U.S. Southern Command's 2014 Posture Statement
This post was drafted by CIP intern Matt LaLime
General John Kelly of U.S. Southern Command (Southcom) and General Charles Jacoby Jr. of U.S. Northern Command (Northcom) released their annual posture statements on February 26th. Both commanders testified before the House and Senate Armed Service Committees on February 26th and March 13th, respectively.
The main concerns echoed last year’s posture statements as both Northcom’s General Jacoby and Southcom’s General Kelly expressed concern with military budget cuts, reiterating that the decrease in funds would limit both homeland defense strategy and constructive engagement with regional allies.
They highlighted a few noteworthy developments regarding joint U.S.-Latin American security cooperation:
Mexico
Despite media reports citing public officials claiming U.S.-Mexico cooperation has slowed since President Peña Nieto took office in December of 2012, Gen. Jacoby said joint U.S.-Mexico military activities and exercises have increased, noting the United States helped train over 5000 Mexican soldiers this past year.
Drug Trafficking
As multiple media outlets highlighted, Gen. Kelly estimated Southcom failed to intercept 80 percent of the drugs flowing out of Colombia, and around 74 percent of all maritime drug trafficking. He linked the drop in interdictions to a lack of equipment, intelligence resources and overall funding.
Gen. Kelly asserted the goals of Operation Martillo, the United States’ counternarcotics surge operation in Central America’s coastal waters, “might no longer be achievable,” and that Southcom “will seek to employ non-traditional solutions within our current authorities, to partially mitigate detection and monitoring shortfalls” in the year ahead.
Southcom interagency cooperation
As a way to maximize the effectiveness of funding, Southcom deepened its interagency counternarcotic partnerships. General Kelly noted:
- Southcom currently works with both the Department of Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security to map and combat the flow of illicit proceeds and is likely to deepen these partnerships following the success that financial sanctions have had on weakening the Los Cachiros drug cartel in Honduras.
- Southcom would “rely heavily” on the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection (which now provide the majority of the ships and aircraft used for interdiction) and continue to work with DEA Foreign Deployed Advisory and Support Team (FAST), along with nine DEA Special investigative Units (SIUs)
- In cooperation with the State Department, Southcom is planning to extend its program working with Colombia’s Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization to assist the military “in countering the threat of improvised explosive devices” to the rest of the region.
Plans for 2014
Gen. Kelly also pointed to other engagement activities Southcom is planning on continuing or creating this coming year:
- Gen. Kelly said Southcom would continue to support Colombia in its newfound role as a “regional security exporter.”
- In Peru, Southcom will continue to aid security forces in their fight against the Shining Path, through further assistance and military training.
- In 2014, Southcom will begin working with Northcom, Guatemala and Belize to support Mexico’s new southern border strategy. Gen. Kelly emphasized that current restrictions on foreign military financing, particularly to Guatemala, limit the extent of this engagement.
- Although “broader bilateral challenges” have adversely affected U.S.-Brazilian defense relations, Gen. Kelly maintained military-to-military cooperation has remained strong, and said Southcom is planning to cooperate with Brazil and other Latin American on strengthening their cyber security institutions. This includes working with Brazilian security forces in preparation for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.
- In 2014, Southcom plans to continue existing multinational exercises and humanitarian assistance to countries across the region. For Kelly, these humanitarian missions help to safeguard national security, reduce perceptions of U.S. “militarization,” and help promote respect for human rights in the region. Kelly noted that last year Southcom canceled over 200 engagements in the region.
- Gen. Kelly voiced his concern over the tenfold increase in Haitian migrants passing through the Mona Passage and urged Washington to pay closer attention to this and other immigration issues in the Caribbean in 2014. He also underscored his concern about an uptick in narcotrafficking in the Caribbean and mentioned the lack of U.S. funding for engagement in the region.
Southcom’s posture statement’s annex details information about operations and trainings that took place in the previous year. These can be useful in identifying trends and Southcom priorities in the region. For example, in 2012, Special Operations Command South (SOCSOUTH) continued to be most active in Colombia and very present in Peru. It also reported on the results of Operation Martillo and various Southcom units like JTF-Bravo, stationed in Honduras.