This Tuesday, June 27, in the historic facilities of the Casa del Soldado, in Washington, the Council of Delegates of the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) swore in the new leaders of the institution, elected for the 2023-2025 biennium.
The new functions were assumed by Brigadier General Marco Antonio Álvarez Reyes (Mexico), President of the Council of Delegates; Brigadier Major Flávio Luiz de Oliveira Pinto (Brazil), General Director of the IADB Secretariat; and Brigadier General Richard John Heitkamp (USA), Director of the Inter-American Defense College, replacing, respectively, Vice Admiral Alexandre Rabello de Faria (Brazil), Brigadier General Porfirio Fuentes Vélez (Mexico) and General of Brigade James E. Taylor (USA).
The oldest multilateral defense organization in the world, the IADB was created in 1942, during World War II, with the initial mission of studying and proposing measures for the defense of the continent, in the face of the threat posed by the Axis powers in the Second World War. World War.
Currently, the IADB is a member entity of the Organization of American States (OAS) and its main objective is to provide it and its member states with technical advisory, advisory and educational services on matters related to military and defense affairs in the hemisphere, in order to contribute to compliance with the OAS Charter in its four pillars: Democracy, Human Rights, Security and Development, with a main focus on the Security pillar.
Currently, the Inter-American Defense Board is going through a challenging and stimulating process of renewal and convergence with the tasks inherent to the main challenges faced by the Security and Defense Systems of the Hemisphere, in the most varied matters, such as terrorism; organized crime; natural disasters; environment; cyber defense; Women, Peace and Security; human rights and international humanitarian law, among others.
In addition to the representatives of the American nations in the Council of Delegates, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Ambassador Luís Almagro; the President of the Permanent Council of the OAS, Ambassador Washington Abdala; the permanent representatives to the OAS of Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, the United States, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and Italy; General Laura Richardson, US Southern Commander; and Brigadier General Luiz Fernando de Aguiar, representative of the Brazilian Ministry of Defense, among other civil and military authorities.
The recorded ceremony will be available on the IADB's official YouTube channel (@inter-americandefenseboard2201) starting June 30.
