October 21, 2020
Commander of U.S. Southern Command visits El Salvador
The U.S. Embassy in Salvador informs that the commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), U.S. Navy Adm. Craig Faller, visited El Salvador on October 21 to meet with U.S. Embassy staff and Salvadoran defense leadership.
During his visit, Admiral Faller and his delegation met with U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson to discuss SOUTHCOM’s role in the U.S.-El Salvador cooperation on security in the region. The Commander also met with Salvadoran Minister of Defense captain Rene Merino Monroy as well as with other U.S. senior diplomats and local subject matter experts.
This visit comes after Faller made stops in Honduras and Guatemala, where he spoke with U.S. and partner nation leaders about the benefits and successes of cooperative security partnerships in the region. Later this week, Faller will visit Costa Rica, where he will take part in similar meetings with partner-nation and U.S. embassy leaders.
While in El Salvador, Faller visited the Comalapa Cooperative Security Location (CSL), which operates through an agreement between the U.S. and the government of El Salvador. This location is one of just two the centers that operate in Latin America and the Caribbean, and plays a key role in supporting both multinational and interagency efforts to combat Transnational Criminal Organizations.
Each fiscal year, CSL operations disrupt more than $4 billion worth of drug trafficking operations. This location significantly enhances the ability of the U.S. and partner nations to patrol Eastern Pacific smuggling corridors, through which more than half of the drugs heading for the U.S. transit – often in multi-ton shipments.
El Salvador is a valued security partner in the fight against illicit trafficking and is one of more than 20 nations engaged alongside the U.S. in cooperative efforts to detect and dismantle transnational criminal organizations in the Western Hemisphere.
