Testified before a Senate Armed Services committee recently. He was asked about drug interdiction efforts, the humanitarian situation in venezuela, russias influence in the region and a number of other topics. Hey, the welcome, everybody. The emerging threat and capabilities subcommittee meets today to receive testimony from admiral craig faller, commander of u. S. Southern command or as we call it southcom. Our focus on the security situation in this theater as well as southcoms efforts to implement the National Defense strategy. Welcome to the admiral. Thank you very much for being here, sir. I appreciate it. Todays hearing is a continuation of the subcommittees efforts to provide oversight over National Defense strategy implementation. This is an important component of our efforts to ensure our militarys appropriately resourced, equipped and postured to dividend the nation against a growing array of threats. While much attention has been on countering china and russia in their traditional spheres of influence in europe and across the indopacific region this subcommittee has been particularly focused on how those nations are increasingly challenging u. S. National security interests not just within their own geographic boundaries but elsewhere around the world. Last year the subcommittee held a hearing with leading experts to discuss chinas expanding presence in africa and the implications for our interests and those of our partners. It was made clear during the hearing that china is undertaking a comprehensive and longterm approach to bolstering its Global Access and influence. Oftentimes with a goal of undermining the United States of america. The situation in the western hemisphere is no different. Admiral faller, you highlighted in testimony earlier this year that china has accelerated expansion of its belt and Road Initiative in the western hemisphere at a pace that may one day overshadow its expansion in Southeast Asia and africa. Chinas Strategic Engagement in the southcom region bolsters their network at the expense of u. S. Security interests and regional stability. Chinas efforts to back oppressive governments such as the maduro regime in venezuela and to pump loans into local economies at unpayable Interest Rates reveal chinas interest in spreading influence and consolidating power. As a result, latin america has become a fixture for chinas ambitions utilizing economic coercion to grow support for Chinese Foreign policy objectives including and the exclusion of the u. S. And canada from regional discourse. Trade and economic ties between the United States and latin america are changing with china recently surpassing the United States as the main destination for exports from several latinamerican countries. China is also deepening military and technological ties in the region. For example, we have seen deepen cooperation in brazil, venezuela and argentina. China has increased arm sales in a manner that violates u. S. And eu restrictions and behinders our ability to integrate with our partners. Meanwhile russia is working to expand its influence in the region. The putin regime seeks to erode u. S. Influence in the south com area of responsibility and doubled down on its efforts to prop up corrupt authoritarian regimes in venezuela, cuba and nicaragua through economic and military assistance. For many years putin has viewed latin america as a natural link in the chain making up a mul multipolar world and recent port visits by Russian Navy Vessels and the deployment of a longrange bomber to the region highlight russias efforts to strengthen its global reach in a new age of Great Power Competition. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, the admiral gorescov was docked in havana harbor. Finally drivers of migration including violence, corruption and poverty play significant strain on regional governments and can engender regional instability impacting not only the southern border of the United States but providing additional flash points for china and russia to exploit at the expense of american soft power. All of this demonstrates clearly that the western hemisphere should be viewed as an important front in our efforts to compete with china and russia and implement the nds. I look forward to your input and your candid assessment of the evolving Security Dynamics in this region. Describing how the nds information is important and how youll allocate southcoms limited resource as well as identify they challenges that may impair your ability to accomplish our mission and thank you, again, admiral, for joining us today and look forward to the discussion. Ill turn it over to north peters, our Ranking Member for your opening statement. Well, thank you for holding this hearing at a very critical time. Events in latin america are often overshadowed by the crisis in the middle east and asia but stability in southcom ar is critical to our National Security. I want to thank our witness, admiral faller for his service and for appearing here today to testify on the implementation of the National Defense strategy in the Southern Command area of responsibility. Its clear that russia and china have significantly increased their presence and their influence in the southcom aor and Chinese Investment has reached unprecedented levels and beijing has enveloped billions of dollars in latin america as part of its belt and Road Initiative. China often engages in predatory lending practices that create debt traps for small countries and allow beijing to yield outsized influence in these countries. The projects are often economically unsustainable and many countries throughout the world have found themselves billions of dollars in debt with no way to repay beijing. Russias economic influence in latin america is much smaller than chinas. But its intentions are much more pernicious. Russias Propaganda Machine as been active in latin america with efforts to raise doubts about the democratic process and to sow discord in the region. Russias state controlled Spanish Language television station spreads misinformation throughout the region and seeks to undermine u. S. Influence in the region. Russia has also used cyberattacks to attack democratic institutions. The center for strategy and International Studies reported, for example, there have been 50,000 cyberattacks against colombias National Voter registry during the 2018 legislative elections. We have seen russia covertly deploy kremlin lynn linked paramilitary groups to latin america. Repeating the pattern of using these forces to advance their strategic interest abrood without having to admit they deployed any military personnel to a specific country. Russias intervention in venezuela have propped up the disastrous maduro regime and helped deny the transition to the power of interim pride guaido. To use all of the tools in its playbook to undermine the appeal of the democratic process and keep russian aligned regimes in power. And while russia and chinese influence in latin america is destabilizing to the region, i think its also important to spend a few minutes on the most pressing threat to democracy in the western helms steer and that is corruption. Corruption is the root cause of mass migration, instability and impunity in Central America and the trafficking of elicit narcotics into our country. Unless our strategy focuses on solving the root causes of corruption no amount of assistance dollars will be effective. Thats why im concerned that the Trump Administration has recently decided to cut off all nondefense u. S. Aid and state assistance to guatemala, honduras and el salvador. President trumps stated rationale to punish them for the mike grant crisis is illconsidered and totally counterproductive to reducing forced migration numbers. Unless we support Civil Societies in these countries and help improve the economic conditions, we will never get a handle on the elicit drugs that flow through their northern try anging countries and into the United States. One final note and i think its critical for us to discuss is that corruption in central and southern south america not only destabilizes the region but also provides china and russia with a foothold into these countries, as well. Krument governments are more likely to take loans from china allow them to skim millions of or billions off the top and leave their treasuries empty. Russia is able to sell arms to corrupt governments that oppress their civilian populations and violate their human rights. We the more we focus on combating corruption, the more successful we will be in implementing the National Defense strategy in the region. And i thank the chair again for holding this hearing and look toward to the discussion. Thank you, Ranking Member peter, thank you for those opening comments. Admiral faller, well begin with your opening tame and move into questioning. Thank you. Chairman ernst, thank you member peter, senators, thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. And for the steadfast support you provide the men and women of the United StatesSouthern Command day in and day out. Id like to introduce my command senior enlisted Sergeant Major brake zigfus eyes and ears with me unabashedly from the great state of iowa. As i mentioned in my statement my written statement ive been in command of southcopperfield for seven months and traveled throughout Central America, south america and the caribbean to get a firsthand view of the opportunities and challenges that you both illuminated. These opportunities and challenges directly impact the security of this hemisphere. Our neighborhood. Criminal organizations, narco trafficking, illegal immigration, violent extremity miss, corruption, all enabled by weak governance are principal among those. The aha for me has been the degree to which the external state actor, china, russia and iran have expanded their access and influence right here in our neighborhood or as general neller put it, inside our interior lines. The National Defense strategy makes clear Great Power Competition is reemerged as the number one security challenge facing our nation. China, russia and others want to shape a world consistent with their authoritarian models. Theyre blurring the lines of what constitutes a military threat through economic coercion, the systemic stealing of technology, influence campaigns and militia cyberactivity. Theyre contesting our military advantage in all the traditional domains we fight around the globe, land, air, sea, space, cyber and information. Plus, one more very important domain, values like democracy, sovereignty, the rule of law and human rights. Competition is happening globally and right here in our neighborhood, the western hemisphere. We see this most acutely in venezuela where the security crisis created by maduro is compounded every single security crisis we face in this hemisphere. Where russia in their own words is predicting their loyal friend, to quote, by propping up the corrupt illegitimate maduro regime with loans and technical and military support where china as venezuelas longest largest single state credit saddled the people with more than 60 billion in debt and is exporting Surveillance Technology used to oppress the venezuelan people. Iran restarted direct flights from tehran to caracas and cuba these actors engage in activities that are profoundly healthy to regional stability and counter to u. S. Interests. How do we counter the threats and seize the opportunities in this hemisphere . How do we counter the threats posed by external state actors in venezuela and across the region . The best way to outcompete is by focusing our strengths, the strong enduring ties we have with our neighbors and from a defense perspective these strong relations are grounded this shared professionalism. We work with each from a foundation of mutual respect, human rights and shared interests in regional cooperation. We reinforce and build on it through training, education, intelligence and information sharing and exercises. Security cooperation is our best tool to continue building these strong partnerships and turn the challenges in our hemisphere into opportunities. Working to the, training and exercising shoulder to shoulder with American Military professionals is our Competitive Edge and no one can match our system. We also need the right focused and consistent military presence day in and day out to go along with the training and education. We cannot achieve positive results and influence outcomes without being on the playing field. Ill point to two examples of the positive impact of our presence this happening as i speak. Our Strategic Bomber force and f16 Fighter Aircraft in the South CarolinaInternational Guard are training with the very capable Colombian Air force. This mission takes place in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of colombias air force and builds interoperability and readiness for the United States and our capable partners while demonstrating our shared resolve in the face of regional and global challenges. Nearby the United States naval ship comfort is in lima, peru to help our neighbors impacted by the manmade crisis in venezuela. Comfort shows the very best of the United States of america. And the strong partnerships we have in the world. Its part of our promise to our neighbors in this hemisphere to be a steadfast, reliable and trusted partner. We appreciate the continued support of congress. This committee and helping us fulfill that promise. The southcom team our military and civilian members and our families appreciate the support of congress and we will continue to honor the trust you place in us and our fellow citizens have placed in us, i look forward to your questions. Thank you very much. Thank you, admiral. Ill go ahead and start with just a couple of questions and well go back and forth and in order of arrival and with that well go ahead and get started. Feel free to take as much time as necessary, admiral, to discuss the challenges and opportunities that you have in southcom. So just to start, the National Defense strategy clearly identifies Great Power Competition between the United States and china and russia as the most pressing threat to National Security. Given their expanding presence in your ao, the nds has particular relevance to your area of responsibility, so if you could explain what is the role of the u. S. Military as were competing with china and russia in the western hemisphere what more can we be doing . Our focus is to build strong partnerships with very capable, 27 of 31 nations are democracies so we focus on partnerships and thats the best way to outcompete china. Our partners want to work with us. They want the advantage of United States education, training, exclusives and military equipment, its the best in the world and so its up to us to deliver that in a way thats relevant and returns on investment. That is our focus. Colombia and brazil are two good examples where we spent a lot of time and traveled to colombia on multiple occasions, it begins with intelligence sharing and education, frankly, at a persontoperson level and we enhance each others situation ago awareness, strengthen our understanding of the opportunities and challenges and work on education, both in their schools and in ours and ive had the opportunity to go down and speak at their institutions and so thats the foundation. That counters russia and china best because, frankly, they cant compete with our system. Theyre trying. Theyre in the area. Everywhere i go the chief defense say the chinese have come and offered us, you know, free education, unlimited travel, opportunity to go to their schools and have taken and replicated our model and stood up Spanish Language training in beijing, and the message i get from our capable partners is we dont want to train with them. We want to continue so the best way to be consistent to offer the level of service and demand that the partners can meet so we operate at their speed and then also ensure that theres something we give back and when you meet a new chief of defense, for example, the new chief of defense in el salvador and new minister of defense, both graduates of u. S. Service schools, in fact, the chief defense i think has been to five u. S. Schools and the minister of defense graduated of the Naval War College of newport and committed to working with us and not with others and thats the way we move forward. Thank you very much. And just to go a little bit further with that, i do firmly believe in those mill to mill opportunities whether through training exercises or through educational opportunities.