LatinNews Daily - 20 August 2018

Brazil: On 13 August US Secretary of Defence James Mattis visited Brazil as the first stop in a South American tour. Secretary Mattis praised Brazil as a regional leader that has taken a strong stand against the anti-US leadership in Venezuela and vowed to deepen relations with a long-term US partner. The US official also expressed an interest in sharing information, as well as working with Brazil at the Alcântara satellite launching facility located in Brazil’s northern Maranhão state. The second leg of his tour took Secretary Mattis to Argentina, where he reaffirmed the long-standing defence relationship between the Argentina and the US and praised the Argentine government officials for its growing global role in hosting events such as the impending G20 heads of state Summit. For his part, Argentina’s defence minister, Oscar Aguad, hailed a return to closer relations with the US under the Mauricio Macri government. Secretary Mattis is the first US defence secretary to visit South America since 2014, and in that time both China and Russia have extended their influence in the region. With China setting up a space base in Argentina’s southern Patagonia area and becoming a major economic partner in the sub-region, it is a significant time for the US to show South American governments that Washington is still interested in cooperation.

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