The United States has historically maintained a friendly working relationship with Brazil’s security forces, though the country is not a major destination for U.S. military aid. With its size and relative affluence, Brazil is more of an arms customer than a recipient of security assistance. U.S. defense officials expect the military-to-military relationship to grow closer with the January 1999 creation of a civilian defense ministry in the Brazilian government.¹

Counternarcotics

Grant U.S. assistance is increasing as Brazil’s Federal Police step up efforts to stop narcotics from transiting the country, particularly through the Amazon region and major ports. As the police coordinated anti-trafficking efforts with neighboring countries in 1998, notes a State Department document, “U.S. counternarcotics assistance played a valuable role,… augmenting limited Brazilian resources and experience with equipment, support with personnel-associated costs, and information sharing and analysis.”²

The State Department’s International Narcotics Control (INC) program works to improve the Federal Police’s intelligence and investigative abilities while providing equipment to improve the “police counternarcotics infrastructure.”³ Needs are especially acute, the 2000 INC Congressional Presentation reports, for “investigative equipment such as tape recorders, video camcorders and digital still cameras.”⁴ Further INC support seeks to assist Brazilian efforts to monitor shipments at major ports for possible narcotrafficking activity.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) cooperates closely with Federal Police in several counternarcotics efforts, particularly training and information-sharing. In 1998 DEA agents were invited to observe Federal Police anti-drug operations in the Amazon region, and taught a month-long course in Washington to a Federal Police special intelligence counternarcotics unit. DEA also plans assistance for an anti-drug task force at the Sao Paulo international airport.⁵

DEA agents taught some modules of a specialized jungle operations training course at a new Federal Police jungle survival school outside the Amazon town of Manaus. Students at the school, which opened its doors in October 1998, included police officials from Brazil, Ecuador and Peru, and students from Bolivia, Colombia and Venezuela are expected.⁶

The State Department’s February 1999 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) notes several 1998 counter-drug efforts involving other U.S. agencies: a week-long Coast Guard and Customs Service port inspection training program in Santos; two training programs on arms-trafficking control offered by the Treasury Department’s Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) bureau; and the “United Counterdrug” multilateral exercise and conference sponsored by the U.S. Southern Command in Miami and Key West.⁷

While counternarcotics training is frequent, the United States does not coordinate interdiction efforts with Brazil as closely as it does with Bolivia, Colombia or Peru. “Should Brazil feel it would be inclined to invite the United States to share information on the flow of narcotics throughout the hemisphere,” remarked U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen in May 1998, “we are happy to do so. But there has been no plan and no intention to have such an arrangement that I am aware of.”⁸

Other training programs

Beyond counternarcotics, U.S. training of Brazilian military and police has centered on peacekeeping, anti-terrorism, and military-to-military engagement. According to U.S. documents, the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program helped prepare Brazilian military personnel for their leadership role and improved “inter-operability” in the Peru-Ecuador border peacekeeping force (MOMEP).⁹  Brazilian participation in IMET may also lead to greater arms sales, according to the State Department’s 1999 Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations.

 

U.S.-trained officers familiar with U.S. equipment and training will also be helpful in securing contracts for U.S. suppliers in the large Brazilian Armed Forces. For example, a recent Brazilian purchase of helicopters, support and training for MOMEP may be attributed to the two militaries’ interoperability exercises.¹⁰

U.S.-Brazilian anti-terrorist activities, the 2000 Congressional Presentation notes, will include “specialized training, information sharing, and other cooperative efforts with Brazilian intelligence, law enforcement agencies, and military services.”¹¹ Some specialized training will be provided through the Anti-Terrorism Assistance (ATA) program.

Since Brazil is not a Spanish-speaking country, only a few military personnel each year attend Spanish-language courses at the School of the Americas (SOA) and the Inter-American Air Forces Academy (IAAFA). Brazil does participate frequently, though, in the Southern Command’s regular multilateral training exercises, such as Fuerzas Aliadas Chile, Fuerzas Aliadas Humanitarian, Fuerzas Unidas Peacekeeping, Unitas, and United Counterdrug. Brazil is not a frequent destination for U.S. Special Forces participating in the Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) program, with perhaps one JCET deployment taking place each year.

Arms transfers

The United States generally does not grant large amounts of weapons or defense equipment to Brazil. In 1998, however, Brazil’s Federal Police received $2 million worth of boats, field gear and radios through an emergency counternarcotics drawdown. While Brazil is eligible to receive Excess Defense Articles (EDA) for “regional counter-narcotics efforts,” no EDA grants have been made to date.¹²

Brazil is nearly always among the region’s top three customers for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and the top five for Direct Commercial Sales (DCS). Spare parts, technical assistance agreements, and small arms make up the bulk of Brazil’s purchases, with some exceptions: 3 SH-3 "Sea King" helicopters in 1996, a large shipment of combat vehicles in 1996, and 11 UH-1H "Huey" helicopters in 1997.¹³

---

Sources:

¹ " ">United States, Department of Defense, “Joint Press Briefing Enroute to Brazil with Secretary Cohen and Gen. Wilhelm,” May 26, 1998 <http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May1998/t05281998_t526enrt.html>.

² United States, Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2000 Budget Congressional Presentation (Washington: Department of State: March 1999): 19 <http://www.state.gov/www/global/narcotics_law/fy2000_budget/latin_america.html>.

³ Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2000 Budget Congressional Presentation 20.

⁴ Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Fiscal Year 2000 Budget Congressional Presentation 20.

⁵ U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, 1998, (Washington: Department of State: February 1999): <http://www.state.gov/www/global/narcotics_law/1998_narc_report/major/Brazil.html>." ">

⁶ Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, 1998.

⁷ Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, 1998.

^{" ">8}" "> United States, Department of Defense, “Secretary Cohen's Press Conference at the American Embassy, Brazil,” May 27, 1998 <http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May1998/t05281998_t527bras.html>.

^{" ">9}" "> United States, Department of State, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 2000, (Washington: Department of State: March 1999): 861." ">

United States, Department of State, Office of Resources, Plans and Policy, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 1999 (Washington: March 1998): 409.

¹⁰ Department of State, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 1999 409.

¹¹ Department of State, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 2000: 861." ">

^{" ">12} Department of State, Congressional Presentation for Foreign Operations, Fiscal Year 2000: 861." ">

^{" ">13}" "> United States, Department of State, Department of Defense, Foreign Military Assistance Act Report To Congress, Fiscal Year 1996 (Washington: September 1997)." ">

United States, Department of Defense, Defense Security Assistance Agency, Defense Articles (Including Excess) and Services (Including Training) Furnished Foreign Countries and International Organizations Under the Foreign Military Sales Provisions of The Arms Export Control Act, Chapter 2 (Washington: August 1998).