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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Aug. 21, 2025) — U.S. government and military officials joined top regional defense leaders in Argentina this week to discuss security challenges and regional cooperation during the South America Defense Conference 2025 (SOUTHDEC 25) Aug. 20-21.
U.S. Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey, commander of U.S. Southern Command, joined Argentine Gen. Xavier Isaac, Chief of the Argentine Armed Forces’ Joint Staff, in co-hosting SOUTHDEC. Argentine Minister of Defense Luis Petri also took part in the conference and addressed the gathered leaders during opening remarks.
"This conference would not have been possible without the realization and joint collaboration between Argentina and the United States," said Petri. "South America has been and must continue to be a zone of peace. Sustaining that condition requires firm values and broad cooperation."
During his opening remarks, Holsey also highlighted the importance of partnerships and cooperation.
“By sharing our perspectives shaped by operational experience, we will strengthen the resilience and capabilities necessary to overcome any threat or challenge and preserve the security and stability of this region. Let's seize this moment with purpose,” said Holsey.
Senior participating U.S. leaders included Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemisphere Affairs M. Roosevelt Ditlevson, White House and National Securities Counselor Michael Jensen and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs Joseph Humire. The commander of U.S. Space Command, Gen. Stephen Whiting also addressed attendees virtually.
The annual conference serves as a critical forum for defense leaders from South America and Europe to exchange ideas, experiences, and perspectives on collaborative efforts to address shared security challenges. SOUTHDEC 25 discussions focused on enhanced maritime domain awareness and military support to law enforcement in countering transnational criminal organizations.
During panels, dialogue, briefings, roundtables and bilateral meetings, leaders discussed ways to increase cooperation, coordination, and interoperability in all domains to confront threats and challenges in South America and the Western Hemisphere.
Holsey and Issac joined defense leaders from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Uruguay for this year’s conference. Representatives from Canada, France, and the United Kingdom also took part as observers.
U.S. National Guard leaders from Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New York, South Carolina, and Texas -- states whose national guards have state partnerships with South American partner nations -- also took part. Representatives from the Inter-American Defense Board, the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), the William J. Perry Center, the Inter-American Defense College, also attended.
REGIONAL THREATS AND CHALLENGES
Holsey warned that challenges and threats that “span the Andean Ridge to the Strait of Magellan are growing more complex.”
"The expanding scope, scale, and strength of transnational criminal organizations throughout the region is a top concern. Currently, 33 U.S. sanctioned groups, including recently designated 10 foreign terrorist organizations, are operating in the Western hemisphere, engaged in illicit trafficking of drugs, weapons, commodities, wildlife and persons that earn them $358 billion a year in revenue. Not only do these activities finance the expansion of their criminal enterprises, but they perpetuate a cycle of violence and corruption that threatens the citizen security and the integrity of our democracies,” said Holsey
Holsey also shared his concerns of China’s influence in the region.
“The Chinese Communist Party continues its methodical incursion in the region, seeking to export its authoritarian model, extract precious resources, and set the theater with potential dual use infrastructure, from ports to space,” Holsey said.
“Their presence and influence have far reaching consequences across all domains, particularly in the Southern Cone where vital sea lines of communication, such as the Strait of Magellan and Drake Passage, serve as strategic choke points and may be used by [China] to project power, disrupt trade, and challenge the various sovereignty of our nations, or neutrality of the Antarctic,” Holsey said.
Ditlevson also spoke and highlighted China's regional influence.
"China controls military intelligence and space facilities throughout this hemisphere and threatens critical maritime access points such as the Panama Canal, which is vital to each nation's economy," Ditlevson said.
Holsey stressed urgency of action to address these threats, in addition to dealing with “malign propaganda and cybercrime that seeks to undermine the legitimacy and functionality of democratic governance.”
“First, we must improve our [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] capability and leverage the enhanced domain awareness to protect vital sea lines of communication while guaranteeing the freedom of navigation. Second, building the capacity of our own forces to support law enforcement encountering transnational criminal organizations,” Holsey said.
During his virtual address, Whiting urged stronger partnerships in space.
"We need capable partners who are willing to increase their capacity to effectively contribute to the team. A partnered approach to enhance space security through sharing expertise, burden sharing and coordinated, rapid, effective responses to emerging threats," Whiting said.
DEFENSE COOPERATION IN SOUTH AMERICA
The U.S. military and defense forces in South America have a long history of security cooperation that goes back decades.
U.S. and regional forces routinely train together in annual exercises like UNITAS, Tradewinds and Fuerzas Comando, among others. U.S. military and South American partners also collaborate in efforts to detect, disrupt, and dismantle transnational criminal organizations and illicit traffickers. SOUTHCOM also partners with regional forces and organizations to support humanitarian assistance efforts in the region.
SOUTHDEC has been sponsored annually by SOUTHCOM since 2009. It was last hosted by Argentina in 2018.
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.
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| Date Taken: | 08.21.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.21.2025 15:16 |
| Story ID: | 546172 |
| Location: | BUENOS AIRES, AR |
| Web Views: | 34 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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