Navy Adm. Kurt Tidd, chief of the U.S. Southern Command, has said that transregional and transnational threat networks across Latin America pose a challenge to U.S. national security and affect stability in the region, DoD News reported Tuesday.
Lisa Ferdinando writes Tidd told a maritime security forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies that Southcom is shifting its focus from the singular threat of drug trafficking to a networked view of the security environment.
He added some networks have the capacity to build semi- and fully-submersible watercraft to travel unassisted and undetected, Ferdinando reported.
Tidd called for increased collaboration among government agencies as well as regional maritime cooperation that includes information sharing and multilateral exercises, according to the report.
The Southcom commander noted there are numerous countries in Latin America that are interested in global partnerships, Ferdinando wrote.
