SouthCom Commander Laura Richardson, 2024. X/ @ElArgentinoOk
Buenos Aires, October 15 (RHC)-- The 16th Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas is taking place in the city of Mendoza. Over the past several days, U.S. Southern Command Gen. Laura Richardson and defense ministers from 23 countries have meet in Argentina to coordinate hemispheric cooperation actions.
Argentinian Defense Minister Luis Petri inaugurated the 16th Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas (CDMA), as his country currently holds the temporary presidency of this forum, which was established in 1995. This meeting is taking place in the city of Mendoza, where participants will elect the CDMA Pro Tempore Secretariat for the 2025-2026 term and will deliver a ministerial declaration.
The Mendoza meeting was preceded by a series of meetings of various working groups: one on cooperation in humanitarian assistance and military relief in cases of natural or man-made disasters, another on women, peace, and security, and a third on cyber defense and cyberspace.
Two of the most relevant international issues that will take center stage in this year’s discussions are the war between Ukraine and Russia, and the conflicts triggered by Israel in the Middle East and their implications for Latin America.
Currently, the Mendoza meeting includes: Wayne Munroe (Bahamas), Florencio Marin (Belize), Jose Mucio Monteiro (Brazil), William Blair (Canada), Maya Fernandez Allende (Chile), Ivan Velazquez (Colombia), Gian Loffredo (Ecuador), Henry Saenz (Guatemala), and Jean Berthier Antoine (Haiti).
Mark Anthony Phillips (Guyana), Latoya Waugh-Bryce (Jamaica), Enrique Covarrubias (Mexico), Jacinth Henry-Martin (Saint Kitts & Nevis), Darryl Daniel (Trinidad & Tobago), Jose Manuel Zelaya (Honduras), Frank Abrego (Panama), Oscar Gonzalez (Paraguay), Walter Astudillo (Peru), Carlos Fernandez (Dominican Republic), Krishnakoemarie Mathoera (Suriname), Armando Castaingdebat (Uruguay), and U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro are also at the CDMA summit.
Representatives from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela were not invited to the Menzoza meeting, despite the latter two being part of the 34 nations of the Americas that make up the CDMA.
