U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM)

Regional headquarters responsible for planning and conducting U.S. military activity in the Latin American region. As a Unified Combatant Command, SOUTHCOM is composed of forces from the army, [Page 788]navy, air force, and marines and has a broad and ongoing mission. The regional division of commands allows defense planning to be focused on a specific region.

United States Navy and Marine Corps security personnel patrolling past the damaged U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole following the terrorist attack on the ship off the coast of Yemen on October 12, 2000. The security personnel established checkpoints and searched incoming vessels for contraband and explosives while the Cole was prepared for its trip back to the United States. The ship rejoined the Atlantic Fleet in April 2002 after undergoing 14 months of repairs at a shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

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SOUTHCOM is one of nine Unified Combatant Commands, along with U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), U.S. European Command (EUCOM), U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), the U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM), U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), and U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM). SOUTHCOM is headquartered in Miami, Florida. The SOUTHCOM commander reports directly to the secretary of defense.

SOUTHCOM is responsible for all U.S. military activity on the land mass of Latin America south of Mexico; the waters adjacent to Central and South America; the Caribbean Sea, its 13 island nations, and the European and U.S. territories there; the Gulf of Mexico; and a portion of the Atlantic Ocean. Southern Command's area of responsibility covers 32 countries (19 in Central and South America and 13 in the Caribbean).

Component commands of SOUTHCOM from the four services consist of U.S. Army South (USARSO), U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (COMNAVSO), U.S. Marine Corps Forces South (MARFORSO), U.S. Southern Command Air Forces, Special Operations Command South, Joint Interagency Task Force South, Joint Task Force Bravo, and Joint Task Force Guantánamo.

SOUTHCOM's 26 Security Assistance Organizations (SAO) form an important component of the command and work in support of U.S. interests in the region. The SAOs manage U.S. security assistance programs and special activities in Central and South America and the Caribbean. SOUTH-COM also has responsibility for security assistance in Cuba, Mexico, and the Bahamas even though these countries are outside the command's area of responsibility.

Training programs and joint exercises between the United States and regional militaries are a major aspect of SOUTHCOM's activities in the region. Military Groups (MILGPs) exist in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. MILGP commanders serve as liaisons to the regional militaries and oversee most U.S. military activities in their respective countries. Military Liaison Offices (MLOs) are located in Belize, Mexico, Brazil, Haiti, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas, and Nicaragua. Offices of Defense Cooperation (ODCs) can be found in Costa Rica, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Panama. Military Assistance Advisory Groups (MAAGs) are in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Peru, and Defense Assistance Offices (DAOs) exist in Suriname and Barbados. SOUTHCOM also includes liaison officers and representatives from the Department of State, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Coast Guard, U.S. Customs Service, and other U.S. [Page 789]government agencies. Foreign military interaction in the form of military-to-military contact programs has historically been an important component of U.S.–Latin American relations and has sometimes resulted in U.S. support for dictatorial regimes and military governments in the region.

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