[20220330]IF11464_美国南方司令部（SOUTHCOM）.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov Updated March 30, 2022United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), headquartered in Miami-Dade County, FL, was officially established in 1963. Prior to that, U.S. military elements in the Western hemisphere had been organized under the U.S. Caribbean Defense Command. SOUTHCOMs area of responsibility (AOR) begins at the southern Mexican border and contains the remaining elements of Central and South America, adjacent Atlantic and Pacific waters, and the Caribbean Sea, ultimately encompassing 31 countries and 16 dependencies and areas of special sovereignty. The region represents about one-sixth of the landmass of the world assigned to regional unified commands. SOUTHCOM is led by U.S. Army General Laura Richardson. Figure 1. U.S. Southern Command Source: Congressional Research Service. SOUTHCOM and National Strategic Priorities During the Cold War, SOUTHCOM undertook a variety of missions intended to prevent the Soviet Union (USSR) from gaining a strategic foothold in the Western hemisphere. After the end of the Cold War, the command changed its focus to containing and/or countering narcotics trafficking and huma