Craig Faller, head of US Southern Command: “The biggest threat to the region is from transnational criminal groups and China”

Admiral Craig Faller, head of the southern command of the United States, assured that China and transnational criminal groups were the main threat to the region, and that its activities deepened last year thanks to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. military, whose command operates in Latin America with the exception of Mexico, made a presentation and answered questions at a conference hosted by the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, in which he also mentions the possibility of strengthening regional defense through cooperation links.

Faller, with more than 40 years of service in the armed forces of the North American country and a life of relations with Latin America – he is married to a Brazilian woman -, assured that his interest is based on considering that the region is a “zone of promise, of opportunity”.

But referring to the threats facing the region, he pointed out transnational criminal organizations which operate in different countries and which, according to him, “constitute a threat which has taken advantage of the pandemic to strengthen itself”.

However, the biggest and most strategic threat is China, he said. “He’s trying to rewrite the rules of the world, he wants a new form of democracy, which is actually autocracy.”

“Just look at the human rights violations, corruption, preferential treaties, the diplomacy of the vaccines they currently have.. And they seek to become a partner in the face of need, ”he warned.

He also assured that Beijing “is actively seeking to increase its economic influence, in terms of technology, urban security, artificial intelligence”. “All these things give information, so that the Chinese influence goes beyond the professional association, ”he added.

Faller also referred to the Chinese fishing fleets which carry out illegal fishing activities – and which were particularly active in the region in late 2020 along the South American Pacific coast – and said that “no country can cope with these threats alone “.

In this sense, he evoked the President Joe Biden’s new government defense guide and ensured that it focuses on building alliances. “We want to help and work with the military forces which respect the forces of order, the role of women, etc.”, he declared.

Regarding the situation of VenezuelaFaller reiterated that there are many examples of the responsibilities of the Maduro regime towards the people. In support of this statement, he cited the report of the independent UN mission – which documented crimes against humanity committed by the dictatorship – and noted how this situation continues to catalyze the exodus of a great part of the country’s population.

“This makes Venezuela a haven for drug traffickers and, of course, has a negative impact on the security of the United States,” Express.

“When we observe the phenomenon of cross-border crime, and we see how the pandemic has made it worse, we know that the perfect storm has formed to be used by Russia, Iran and China to increase their influence in the region ”.

This combination of factors, he said, makes the missions of the armed forces he leads more difficult. “It’s more complex and to that is added the cyber problem, the threat to privacy in social networks, cyber-government attacks, etc.”

To conclude, Faller announced that he was planning a trip to Latin America. He will visit Argentina and Uruguay and, among other topics, will address the problem of illegal fishing in regional waters by China.

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