U.S. is largest donor of Covid supplies and support in South America, says head of U.S. Southern Command

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – (Infobae) The arrival in Argentina of the head of the Pentagon agency that focuses on Latin America and the Caribbean is part of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, which Craig Faller does not hesitate to define as “the perfect storm.”

Without skirting any agenda item, he praised the good relationship between Argentina and the United States and warned about the loopholes that organized crime finds in the midst of this emergency we are experiencing. “In times of pandemic, transnational threats must be addressed jointly,” he said.

“Our program for Argentina is US$3.5 million; another half a million is in the process of being approved,” Faller said of the assistance to the country. Donations included three field hospitals, oxygen generators and search and rescue equipment.

In addition, the admiral stated that the United States is “the largest donor of supplies and support against Covid-19 in the entire region, with donations of US$230 million.” “We have also committed US$4 billion for the global Covax program,” he said, referring to the World Health Organization initiative aimed at ensuring equitable access to the vaccine for Third World countries.

Strictly speaking, this was Faller’s fourth trip to the country, as in 2009 he participated in a training course for admirals and generals in Argentina. Then, in 2018, he was part of the delegation of the then Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and, a year later, he returned to the country as the brand new head of the Southern Command.

Finally, this new visit, in which he took some time to talk exclusively with DEF, is part of a tour that also included a previous visit to Uruguay.

What mechanisms were used to make these donations to Argentina?

When the pandemic hit, the Southern Command made a quick assessment of how we could help. We immediately deployed our Humanitarian Assistance Program in Central America, the Caribbean and South America. We used our friendships with our partners and our previous relationships to identify what the threats and needs were.

We quickly processed all that information and met with our teams in each embassy to find out what the main requirements were. Being authorized to work with civilian authorities, we have made donations to hospitals and other entities dealing with disaster emergencies. In particular, in Argentina, our program is for US$3.5 million and another half a million is in the process of being approved. It includes relocatable hospitals, equipment for those hospitals and protective supplies for their professionals. I believe this is an important gesture of our long-standing commitment to Argentina and the region.

In your presentation to the U.S. Congress, you pointed out that with only about 8% of the world’s population, Latin America and the Caribbean are affected with almost one-fifth of the world’s COVID cases. What challenges did this pandemic pose for SOUTHCOM?

The pandemic really impacted, and continues to impact, our hemisphere. So it’s very important that we work together. At SOUTHCOM, we do that with the State Department, with our ambassadors and our embassy staffs. We focus on how to assist them in meeting the needs of the countries in the region. And we had to do that while our country also had to meet its own domestic needs. We knew we had to do it quickly and that our projects had to be important to our allies.

ORGANIZED CRIME AND EXTRA-REGIONAL POWERS

Beyond the health impact of the pandemic, what consequences did it have on the actions of transnational organized crime organizations and terrorist groups?

The pandemic is and will continue to be a sort of “perfect storm”. If you think of it as the worst typhoon that can hit the entire planet simultaneously, it opens up opportunities for organizations that do not share our values. If we look at the actions of transnational organized crime groups and groups that do not respect the rule of law, they take advantage of this situation and use it to expand their illicit activities, particularly in drug trafficking and illicit trafficking of health supplies.

Before the Senate Committee you also mentioned that in a fragile region, such as Latin America, this created a “fertile ground” for U.S. competitors. If we talk specifically about China, what are your main concerns?

If we go back to the aftermath of Covid-19, the pandemic put all our health and security structures under stress, and negatively affected our economies. As a military, we think about national security and the economic security of our countries. We know that the budget of our security agencies was negatively affected.

I am not here to talk about third nations, but to talk about how we can move forward in a practical way, with tangible facts, in a deepening of relations with our military counterparts. The truth is that our National Defense Strategy views China as a “competitor.”

I testified before the U.S. Congress and pointed out that, in the 21st century, China is a “threat” to us, which does not mean that this situation should lead to conflict. Our goal is to turn this “competition” into “cooperation”, but that must necessarily be based on democratic values and respect for the rule of law, and not on the redefinition of the rules of international law to undermine democracy.

Would the same be applicable to other countries, such as Russia, which has a good card to play to influence the region with its vaccine?

When it comes to the pandemic, any contribution that allows saving lives is welcome, as long as this help is not used to violate the norms of international law and respect for human rights. However, the case of Russia is different from that of China. Russia routinely sows lies and disinformation.

BILATERAL AGENDA: FROM MILITARY EXCHANGE TO ILLEGAL FISHING

Since your last visit, both Argentina and the U.S. governments have changed. What is the current state of the bilateral relationship?

I represent the U.S. Southern Command and my relationship with the Armed Forces of Argentina is based on the values we all share and by which we are sworn to perform our duties. I believe that strong institutions can align and work together from a professional approach. Education must be our priority: we have to prepare our officers for the future.

From that point of view, our relationship is strong and we must understand what each other’s needs are. I have come to listen to the new command of the Argentine Armed Forces to learn from them and for you to learn from us.

Was there any kind of disconnection last year?

No, we remained connected. Although we were not able to visit in person, we are still connected through virtual channels and through our ongoing programs. I just mentioned education: we have a training program, the International Military Education & Training Program (IMET).

On this trip, I had the opportunity to meet with Argentine officers who studied in the U.S. under the IMET program. We also discussed the role of women in the preservation of peace and security, because we have to understand that 50% of the population is made up of women and we must find the best way to integrate them into our teams. Argentina has been a leading country in this regard. From our institutions, we have solid bases to work from, we can learn from the past and project a solid cooperation going forward.

Argentina is particularly concerned about “illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing” activities in the South Atlantic. As a man of the sea, you know this issue very well. Is it a priority for SOUTHCOM and the U.S.? What actions can be taken at the regional level?

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is a global problem that affects the food security of countries with exclusive economic zones (EEZs). There are a large number of fishing fleets, many of them sponsored by extra-regional powers that do not respect international rules.

That is why we support the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard in their strategy to help countries in the region identify who is operating in their territorial waters. This is about sharing information to address challenges to our sovereignty.

We are also interested in engaging the countries from which these fishing fleets originate, including China, which has a state-sponsored fleet that is involved in these types of illegal, unreported and unregulated activities. A recent example is Ecuador, where the Chinese fleet turned off its geo-referencing equipment for a good part of the day when they were operating in Pacific waters, very close to the Ecuadorian EEZ.

There are two explanations: either the equipment was damaged, or they were trying to hide their illicit activities. For this reason, we are prepared to work with the countries of the region in the defense of their sovereign waters.

Source: Infobae