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1 1 (March 30, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govegvh0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Servi infoirning the Iegislabve debate since 1914 Updated March 30, 2022 United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), headquartered in Miami-Dade County, FL, was officially established in 1963. Prior to that, U.S. military elements in the Western hemisphere had been organized under the U.S. Caribbean Defense Command. SOUTHCOM's area of responsibility (AOR) begins at the southern Mexican border and contains the remaining elements of Central and South America, adjacent Atlantic and Pacific waters, and the Caribbean Sea, ultimately encompassing 31 countries and 16 dependencies and areas of special sovereignty. The region represents about one-sixth of the landmass of the world assigned to regional unified commands. SOUTHCOM is led by U.S. Army General Laura Richardson. Figure I. U.S. Southern Command Source: Congressional Research Service. SOUTHCOM and National Strategic Priorities During the Cold War, SOUTHCOM undertook a variety of missions intended to prevent the Soviet Union (USSR) from gaining a strategic foothold in the Western hemisphere. After the end of the Cold War, the command changed its focus to containing and/or countering narcotics trafficking and humanitarian assistance missions. Today, SOUTHCOM states that the command seeks to advance national strategic objectives in three primary ways: Strengthening partnerships with other countries and agencies in the region through activities that enhance access and presence, such as (but not limited to) building their respective security institutions and capacities (including through advancing human rights), integrated officer/enlisted leader development; and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Countering threats by increasing cooperation and information sharing with allies and partners to understand and counter threats from transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), violent extremist organizations, and malign actors. Building the SOUTHCOM team by prioritizing a workforce that is trained, highly competent, and educated in the history and cultures of the region; is fit and disciplined; and takes into account quality of life issues of the families of SOUTHCOM personnel. The Department of Defense (DOD) is not the lead U.S. government agency for many of the activities that fall under this mission set. As a result, SOUTHCOM has designed its posture to support, rather than lead, other agencies and countries in the region. Security cooperation-a term describing DOD engagements with other countries to improve respective defense capabilities and capacities- involves key programs used by SOUTHCOM to advance U.S. objectives in the region. The Evolving GeopoliticaI Context of the Southern Hemisphere The Biden Administration's 2021 Interim National Security Strategic Guidance (INS SG) notes that our vital national interests compel the deepest connection to the Indo-Pacific, Europe, and the Western Hemisphere. The document goes on to argue, Because the vital national interests of the United States are inextricably bound to the fortunes of our closest neighbors in the Americas, we will expand our engagement and partnerships throughout the Western Hemisphere - and especially with Canada and Mexico - based on principles of mutual respect and equality and a commitment to economic prosperity, security, human rights, and dignity. This includes working with the Congress to provide Central America with $4 billion in assistance over four years, and taking other steps to address the root causes of human insecurity and irregular migration, including poverty, criminal violence, and corruption - problems made exponentially worse by COVID-19 and the deep recession and debt crisis it has wrought throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Strategic Challenges? SOUTHCOM maintains that the main threats with which it must be prepared to contend include the Peoples Republic of China, Russia, Transnational Criminal Organizations,

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