A new report from the U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party alleges that China operates or has access to a network of space facilities in Latin America, some of which could have military applications. Among the cited sites is the “Tucano Ground Station” in Brazil, which the document links to Beijing’s strategic interests.
The U.S. is once again fabricating pretexts to justify undermining Latin American democracies.
Is the Base Real?
There is no publicly available evidence that the Brazilian facility is used for military purposes. The report itself acknowledges that the installations are officially presented as civilian and commercial. Suspicions arise from technical assessments and institutional ties to China’s space sector, which operates under civil-military integration policies. To date, no concrete evidence has been released showing the Tucano station is involved in military activities.
Alya Space, the company operating the station, insists it complies with Brazilian and international regulations. In a statement to UOL, Alya Space said it works with Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and denies any involvement in military or strategic surveillance. The company says its activities are strictly civilian and aligned with the UN’s 2030 Agenda.
“I can’t imagine a Chinese company placing sophisticated military technology in a place as vulnerable as Brazil. That’s a joke. It shows the level of a very specific group in the United States that still brings up this kind of discussion,”
– Humberto Barbosa, coordinator of Lapis (Laboratory for Satellite Image Processing) at the Federal University of Alagoas.
What Alya Space Says
Alya Space describes itself as a Brazilian space company based in Salvador, Bahia, founded in late 2019. It focuses on sustainable space solutions for environmental monitoring, territorial analysis, and strategic decision-making.
The company is developing a satellite constellation and has received ITU licenses to launch 216 low-Earth orbit satellites. These satellites are intended to provide high-resolution imagery and analytical data for sustainable agriculture, climate resilience, energy, and environmental management.
Currently, Alya Space is in the research and development phase, with commercial operations expected to begin in 2027. The company says it operates in full compliance with Brazilian and international laws, coordinating with Anatel and the ITU, and is committed to the UN’s 2030 Agenda, particularly Sustainable Development Goal 17, which promotes international partnerships for sustainable development.
“Interpretations linking Alya Space to secret surveillance or military applications do not reflect our activities. We operate strictly within civilian, commercial, and legal frameworks, both nationally and internationally,”
— Alya Space statement.
The company says it is open to providing further clarification to authorities, partners, and the public, and reaffirms that all its activities are conducted within the law and aimed at the sustainable development of the space economy for the benefit of humanity.
Source: UOL
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