Mattis Begins South America Trip with Stop in Brazil
Aug. 13, 2018
News
By Jim Garamone
WASHINGTON --
Defense Secretary James N. Mattis arrived in Brazil today for the first stop of a trip to assess the military-to-military relations between the United States and its South American partners.
The secretary told reporters traveling with him that the U.S. is looking to expand its partnerships with the nations of the region where it makes sense to do so. The secretary will visit two cities in Brazil before moving on to Argentina, Chile and Colombia.
The U.S. has good military-to-military partnerships in the region because of shared values, the secretary said, noting that while the United States does not have a large military footprint in Latin America, it does have strong partnerships.
“We are looking to expand partnerships where it's mutually beneficial,” Mattis said. “No hesitation at all. We see Latin America as our neighbor. Some people say we don't pay much attention to it. That is certainly not the case in the military. You don't see large military formations down there, because the nature of our relationship doesn't require that. And we work together across a wide number of issues, and military is simply one of many.”
More:
https://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/1600106/mattis-begins-south-america-trip-with-stop-in-brazil/
