We know they manipulate their currency. We know they've been developing bases in the South China Sea. We know they've flooded the United States with dangerous fentanyl. We know their state sponsored technology companies like ZTE and Huawei have been accused of fraud, violating the Iran sanctions and stealing intellectual property. We know China consistently violates human rights. We know that China suppresses freedom of speech.

We know what China is. And yet, how many Americans realize that in countries just a few thousand miles (and in some cases a few hundred miles) away, China is taking every opportunity it can to gain influence and exert control. Latin America is the new battleground in the greatest geopolitical conflict of our time.

In Panama, the Chinese government is building its own port in Colon to exert more control over international trade between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres and drive out competition. Street restaurants in Panama have menus in English, Spanish and – you guessed it – Chinese.

Meanwhile, Colombia is experiencing a mass-influx of refugees from Venezuela. Venezuela's president Nicolás Maduro's policies are not only causing the deaths of thousands of his own people, he's also created a refugee crisis with millions of Venezuelans fleeing his brutal regime. Most have gone to Colombia, which is struggling to keep up with the migration.

China's president Xi Jinping knows what Maduro is doing to his own people. He knows that he's intentionally starving them, that he's using Cuban security forces to harass dissidents and beat children in the streets. Xi doesn't care. China is a willing participant in Maduro's genocide.