Massachusetts Guard, Paraguayan Leaders Strengthen Partnership

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. - Senior Paraguayan Armed Forces delegates visited several Massachusetts National Guard locations Sept. 9-14, continuing the strategic partnership between Massachusetts and Paraguay that spans more than 25 years.

The delegation included Paraguay's Minister of Defense Oscar Luis Gonzalez Canete; Gen. Cesar Augusto Moreno Landaira, chief of defense; and Lt. Gen. Neill Roger Camacho Kailar, director of information technology. Massachusetts and Paraguay have been paired in the Department of War National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program since 2001.

Before arriving in Massachusetts, the delegation and Maj. Gen. Gary W. Keefe, the adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard, toured the Pentagon and conducted meetings with senior U.S. military officials including U.S. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and U.S. Air Force Gen. Steven S. Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau, to discuss the challenges Paraguay faces and additional partnership opportunities.

Back in Massachusetts, the delegation flew in a UH-60 Black Hawk around Joint Base Cape Cod to view the base's state-of-the-art U.S. Army training areas and generate ideas for Paraguay's Army training area expansion. The delegation then visited the Massachusetts Commonwealth Fusion Center, which is a Massachusetts State Police program that collects and analyzes information and produces intelligence to identify, disrupt or deter criminal activity and terrorism.

For more than 25 years, the partnership between Massachusetts and Paraguay has provided an opportunity to identify and address current challenges. In 2023, Massachusetts fire departments contributed firefighter personal protective equipment and two fully equipped fire trucks to Paraguay's military firefighters when members of the Massachusetts National Guard discovered the need. Similarly, in July, members of the Massachusetts National Guard and the Paraguayan Armed Forces completed a critical infrastructure renovation project in preparation for Fuerzas Comando 2026, a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored multinational special operations competition.

Looking ahead to future interoperability, Keefe said he and Paraguayan military leadership want to focus on modernization and emerging defense domains.

"I see the next opportunity for us to utilize the 102nd Intelligence Wing more and partner to help Paraguay expand its cyber and ISR capabilities," Keefe said. "Paraguay just finished completion of their military cyber operations center. It's up and operating, and they're slowly building up the cyber infrastructure they need to make sure the cyber operation and critical infrastructure is protected."

"We are expanding beyond just focusing on the infantry on the Army side and flying on the Air Force side - we are looking at these other mission sets that really are what the future's going to be about," Keefe said.

U.S. Army Maj. Luis Alvarez, the bilateral affairs officer assigned to Paraguay, underscored how the Massachusetts-Paraguay relationship bridges traditional military cooperation with modern security needs.

"This milestone visit truly captures the depth and strength of our 25-year relationship built on mutual respect and shared goals," Alvarez said. "As we look ahead, continuing to integrate our efforts in advanced aviation, cyber defense and emergency response ensures that the Massachusetts National Guard and Paraguay will continue to stand strong together for decades to come."