Private Credit Advice

Hello, I am currently evaluating my options, and I would be really grateful for advice. To give context, I'm a US citizen at a non-target school, a finance major, graduating with a 3.5 GPA. I have an internship offer at a Latin America/emerging-markets-focused private credit fund — a direct-lending shop based in a LatAm office (not the US) where I'd likely get a return offer and could spend a year or two building real credit/deal experience.

What I don't understand is how recruiting actually works from here in either direction. If I take this, build experience, and then try to lateral into a US-based private credit firm, how does that process actually work, and if it is realistic. Is it headhunter-driven, as on-cycle recruiting is, or is it more direct/networked, given that the fund is small and LatAm-based rather than a recognized US shop? Does coming from a Latin America-based private credit fund help or hurt that lateral versus staying in the US in a different type of finance role instead?

Also trying to figure out if this is even worth it comp-wise. Are there smaller, more realistic US or EM-focused private credit firms I could actually lateral into from something like this, and how does their pay compare to just recruiting for a different job entirely instead of trying to stay in private credit? I want to know whether the juice is worth the squeeze, or if I should just pursue something else from the start.

And separately, if instead of lateraling I go the MBA route afterward, using this experience to try to break into IB or another private credit firm. How much weight does this kind of experience actually carry with MBA admissions? I have spent my life in Latin America, so my narrative would be pretty good: helping my country gain access to capital. Does doing something niche like EM private credit help me stand out, or does the fact that the firm isn't a recognized US name hurt the application regardless of what the work itself involved? 

I am trying to realistically understand how each path evaluates this kind of experience, and whether the comp/opportunity trade-off is even worth pursuing compared to recruiting for something else, before I decide whether to take the internship. Thank you very much