Latin America asked for pandemic help. Russia and China heard the call.

Latin American governments – hard hit by the coronavirus – have been doling out their thanks for international help in recent weeks. But one nation has been notably missing from their thank-you’s: the United States.

“Who would have guessed that … the only vaccines we’d receive are Russian and Chinese?” mused Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner last week.

Some 2.7 million doses arrived in Mexico City from the U.S. this week. For the most part, however, Russia and China have delivered more quickly than the U.S. and Europe. This could have lasting geopolitical effects in a region long seen as relying