In Latin American Visit, U.S. Defense Secretary Promotes Cooperation

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta undertook a five-day tour of Latin America this week, making stops in Colombia, Brazil, and Chile. The purpose of the secretary’s trip, says the American Forces Press Service, was “to expand defense and security cooperation with three important countries in the region and, increasingly, in the world.” Panetta’s trip focused on specific areas: support for Central America’s fight against transnational crime, technology exchange and arms deals, and coordination of hemispheric natural disaster response. Panetta singled out the three countries in question as “increasingly important players on the regional stage and also in terms of their leadership roles internationally.” Bloomberg reports that another motivation for the visit may be budget cuts in the United States, with the Defense Department scheduled to cut $490 billion over the next ten years. “The visits underscore the Pentagon’s increasing reliance on partner nations to confront common threats, support the U.S. defense industry, and provide military assistance worldwide,” notes the article.

The Defense Secretary’s agenda was distinct in each of the three countries:

• In Colombia, Panetta met with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzón on Monday. The two ministers reaffirmed military ties through Plan Colombia, a ten-year-old project that has drawn $7 billion in U.S. military aid to Colombia to support its battle against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and drug trafficking. To that end, Panetta authorized the sale of 10 U.S.-made helicopters to the country to continue the fight. The two ministers also praised Colombia’s security gains and recent role in sharing expertise in fighting drug trafficking, with operations in 16 countries in the region and beyond. Among various initiatives, Colombian servicemen have trained pilots in Mexico, and now train police in Honduras and Guatemala. “In offering our experience and capacities, we believe we are contributing to stability and peace in the region,” Pinzón told reporters.

• Brazil served as Panetta’s next stop, with visits to Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro. In Brasilia on Tuesday, Panetta met with Brazilian Defense Minister Celso Amorim as part of the first U.S.-Brazil Defense Cooperation Dialogue, established during Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s visit to Washington earlier this month. In an interview, Panetta told Folha de São Paulo: “Brazil is a global power, and a positive force for stability not only for the Americas, but also for the world.” The two ministers agreed to cooperate on a number of security issues, including cybersecurity, innovation and technology transfer, humanitarian assistance, and disaster preparedness. Panetta praised Brazil’s leadership in responding to Haiti’s 2010 earthquake and expressed support for future Brazilian participation in hemispheric disaster preparedness. Arms deals also ranked high on the agenda. Amorim said he was “sad” that the United States canceled a $355 million deal in February to buy aircraft from Brazil’s Embraer. The deal hit a wall due to legal problems with a U.S. manufacturer, but bidding has since reopened. Meanwhile, in a speech at Rio de Janeiro’s Superior War College on Wednesday, Panetta urged Brazil to choose Boeing to purchase 36 jets at a cost of between $4 billion and $7 billion. Boeing is currently competing with France’s Dassault Aviation and Sweden’s Saab for the Brazilian contract. Panetta stressed that the deal “contains an unprecedented advanced technology sharing that is reserved for only our closest allies and partners.” Brazil previously insisted that such a technology transfer would be key in choosing the manufacturer. Earlier this week, Amorim told the Brazilian press that any technology transfers must come without restrictions, as such restrictions scuttled Brazilian producers’ arms deals with third parties in the p

• Panetta rounded out the trip in Chile. Arriving on Thursday, he met with Chilean President Sebastián Piñera and Defense Minister Andrés Allamand in Santiago. In a press conference following their meeting, Panetta praised Chile’s disaster preparedness efforts, and said he and Allamand would bring a hemispheric disaster response proposal to the upcoming Conference of Defense Ministers in Uruguay. The defense secretary also spoke of cooperation between U.S. and Chilean forces to defend the Pacific Ocean. Both ministers used the opportunity to deny that a UN military training facility in Concon is a U.S. military base, as some protesters have alleged. On Friday Panetta traveled with Allamand to the northern Chilean city of Iquique to oversee military drills. He returned later that day to Washington.

Learn More:

• Access U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s agenda for his Latin American visit. 
• Learn more about the meeting between Panetta and Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzón from Voice of America.
• Read about Panetta’s push for Brazil to buy U.S.-made fighter jets in The New York Times.
• Read a news transcript of Panetta’s statements to the Chilean press.