U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has issued a blistering report on Nicaragua’s deteriorating human rights situation, which she said was spurring unprecedented numbers of people to flee to other countries. She presented her report June 16 to the U.N. Human Rights Council, where it remains under review.
Fuerzas Comando 2022 closing ceremony was held at the Honduran military parade field in Campo Marte, June 24, 2022. Honduran President Xiomara Castro was the ceremony’s principal speaker, with U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) International Affairs and Exercise Director Kevin Bostick as the honorary guest speaker. Colombia won the multinational Special Operations Competition Fuerzas Comando 2022 after 10 days of grueling events and earned Fuerzas Comando 2022 Champions.
At an event on the sidelines of the Ninth Summit of the Americas, a hemispheric meeting of leaders of the region held in Los Angeles, California, June 6-10, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power announced approximately $331 million in humanitarian and long-term development assistance to address food security and resilience in the region, among other initiatives focused on Latin America and the Caribbean.
Ecuador has been experiencing increased violence, including car bombs and prison riots, which have resulted in nearly 400 death in little more than a year, France 24 reported on May 25.
Honduras hosted Fuerzas Comando 2022 opening ceremony at Campo Marte, Tegucigalpa, June 13, 2022. Seventeen countries will compete in a Special Operations Forces skills competition to earn the title of the Best Special Forces of the Americas, June 13-23.
The governments of the United States, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama signed June 6 a Memorandum of Understanding in support of the Eastern Pacific Tropical Marine Corridor.
U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Jim Aiken, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. Fourth Fleet commander, hosted delegates from the Peruvian Navy for the 28th annual Maritime Staff Talks (MST), at St. Francis Barracks, Florida National Guard Headquarters in St. Augustine, June 1-3, 2022.
From June 1-3, 2022, U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) co-hosted the first ever Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) Jungle Symposium in Guyana. Participants from the GDF, SOUTHCOM Headquarters, U.S. Army 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army South, Colombia, Brazil, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras attended the symposium, as well as Chile and Argentina virtually. U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major Benjamin Jones, SOUTHCOM Command Sergeant Major, and Guyana Defence Force Sergeant Major Raul Rodney led discussions and exchanges on jungle warfare and operations. Colombian Army Sergeant Major William Cuellar Duarte also attended. The Symposium concluded with a visit to the GDF Jungle Amphibious Training School (JATS).
Landmines have killed 2,341 people in Colombia and injured 11,581 since 1990, according to the Colombian government. The nearly 60 years of internal conflict between the Colombian Military Forces, leftist groups, right-wing paramilitaries, and drug cartels has turned Colombia into one of the world’s most-mined countries, according to the United Nations. This made the country an international reference when it comes to landmine removal. That’s why, according to Colombia’s Minister of Defense Diego Molano, a team of Colombian soldiers will travel to Europe to train their Ukrainian counterparts on demining techniques.
Colombian President Iván Duque, U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary James Walsh, and U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Philip Goldberg reaffirmed the comprehensive holistic U.S.-Colombia counternarctics strategy, the Colombian government announced April 26.
In late April, representatives from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) met with officials from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) at Coral Harbour Naval Base in Nassau. The officials participated in an executive session as part of the Bilateral Security Cooperation Framework (BSCF) between both nations to enhance security and defense cooperation.
U.S. General Laura J. Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), visited Argentina and Chile, April 25-29, and met with leaders of both nations to discuss security and defense cooperation.
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