Strengthen Partnerships
U.S. Southern Command is part of a multinational and whole‐of-government team working to advance security, governance, and economic opportunity in our neighborhood.
A Soldier from the Florida Army National Guard's Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) advises members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) on terrain mapping during Tradewinds 2021, Camp Seweyo, Guyana, June 19. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. N.W. Huertas)
See the Department of Defense's overview of the State Partnership Program
Integrating, aligning, and unifying our efforts with our partners is critical to our collective success. Close relationships, built on trust, facilitate our efforts to increase institutional capacity, counter threats, and respond rapidly and effectively to crises.
Improving and building new relationships with regional partner nations expands the competitive space and advances security in our shared neighborhood.
Our Efforts to Strengthen Partnerships
Active engagement with our neighbors in Central America, South America and the Caribbean contributes to regional and U.S. security. The U.S. military builds regional security through sustained engagement in order to deter adversaries, preserve stability, support allies and partners, and cooperate with others to address common security challenges.
Our Humanitarian Assistance programs and exercises are aimed at improving the capacity of U.S. and partner nation forces to respond to humanitarian crises. SOUTHCOM works in concert with other U.S. government agencies that provide assistance in the region.
We focus on supporting U.S. government efforts to reduce human suffering in the aftermath of natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes. The goal is to help set the stage for long-term recovery.
Promoting respect for human rights in Central and South America and the Caribbean is one of our top priorities. We have integrated respect for human rights as part of the SOUTHCOM mission since 1990.
The U.S. National Guard's State Partnership Program (SPP) has been successfully building relationships with partner nation forces since 1993. In SOUTHCOM's Area of Responsibility, 17 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have active partnerships with defense and security forces from 23 nations in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.
The U.S. Southern Command Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Program is part of a national effort to promote the meaningful contributions of women in the defense and security sectors around the world.
The CBSI Technical Assistance Field Team (TAFT) is a small team comprised of U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army engineers and logisticians who help select Caribbean coast guards and maritime-patrol units improve maintenance and operational readiness through technical assistance visits. The TAFT operations support U.S. efforts to strengthen regional security by bolstering the maritime security and counter-trafficking capabilities of Caribbean partner nations.
U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) seeks to build partnerships with public agencies and private sector entities to enhance security and stability in the command’s Area of Responsibility (Central America, South America and the Caribbean). The Public / Private Cooperation (PPC) program serves as a hub to facilitate these partnerships.
SOUTHCOM provides direct support to the training and readiness of partner nations' military and civilian health systems through Global Health Engagements across Latin America and the Caribbean. We help build capacity in military health service support; force health protection; disaster preparedness and response; health surveillance; medical research and development; and detection, prevention and response to disease threats.