Gabriel Gaspar Tapia, former vice minister of National Defense of Chile and ambassador on special mission for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said non-traditional security threats continued to have a special effect on the relationship between the U.S. and most parts of Latin America.

He said regional turbulence continued to flare up in the second decade of the 21st Century. Relations between America and Cuba, and America and Venezuela had long been tense and territorial disputes were heating up among Central American countries.

He pointed out that non-traditional security threats, such as organized crime (drug trafficking), increasing organized criminal gangs in Central America, illegal immigration and human trafficking also threatened the security of Latin America.