For the first time, U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), sailing toward Latin America and the Caribbean as part of U.S. Southern Command- (SOUTHCOM) sponsored humanitarian mission Continuing Promise 2022, is breaking down gender barriers by expanding the perspective on traditional security and health issues. The current mission [ … ]
International Relations


Using Complementary Strategies to Solve Common Problems
For 25 years, the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies has been seeking to establish ties of cooperation among the different countries of Latin America, creating a network of professionals who are leaders in security and defense in the hemisphere, and able to offer shared solutions to contemporary [ … ]

Arkansas Air National Guardsmen Work with Foreign Military During Continuing Promise 2022
Arkansas Air National Guard members worked alongside U.S. and foreign military forces, government officials, and civilian personnel to provide humanitarian assistance through medical care in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, from October 26-31, 2022, during Continuing Promise 2022. Senior Airman Tabari Matthews, 189th dental technician, assisted Canadian Army Captain Cleve Kim, dentist, [ … ]

USNS Comfort, a Mission that Changes People’s Lives
A mission that will change people’s lives was the general sentiment of military, local, and international leaders as the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort arrived at the Port of Miami on October 23, on its last stateside port of call before setting sails toward Latin America and the Caribbean [ … ]

Nicaraguan Political Prisoners in Precarious Health
The Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua exhibited prisoners of conscience in “informative hearings” at the Managua Judicial Complex between August 30 and September 1. The regime-run media broadcast the proceedings, branding the prisoners as “terrorists, coup plotters, and homeland traitors,” pointing out that most of them supported in one way or [ … ]

Latin America United to Preserve Antarctica
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay approved bringing about greater synergy to position Latin America more prominently within the Antarctic Treaty System, during the 33rd Meeting of Latin American Antarctic Program Administrators (RAPAL), in Quito, Ecuador, August 23-26. Colombia, Venezuela, and Costa Rica attended as observers, the Chilean Joint [ … ]

B-52 Bombers Complete Deployment to Europe, Strengthen Ties with NATO Allies and Partners
The U.S. Air Force deployed four B-52H Stratofortress aircraft to the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) theater August 18-September 21, 2022 to conduct Bomber Task Force (BTF) missions with key allies and partners. The strategic bombers are assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base (AFB), North Dakota. [ … ]

Training for a Resilient Caribbean: The Jamaica Defence Force and the 571st MSAS
It was during a key leader engagement at Up Park Camp in Kingston, between Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Brigadier Markland Lloyd, Force executive officer (FXO), and Brigadier General Hernando Garzon Rey, U.S. Army South (ARSOUTH) deputy commanding general for Interoperability, that the future of the JDF’s humanitarian assistance and disaster [ … ]

Exercise Viekaren: Friendship and Cooperation Between Chilean and Argentine Navies
The southernmost tip of the Americas was the scene of the 22nd edition of the combined naval exercise Viekaren, which brought together the Chilean and Argentine navies in Ushuaia, capital of the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, known as the end of the world. “The proximity of Ushuaia and [ … ]

ARSOUTH Leads CENTAM Working Group in Honduras
Representatives from U.S. Army South traveled to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to lead a Central American Working Group (CENTAM WG) meeting during a three-day event held from September 7-9, 2022. The CENTAM WG includes armies from three Latin American nations: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The event marked the third time all [ … ]

SOUTHCOM Commander Meets with President, Defense Leaders During Visit to Ecuador
U.S. Army General Laura J. Richardson, the commander of U.S. Southern Command, met with Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso and senior Ecuadorian defense leaders to discuss continued bilateral cooperation during a visit to Ecuador this week. Gen. Richardson visited Ecuador September 12-16 to join defense leaders from 10 nations for the [ … ]

JTF-Bravo Conducts HEART 22 Military Medical Brigade in Guatemala and Honduras
A team of some 50 U.S. service members from U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Task Force Bravo (JTF-Bravo), specializing in ophthalmology, dentistry, and orthopedics, is working side by side with medical and technical personnel from the Guatemalan and Honduran ministries of Health in the Health Engagement Assistance Response Team 2022 (HEART [ … ]