MIAMI (May 23, 2025) -- U.S. Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), visited Brazil and Guatemala this week and met with leaders to discuss defense cooperation and collaborative efforts to address regional security challenges.
Holsey’s visits to both nations marked his first as SOUTHCOM commander.
In Brazil May 20, Holsey met with Defense Minister José Múcio and discussed regional security and efforts to advance the bilateral defense partnership.
The admiral also met with Brazilian Army Commander Gen. Tomás Ribeiro Paiva, Commander of Naval Operations Adm. Marcos Sampaio Olsen, and Air Force Commander Gen. Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno to reaffirm the U.S. military’s commitment to continued partnership with the Brazilian armed forces.
The U.S. and Brazil enjoy a strong defense partnership that dates back to World War I. Brazil’s continued leadership in promoting regional security cooperation, defense collaboration, and multinational partnerships underscores the shared commitment between the two largest democracies and militaries in the Western Hemisphere.
In Guatemala, Holsey joined President Bernardo Arévalo and U.S. Ambassador Tobin Bradley May 22 as Guatemala signed an agreement for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide expertise and technical assistance to support the nation's modernization of the Port of Quetzal. The high-profile modernization effort will strengthen Guatemala’s economy and port security and enhance its role as a strategic commercial node for the region.
Holsey also held bilateral meetings May 22 with President Bernardo Arévalo, Defense Brigadier General Henry David Saenz Ramos, Chief of Defense Brigadier General Hermelindo Choz Soc and other defense leaders. Discussions focused on both nations’ decades-long bilateral security partnership and efforts to further collaborative efforts to address regional and cyber security threats and challenges of mutual concern.
On May 23, Holsey took part in the closing ceremony for exercise CENTAM Guardian 25, which was hosted by Guatemala. CENTAM Guardian is an annual, multi-national exercise designed to strengthen interoperability, domain awareness, information sharing, and counter-threat capabilities between the United States and participating Central American and Caribbean partner nations. More than 800 troops from Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and the United States trained together during the two-week exercise.
Security cooperation between the U.S. and Guatemala focuses on shared efforts to combat transnational criminal organizations and other malign actors; disaster preparedness; border and cyber security; and promoting respect for human rights.
SOUTHCOM is one of the nation’s six geographically focused unified commands with responsibility for U.S. military operations in the Caribbean, Central America and South America, as well as security cooperation with defense and public-security forces in the region.