July 28, 2022
Department of Defense Engagement in the Western Hemisphere
This fact sheet is released on the occasion of the XV Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas (CDMA), which convened on July 25-29, 2022, in Brasilia, Brazil, hosted by the Brazilian Ministry of National Defense. CDMA is the premier hemispheric defense ministerial for strategic-level engagement with the top defense officials of the Americas, and convenes every two years. U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry established and hosted the first CDMA in 1995. U.S. Secretaries of Defense have attended every CDMA since its inception. Chile’s Ministry of National Defense hosted the last CDMA virtually in 2020.