Pentagon Urges Latin American Countries to Raise Defense Spending Toward 3.5% of GDP

The U.S. Department of Defense is pressuring Latin American countries to increase security spending to combat organized crime. According to Jin10, at the biennial Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas held in Peru this week, the U.S. delegation urged countries to raise their defense budgets. The delegation called on governments to lift defense spending to close to 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), saying this would bring them in line with levels seen in some countries in other parts of the world. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby said it was crucial to increase defense investment, and he specifically urged countries facing what he described as “narco-terrorism” threats to take action.