On July 29-30, 2024, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for Western Hemisphere Affairs Ms. Jana Nelson co-chaired the 19th U.S.-Colombia Defense Bilateral Working Group (DBWG) with Colombian Vice Minister of Defense for Strategy and Planning Luis Edmundo Suárez Soto. The meeting took place at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
U.S. participants included the DASD for Counternarcotics & Stabilization Policy, Jim Saenz; DASD for Arctic & Global Resilience, Iris Ferguson; Director J5 Strategy, Policy, and Plans, U.S. Southern Command, Major General Julian Cheater; Deputy Director, Western Hemisphere Affairs, Joint Staff J5, Strategic Plans and Policy, Brigadier General Greg Krane; Director, Joint Staff, South Carolina National Guard, Brigadier General Robin Stilwell; and representatives from U.S. Embassy Bogota, the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, and the Department of State, Bureau of Political Military Affairs.
The dialogue focused on emergent challenges and threats such as cyber, climate change, and Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS); regional security cooperation and defense sector institution building; and strengthening strategic information capacity. The leaders also discussed countering transnational criminal organizations and the Total Peace process. They reaffirmed the importance of adhering to the highest standards of democratic values, the rule of law, and human rights in all aspects of the bilateral defense relationship.
The U.S.-Colombia DBWG, established through a joint agreement in 1999, provides a strategic framework to guide bilateral security cooperation. The forum is a mechanism to discuss strategic-level defense issues and to guide future cooperation activities in the areas of defense and security.
