Asunción, Agencia IP.- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez signed in the city of Washington a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), whose main purpose is to strengthen cooperation in the fight against transnational organized crime.

An agreement of this type establishes the legal status, rights, and privileges of U.S. military personnel, security officials, and contractors operating in a host country, in this case, Paraguay.

During the signing ceremony, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the agreement will enable a stronger partnership with the United States to confront what he described as the region’s primary threat: transnational criminal organizations.

«The agreement respects Paraguay’s sovereignty, but creates the conditions to work, cooperate, and train together, exchange information directly and swiftly, and respond to any humanitarian emergency that may arise in the future,» he explained.

The statute also includes U.S. government contractors, which means it provides opportunities for economic cooperation and to «harness Paraguay’s potential to become a prosperous country, doing so with American companies and interests,» he said.

For his part, Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez reaffirmed the commitment of President Santiago Peña’s administration to continue working with the United States on shared objectives such as combating organized crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and corruption.