Key facts
- Israel is expanding its cybersecurity and AI expertise offerings to Latin American governments.
- Colombia, Ecuador, and Argentina have signed agreements to deepen cooperation with Israel.
- Digital rights advocates warn that the export of Israeli surveillance technologies may lack adequate safeguards.
- The trend aligns with a broader political shift to the right in Latin America and increased US emphasis on cyber capabilities.
- Israeli cyber technologies have been developed and tested within the context of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
Israel is increasingly positioning its cybersecurity industry as a provider of expertise, surveillance capabilities, and national security solutions to right-wing governments across Latin America. This growing cooperation opens new markets for an industry closely linked to Israel's military and intelligence establishment, with technologies reportedly developed and tested through the occupation of Palestine before being marketed internationally.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has identified Israeli artificial intelligence and cybersecurity expertise as a potential tool in his crackdown on organized crime. In Ecuador, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and his counterpart Roberto Kury signed agreements on August 4 to enhance counter-terrorism and cybersecurity cooperation. Israel and Argentina have also agreed to deepen their collaboration on artificial intelligence and fighting cyber-threats.
This trend coincides with Washington's increased focus on using cyber capabilities against transnational criminal organizations. On August 12, US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum empowering federal law-enforcement agencies to use cyber tools to disrupt foreign-based criminal organizations attacking Americans.
Digital rights advocates express concern that the distinction between defensive cybersecurity and surveillance can blur when technologies developed within Israel's military and occupation apparatus are exported to countries with weak safeguards and a history of abuse. Pepe Flores, director of programmes at R3D Mexico, noted that governments in Latin America often adopt a risk-based approach rather than a human-rights-centered one, creating an "illusion of control with technology."
Juan Diego Castaneda, co-director of Fundacion Karisma, suggested that the choice of Israel by these governments is ideological, aligning with their values and reinforcing their stances, rather than solely based on the technical superiority of the tools. He also noted that the concept of 'defense' in Israeli rhetoric can extend to offensive capabilities.
Critics point to Israel's cyber-technology industry's close ties to its occupation of Palestine, where surveillance tools have been deployed on a population with limited ability to refuse their use. Lama Nazeeh of 7amleh stated that the skill being monetized is "knowing how to run population-scale surveillance on people who cannot refuse," with Palestinians being "unconsenting contributors."