MENDOZA, Argentina – From October 13-16, 2024, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro led the United States delegation to the XVI Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas (CDMA) in Mendoza, Argentina. The delegation included senior officials from the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy. U.S. Southern Command and U.S. Northern Command were also represented.
CDMA is the premier defense forum in the Western Hemisphere, convening the senior most national security and defense officials biennially to address hemisphere-wide challenges while forging strong partnerships throughout the region. This year's event featured discussions on the responsible use of artificial intelligence, and climate and environmental challenges from a defense perspective.
Secretary Del Toro held bilateral meetings with Ministry of Defense leaders from the following countries:
Argentina
Secretary Del Toro and Minister of Defense Petri reaffirmed their mutual commitment to the U.S.- Argentina defense relationship and discussed efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation, including in Women, Peace, and Security, and peacekeeping operations. Secretary Del Toro thanked Minister Petri for hosting the XVI CDMA and for Argentina's contributions to global security.
Brazil
Secretary Del Toro and Minister Múcio discussed cooperating on emerging defense areas, including cyber, space, and special operations; military-to-military activities in the South Atlantic; and expanding defense industrial base cooperation. The two sides recognized the progress made towards finalization of the U.S.-Brazil Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement.
Colombia
Secretary Del Toro and Vice Minister Suárez discussed the strong bilateral U.S.-Colombia defense relationship, and tackling emerging challenges such as counter-unmanned aircraft system, climate change, and support to special operations. The delegations discussed countering transnational criminal organizations, and regional security.
Peru
Secretary Del Toro and Minister Astudillo discussed the strength of the U.S.-Peru bilateral defense relationship, especially in areas of security cooperation and countering transnational criminal organizations (TCOs). The U.S. commended Peru's recent progress toward the lifting of aerial interdiction restrictions.
The Ministers endorsed the United States' proposal to host the XVIII CDMA in 2028.
