Marine Leaders of The Americas Conference (MLAC) 2025

Partner Nation Marine Corps leaders from Brazil, Chile and Colombia pose for a photo with U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric M. Smith and U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South and U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Reserve leadership at the Marine Corps Support Facility New Orleans, Louisiana, March 21, 2024. From left to right: Sgt. Maj. Edwin A. Mota, senior enlisted leader of MARFORSOUTH and MARFORRES; Contra-almirante fuzileiro naval (Brazilian Marine Corps Rear Admiral) Marcelo Reis Da Silva, Naval Operations Command; Comandante-Geral do Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais Almirante (Brazilian Marine Corps Commandant Admiral) Carlos Chagas Vianna Braga; Lt. Gen. Leonard F. Anderson IV, incoming MARFORSOUTH and MARFORRES commander; U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric M. Smith; Gen. David G. Bellon, outgoing MARFORSOUTH and MARFORRES commander; Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Carlos A. Ruiz; Brig. Gen. Adolfo Enrique Hernandez Ruiz, Comandante de la Fuerza Naval del Oriente (Colombian Commander of Naval Force East); Comandante General Del Cuerpo de Infanteria Marina (Chilean Marine Corps Commandant) Rear Adm. Jorge Keitel Villagran; and Sargento Mayor de Commando (Colombian Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps) Alexander Torres Ruis. The partner nation military leaders visited to discuss shared commitment to security and prosperity in the western hemisphere with outgoing MARFORSOUTH and MARFORRES Commander Lt. Gen. David G. Bellon, incoming commander Lt. Gen. Leonard F. Anderson IV and Gen. Eric M. Smith. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Daniel Wetzel)