Latin America and U.S. Security Policy

Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies on March 10 approved a bilateral Status of Forces Agreement that authorizes the temporary presence of U.S. military and civilian personnel on Paraguayan soil under special legal protections, clearing the final legislative hurdle for a deal long sought by the Trump administration. The SOFA, already passed by the Paraguayan Senate and signed in Washington in December, now awaits the signature of President Santiago Peña—one of Trump’s closest regional allies—who is expected to sign it in the coming days. The pact sets a framework for U.S. forces to conduct training, joint exercises and humanitarian missions in Paraguay and grants the United States criminal jurisdiction over its personnel there, effectively giving them immunity from local prosecution similar to diplomatic status. Backers in Washington and Asunción, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, hail the agreement as a “historic” step to fight transnational organized crime and terrorism, while civil-society groups and some lawmakers in Paraguay condemn it as a blow to sovereignty and a “geopolitics of impunity.” The move fits into a broader U.S. push to expand its security footprint in Latin America at a moment when Washington is also preoccupied with the Iran war and constrained global force posture, raising questions among regional analysts about how far U.S. basing and access deals will go and what oversight exists when U.S. personnel are shielded from local courts.