Sixteen countries have major non-NATO ally status including South Korea, Australia, Argentina, and Kuwait.
United States President Donald Trump officially nominated Brazil a “major non-NATO ally” Wednesday, making good on a pledge Trump made to Brazil’s far-right president in March.
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The designation was announced by the White House and provides the South American country special access to U.S. weapons and equipment, as well as military training only available for countries that are part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
This was a promise the U.S. president made his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro, as the countries reinforce military ties not seen since the military dictatorship that began in 1964.
Trump has frequently praised Bolsonaro, who has been nicknamed “Trump of the Tropics” on several occasions, as last year, he ran a radical far-right campaign that mainly railed against the left-wing Worker’s Party (PT). He also drew backlash for extremely controversial comments about minorities and women.
“He’s a great gentleman,” Trump said of Bolsonaro on Tuesday. “In fact, they say the ‘Trump of Brazil.’ I like that. That’s a compliment.”
Sixteen countries have major non-NATO ally status including South Korea, Australia, Argentina, and Kuwait. Colombia is the only other Latin American nation affiliated with NATO as a “global partner,” meaning it would not necessarily have to engage in military action.
At the beginning of 2017, current Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez denounced that with that entry Colombia could violate the Tlatelolco agreement, put into effect in 1969 with the purpose of establishing the denuclearization of Latin America and the Caribbean. Now the same applies to the largest nation in South America.