LatinNews Daily - 16 March 2026

Paraguay: On 11 March Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña signed the US-Paraguay Status of Forces Agreement (Sofa) into law, following its approval by Paraguay’s lower chamber of congress the previous day and the senate the previous week. The Sofa, which was originally agreed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano in December, establishes a legal framework for regulating the temporary presence of US military and civilian personnel in Paraguay for bilateral security cooperation. At the time, Rubio said the agreement was “a historic step in our partnership” and would allow the countries to train together, transfer equipment, and share intelligence in real time. Peña signed the agreement alongside US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau in Chile, where the pair were attending the inauguration of the country’s new far-right president, José Antonio Kast. As well as signing the agreement, Peña said he and Landau had “reviewed our bilateral and regional agenda to continue consolidating the strategic alliance between our nations”. Peña and Kast were among 17 Latin American and Caribbean leaders to sign up to the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition, a new military coalition launched by US President Donald Trump on 7 March.

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