U.S. Department of State Weekly Digest Bulletin

Secretary Rubio’s Meeting with German Foreign Minister Wadephul
06/29/2026

Secretary Rubio’s Meeting with German Foreign Minister Wadephul
06/29/2026 02:44 PM EDT

Office of the Spokesperson

Secretary Rubio’s Meeting with German Foreign Minister Wadephul

Readout

June 29, 2026


The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tommy Pigott:


Secretary of State Marco Rubio met today with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. They reiterated the shared U.S.-Germany commitment to upholding safe transit in the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring Iran never develops or obtains a nuclear weapon. The two discussed the upcoming NATO Summit and the importance of burden shifting. Lastly, they reaffirmed their unwavering support for a durable peace between Russia and Ukraine.


Press Briefing with John Barrett, Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy Caracas and General Francis Donovan, Commander, U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)
07/01/2026

Press Briefing with John Barrett, Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy Caracas and General Francis Donovan, Commander, U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)
07/01/2026 09:06 PM EDT



John Barrett, Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy Caracas

General Francis Donovan, Commander, U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)

Miami Hub

MODERATOR: Welcome. I am Natalia Molano, Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Miami Media Hub.

This press briefing will be conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation in Spanish. Please find the globe icon on the lower menu ribbon of your screen to select your language.

We are privileged to have Chargé d’Affaires John Barrett at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela; and General Francis Donovan, Commander of the U.S. Southern Command, in Miami, Florida. They will discuss the Trump Administration’s robust and rapid delivery of lifesaving assistance for the Venezuelan people following the devastating earthquakes in their nation on June 24, 2026.

This virtual press conference is on the record, attributable by name to each respective official. We will start with opening remarks, and then I will moderate questions from journalists. Chargé d’Affaires John Barrett, you may begin your remarks.

MR BARRETT: Thank you, Natalia, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you all for being here. We meet just one week after the devastating June 24 earthquakes in Venezuela. The loss and destruction has been staggering. I have seen the devastation firsthand, and it is heartbreaking. But the magnitude of this tragedy has been matched by the magnitude of the massive U.S. response.

At President Trump’s direction, the United States is leading the largest international earthquake response in Venezuela’s modern history. Within hours, the U.S. Government, led by the Department of State, with critical support from the Department of War, launched a comprehensive whole-of-government effort to save lives. Our urban search and rescue teams – more than 310 specialists from Miami-Dade, Miami City, Los Angeles, and Fairfax County – are on the ground right now. And to note, for the first time in many years, we have activated the two teams from south Florida. They have already rescued five survivors, our U.S. teams on the ground, including a mother and her toddler. And an American citizen previously reported missing has been found.

Our support goes well beyond search and rescue. The Department of War has deployed unique airlift and logistics capabilities to move equipment, supplies, and personnel into affected areas. U.S. humanitarian assistance now totals more than $300 million. Just last night, additional shelter, water, and sanitation supplies arrived for distribution to families in urgent need. I also visited a fully operational field hospital established by Samaritan’s Purse in under 36 hours. It’s now providing lifesaving care to the injured and displaced. Our disaster assistance response team and international partners are working tirelessly. Our immediate priority remains saving lives, finding survivors, providing emergency medical care, and delivering food, water, and shelter. At the same time, we are already supporting longer-term recovery and infrastructure restoration.

I want to thank everyone who has stepped up for the people of Venezuela – our partners on the ground and those making donations from home. Your efforts are making a real difference. This moment carries added meaning as we approach our two national independence days – July 4 for the United States and July 5 for Venezuela – that remind us of our shared histories and shared aspirations. In this difficult time, we stand with the people of Venezuela and we will continue to stand with them in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Thank you.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Now we turn over for remarks from General Francis Donovan.

GENERAL DONOVAN: Thank you, Natalia. And I’d like to start off by thanking Chargé d’Affaires Barrett – John Barrett – for his leadership of the U.S. Government effort in Venezuela. His leadership has made all the difference.

What U.S. Southern Command did to reinforce John Barrett early was to send one of our senior generals down to stand side by side to ensure that the Department of War’s response was in lockstep with the Department of State. Key is that we work by, with, and through the Department of State. This is a State-led response effort, and the closer the Department of War and Department of State work together in support of the Venezuelan Government, there’s more lives we can save and there’s more relief supplies we can distribute and there’s many more ways we can combine our efforts to support the people of Venezuela.

Right now, the U.S. military, the Department of War, has roughly 2,000 teammates in the area on land, air, and sea around Venezuela. They are working hard daily to help in the search and rescue efforts, to help in the recovery efforts, to deliver needed supplies. We have leveraged a large complement of aircraft, ground vehicles, naval ships to support operations in and around Venezuela. We will continue to do so until the job is done. And when we’re done, we will depart Venezuela, and then we will move back to our current operations throughout this great region of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

We are very fortunate to be able to bring to bear these Department of War capabilities in support of our friends in Venezuela. More rewarding, however, has been the response of our other partners from inside this important region – the same partners that we conduct exercises with, that we train with, we are now on the ground, in the air, and on the sea with those same partners, supporting Venezuela. And that’s really the importance of these enduring relationships. So when one nation – any of our nations – goes through a tough time, we all can join together to assist.

So the Department of War, the U.S. Southern Command, will be here for our partners, we’ll be on the ground and in the air and the sea around Venezuela until the job is done, and we will follow the Department of State’s lead and be prepared to do whatever we can for the people of Venezuela. Thank you very much.

MODERATOR: Thank you. We will begin taking questions from journalists. Journalists, please be sure to write your name and media affiliation in your attendee label to help us identify you. If you have a question, please raise your virtual hand. You may ask your question in English or Spanish. Once we call on you, we will allow you to unmute. You will see a screen prompt to activate your microphone. You may direct your question to one or both of the speakers. Please keep your question brief and only ask one question.

We will start with a question from Missy Ryan from The Atlantic.

QUESTION: Hi there. Can you guys hear me?

MODERATOR: Yes.

QUESTION: Thank you so much to both of you. I just wanted to know, could you give us an idea of the – how this response compares to past earthquakes or natural disasters that the United States has assisted with, including Hurricane Melissa or in past earthquakes in the region? We’re just trying to understand what the scale is here. Obviously there’s a lot of need, but we’re also trying to understand how the new system under the U.S. kind of bureaucracy and organizational structure is working and what the scope of that is. Thanks.

GENERAL DONOVAN: Missy, this is General Donovan. I will take the first cut on that question. One is each crisis like this is very different, as you noted. Hurricane Melissa last year, our SOUTHCOM forces responded, task organized, specifically for that case. Sometimes we bring in additional fresh water or power generation, but usually Department of War, our strength is logistics and speed. And so as we look at each crisis, we tailor our forces appropriately so we can support, so that we don’t overwhelm the nation we’re supporting. We put the right types of people on the ground to actually deliver the effect – and not too many, because you never want to create the situation that those that are coming to provide assistance become people that need support also. So each one is tailored differently. This is much larger than Melissa but smaller than maybe 2010 in Haiti, so each one’s a little bit different. Over.

MODERATOR: Thank you. We will now go with José Silva from El Diario in Venezuela.

QUESTION: (Via interpreter) Hello, good afternoon. My question is for Mr. Donovan, from the U.S. rescue team perspective, is the search for surviving people or the emergency a priority, is it in a phase of recovery of the victims? And what do you think is the first challenging feat to find victims? Or is it the logistics, picking up of rubbish? And those are my questions.

MODERATOR: Gracias. Thank you.

GENERAL DONOVAN: Sir, thank you for those questions. The first priority in – our chargé d’affaires, John Barrett, mentioned his first request was to bring in search and rescue capabilities from the United States, which we did from the West Coast of the United States and the East Coast. Our nation’s premier search and rescue teams were brought in on military aircraft to do that primary task of search for folks still living potentially trapped in the rubble. In these situations, you have anywhere from three to seven days that you have to respond to hopefully recover people that are still living and may be injured in the rubble. And that’s – that’s our total effort so far, to focus on that.

And maybe I’ll ask John Barrett if he wants to follow up on that.

MR BARRETT: Yes. Thank you, General. Just yesterday I was out at one of the fallen buildings and there was a team from Los Angeles County still working an active live site. And in that general vicinity, there were two other teams working live – active live sites. So this lifesaving work continues, and we remain 100 percent focused at this stage on the search and rescue mission. And we will continue to do so until a decision within the Venezuelan Government suggests that we move from there. But we’re absolutely focused right now 100 percent on saving lives.

MODERATOR: Thank you so much. Okay, now I will turn to Syra Ortiz Blanes, or Blanes, from the Miami Herald. Syra, I will go ahead and unmute you. If you don’t have audio I can also read your question from the Q&A. Let’s try to have you come on.

Go ahead.

Okay, we are unable to hear you, but I see your question, and I will go ahead and read it: “Nonprofits in Venezuela are reporting that the aid is being held or confiscated. Is the U.S. aware of these reports, and how is the U.S. Government ensuring that aid reaches the most vulnerable?”

MR BARRETT: Yes, thank you. So we – thanks to the Department of War and General Donovan and General Jarrard’s team here on the ground, we have an incredibly strong logistics backbone that enables us to get just about anything to just about anyone or anywhere within the country, but specifically of course in the localized destruction zone. This backbone has had no issues in terms of being put together, and the government has complied with our request to accelerate the response.

The NGOs – I’ve spoken to many of them – have also not reported any major issues in terms of getting their relief supplies and assistance out to community members in need. So we feel very strong about not only this logistics backbone the Department of War has put in place but also the steady supply of commodities and other relief material that’s been coming in and our ability to work with our NGO partners on the ground to get – to make sure they get to the folks in need. Thanks.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Now I will turn to Estefanía Giambalvo from Venevisión. Please go ahead.

QUESTION: (Via interpreter) Good afternoon. Can you hear me?

MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) Proceed.

QUESTION: (Via interpreter) The humanity service in La Guaira will be for 24 months. What is the assistance of the U.S.? Is it going to last for approximately that time or are they retreating sooner than that? Thank you. And also, what plan are they trying to execute, the U.S., and for how long is the boat Fort Lauderdale helping Venezuela during this tragedy?

MODERATOR: Chargé, may we go to you first? Thank you.

MR BARRETT: Right, no doubt the scale of this disaster requires a long-term effort, and we’re committed to working closely with the Venezuelans and with the – and with the Department of War and other agencies throughout our government to ensure that we work day and night for the weeks, months, and time ahead to attend to the needs. One of the most important needs going forward starting now and into the immediate and medium long – medium terms will – of course will be the provision of shelter, and that’s why this has been a major focus as of late, to bring in shelter material to take care of the displaced citizens.

Also, as you might imagine, after having 189 collapsed buildings in this localized zone and then another 173 severely damaged homes, there is a huge task ahead in terms of debris removal. And we will continue to work with the Venezuelan people to address these needs, including sanitation, water, energy generation. And we will continue to – along that path as long as it takes.

MODERATOR: General Donovan, any comments from you on that?

GENERAL DONOVAN: No. I appreciate the recognition of the Fort Lauderdale. As the chargé said, it is part of the relief effort that will remain in place until – for us from the Department of War, until the Department of State says that they have coordinated with the Venezuelan Government that it would be time to then stop operations. We have not had those discussions at this point. We are focused on saving lives right now, finding folks still in the rubble, and setting conditions for logistic delivery of relief supplies. So right now it’s what we call full speed ahead, and the Fort Lauderdale will stay or other equivalent capabilities will stay until the chargé tells us otherwise.

MODERATOR: Thank you. I will now call on Ginette González from Union Radio.

QUESTION: (Via interpreter) Good afternoon to everyone. Chargé Barrett, the information in regards to the losses that you have seen on land and the finances, and what is the finance responsibility – financial responsibility of reconstructing the country?

And for General Donovan, the bunker hospital, is it prepared to do interventions and primary assistance? What is the reach?

MR BARRETT: Yeah, thank you for the question. Certainly the costs of the recovery will be great. One thing that gives us a high level of confidence is that, fortunately, this destruction from the earthquake did not impact the country’s oil and gas sector. So that production continues, and that continues to increase with the investments that the United States and private – private enterprise from around the world had already begun to initiate here in the economic recovery phase of the President and the Secretary’s three-phase plan. So those revenues are continuing to come in through specialized accounts that the U.S. Treasury has control over, and we’ve made sure – and we have teams from U.S. Treasury and the State Department working very closely – to make sure that those funds are made available for this specific reconstruction effort, including for shelter, sanitation, health, and energy generation.

GENERAL DONOVAN: And from General Donovan, just to maybe answer the question on the medical, I think the question was medical supplies and delivery of. We will use that logistics network that we’ve established so far, both in the air, on the land, and sea, to deliver all material that we are directed to do so by the Department of State. And so medical supplies obviously would be at the forefront. And currently we have not been asked to provide any medical direct capability from a department and world perspective, but we are actively involved in delivering medical supplies.

MODERATOR: All right, we will go to Laura Artal next from OCB Martí.

QUESTION: (Via interpreter) If you can hear me, good afternoon.

MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) Proceed.

QUESTION: (Via interpreter) Now that my colleagues have focused primarily on the emergency, I would like to focus on this part over the administration – Trump Administration had initially planned around in January in three phases for Venezuela in regards to stability and recuperation. And this focus, the emergency – do these three phases for Venezuela – move to the second phase or is this recovery phase taking primary – primarily first?

MODERATOR: Chargé, would you like to go first?

MR BARRETT: Right. As I mentioned, the President and the Secretary have outlined a very specific three-phase plan for Venezuela, which very much remains intact. That first phase is stability, and so this does shed new light on the importance of stability within Venezuela. And we had been very confident in terms of stability, and we remain very confident in terms of stability. It’s just that that reconstruction looks a little bit different, of course, since the devastating earthquake. But the economic recovery had already begun, and we will be focused back on this investment climate and back on recovery of the economy, including for the everyday Venezuelans who really do deserve a much more prosperous future where their oil revenues and the resources of this vast and rich country are better accrued by the everyday Venezuelan people. So I’m focused right now on saving lives, but we will get back to phase two and Venezuela’s economic recovery.

MODERATOR: General, anything from you?

GENERAL DONOVAN: No, I believe John hit that very well.

MODERATOR: Excellent. And we will go to Julia Jester from MS NOW. Go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi. Thank you so much for doing this call. The last question answered part of what I wanted to ask, but I wanted to hear from you about some of the criticisms of how Delcy Rodríguez has been handling and accused of politicizing the response. Can you just speak a little bit about the direct coordination between the interim authorities in Venezuela, who is kind of taking the lead there, and are you concerned about potential destabilization making the long-term efforts you just discussed more difficult?

MR BARRETT: Yes, hi. So this is a massive response, right, that SOUTHCOM, General Donovan’s and General Jarrard’s team along with the State Department, are putting together here and it does require a high-level coordination with local authorities to be successful. And what I can say with confidence is that the local authorities have fully complied with our requests and have accelerated this massive humanitarian response.

MODERATOR: General, last word?

GENERAL DONOVAN: No, I believe that the chargé d’affaires hit that very well. I do think that this is, again, a massive problem, and there is decades of poor investment in the people of Venezuela that made this even more challenging for the current government. So as we move in this phase, focus on saving lives and then we’ll see where this takes us, but it is a big problem for any leader to deal with a challenge of this magnitude.

MODERATOR: All right. Well, being mindful of our leaders’ time, I’m afraid that was the last question. I have some additional information for everyone as we conclude today’s briefing. Thank you all for your participation and your interest. There will be an English audio recording and an English transcript published on state.gov. We will also have a Spanish language translation of that transcript on state.gov/español. If you have any questions or you would like to submit additional questions in writing if we did not get to your question, please send it to the Miami Media Hub at MiamiHub@state.gov. Goodbye, until next time.


Belarus Independence Day
07/03/2026

Belarus Independence Day
07/03/2026 12:01 AM EDT


Marco Rubio, Secretary of State


Belarus Independence Day


Press Statement


July 3, 2026



On behalf of the United States of America, I congratulate the people of Belarus as you celebrate your Independence Day.


As Americans prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our own independence on July 4th, Belarusians commemorate July 3rd as a defining moment of liberation: the liberation of Minsk from Nazi occupation in 1944.


On this occasion, I extend my sincere wishes to the people of Belarus for a peaceful and prosperous future.



Luxembourg National Day
07/03/2026

Luxembourg National Day
06/23/2026 02:34 PM EDT



Marco Rubio, Secretary of State


Luxembourg National Day


Press Statement


June 23, 2026



On behalf of the United States of America, I extend warm wishes to the people of Luxembourg as you celebrate your National Day.

The relationship between the United States and Luxembourg is rooted in common principles and strengthened through decades of close cooperation. Together, our countries continue to advance security, economic prosperity, and democratic values across the Atlantic and around the world.

On this special occasion, the United States sends its best wishes for peace, prosperity, and continued success to the people of Luxembourg.





U.S. Participation in the Inaugural Regional Security Conference in Martinique
07/03/2026
U.S. Participation in the Inaugural Regional Security Conference in Martinique
07/03/2026 03:10 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson


U.S. Participation in the Inaugural Regional Security Conference in Martinique


Media Note





July 3, 2026



From June 29 to July 3 the United States participated in the inaugural Regional Security Conference in Fort-de-France, Martinique, convened by France under its G7 Presidency. Ambassador Herschel Walker led the U.S. delegation at the ministerial plenary, joining heads of state, foreign ministers, and senior officials from across the Caribbean and Latin America, alongside representatives from the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), the Regional Security System (RSS), the Organization of American States and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Ambassador Walker reaffirmed that Caribbean security is American security, and that the United States will not allow transnational criminal organizations or narco-terrorist networks to threaten the sovereignty and prosperity of nations in our hemisphere. The Ambassador called on all countries not yet party to the Treaty of San José on Illicit Narcotics Trafficking to join and encouraged enhanced collaboration on maritime domain awareness, interdiction capacity, and port and infrastructure protection.





Virtual Press Briefing with Rear Admiral Suzanne M. Bailey, Commander, RIMPAC Combined Exercise Control Group and Deputy Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet on 2026 RIMPAC Exercise
07/06/2026


Virtual Press Briefing with Rear Admiral Suzanne M. Bailey, Commander, RIMPAC Combined Exercise Control Group and Deputy Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet on 2026 RIMPAC Exercise
07/06/2026 12:47 AM EDT



Rear Admiral Suzanne M. Bailey Commander, RIMPAC Combined Exercise Control Group And Deputy Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet

Asia Pacific Media Hub

MODERATOR: Greetings from the U.S. Department of State’s Asia Pacific Media Hub. I’m Tim Johnson and it’s my pleasure to welcome journalists to today’s on-the-record briefing. Today we’re honored to be joined by Rear Admiral Suzanne Bailey, who will discuss the 2026 Rim of the Pacific Exercise, known as RIMPAC. Rear Admiral Bailey is the commander of the RIMPAC Combined Exercise Control Group and the deputy commander of U.S. 3rd Fleet.

With that, let’s get started. Rear Admiral Bailey, I’ll turn it over to you for your opening remarks.

REAR ADMIRAL BAILEY: Great. Thank you, Tim, for having me, and good afternoon and thank you all for joining us from across the region and around the world. It’s a pleasure to speak with you about RIMPAC 2026, the world’s premier international maritime exercise.

This year, 30 nations have come together under the theme “Partners: Integrated and Prepared” to strengthen interoperability, build trust, and improve our ability to operate together across the full spectrum of maritime operations. But exercises like RIMPAC are about much more than ships and aircraft. They are about the people and the partnerships that have been built over decades and continue to grow stronger through shared training and cooperation. Together, we improve our collective readiness while advancing our shared commitment to a free and open theater.

I appreciate your interest in this year’s exercise, and I look forward to answering your questions.

MODERATOR: Thank you. We’ll now turn to the Q&A portion of today’s briefing. Our first question goes to Mike Yeo of Breaking Defense. Mike, please unmute yourself and go ahead.

QUESTION: Yes, hi. Good afternoon, Admiral Bailey. My name is Mike Yeo from Breaking Defense. So my question is, how does RIMPAC tie in with Exercise Valiant Shield that has just taken place? I noticed that at Valiant Shield there seemed to be a focus on ship strike missions. Is this going to carry over to RIMPAC as well? Thank you.

REAR ADMIRAL BAILEY: Hi, Mike. Thanks for the question. I personally have not been a part of the Valiant Shield planning, but I will tell you that here at RIMPAC, we’re ensuring we can control the seas as a fundamental mission of the Navy, and a critical part of that is being able to decisively engage and defeat surface threats. At RIMPAC, we employ a wide range of weapons from multiple platforms. The SINKEX, as you know, the sinking exercise, is one of the most visible examples of this. It’s the ultimate test of our kill chain, requiring our forces to work together with our allies to detect, track, target, and ultimately strike a vessel with live ordnance. It’s a complex, multi-domain effort that provides really the most realistic training possible.

The focus at RIMPAC is not just about testing our weapons; the focus is on exercising combined force capabilities in a dynamic maritime environment.

MODERATOR: Our next question goes to Chris Buckley of The New York Times. Chris, if you could unmute yourself and please go ahead.

QUESTION: Thanks very much for doing this briefing, Rear Admiral. The press releases about this year’s RIMPAC make some mention of exercises involving uncrewed systems, UUVs in particular, for anti-submarine warfare. Could you tell us more specifics about what systems, uncrewed systems, are being tested this time, how they’re being tested, and what level of integration we’re going to see between crewed and uncrewed systems in these exercises? Thank you.

REAR ADMIRAL BAILEY: Hi, Chris. You’re certainly right to ask about that because the integration of uncrewed systems is one of the most exciting impacts or aspects of RIMPAC this year, at least for me, as a helicopter pilot, C-130 pilot, former MQ-9 Reaper pilot, and a RQ-4 Global Hawk mission commander. It is certainly exciting to me. I’ve been in unmanned for over a decade now, and while I won’t get into specific names or technical specs of the unmanned systems for operational security reasons, I can absolutely talk about their value.

Unmanned systems aren’t just an incremental improvement to our Navy. They’re an absolutely essential part of today and our future in naval warfare. They give us capacity and resilience. They give us options. They create dilemmas. By integrating unmanned systems, we present a more complex and unpredictable challenge to any adversary, enhancing our ability to deter aggression.

And that’s precisely why RIMPAC is so critical. This exercise is our primary laboratory for operationalizing these platforms and concepts. With our partner nations, we’re learning together on how to combine manned and unmanned platforms into a single, cohesive, and formidable fighting and defensive force. We’re stress testing our entire multinational network to ensure this teaming is seamless and reliable.

MODERATOR: Thank you. We received a pre-submitted question from Kim Hyunsoo of Yonhap in South Korea. I see Hyunsoo is on the line, if you’d like to unmute yourself and go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, thanks for having me. My question is, South Korea assumed the role of maritime component commander for the first time this year for the RIMPAC Exercise. Could you please elaborate on the significance of this role? And I know that the South Korean navy also deployed many new naval assets for this year’s exercise, so how do you assess South Korea’s participation in this year’s RIMPAC? Thank you.

REAR ADMIRAL BAILEY: Thank you for the question, Kim. It highlights a truly significant milestone for the RIMPAC Exercise and for our partnership with the Republic of Korea. The Republic of Korea navy, and specifically Admiral Kim In-ho serving as the maritime component commander, is a powerful testament to the strength and the maturity of our alliance. This is a role of immense responsibility, and their willingness and capability to lead a multinational force at this scale demonstrates their commitment to regional security.

This is exactly what we mean when we talk about strengthening our alliances and increasing our partners’ leadership roles. I have been on board the ship myself, and regarding the assessment of their naval assets, I will certainly leave that up to the country itself to talk about their capabilities – but a phenomenal ship, in my view. I think having them here will showcase the sophistication and the strength of their fleet. They are a world-class partner with world-class capabilities. South Korea’s leadership and the deployment of their forces at RIMPAC is certainly a model for the future. It demonstrates our shared commitment to a free and open Pacific and enhances our collective ability to ensure stability throughout the region. We’re immensely proud to serve alongside our Korean allies in this capacity.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Our next question goes to Dzirhan Mahadzir from USNI News in Malaysia. If you could please unmute yourself and go ahead. Dzirhan, are you able to unmute yourself to ask your question?

QUESTION: Yeah, I’d like to. I had a different question in mind because the previous two questions have been asked. So could you tell me, Admiral, what are the amphibious parts of the exercise being executed during RIMPAC? And thank you for doing the call.

REAR ADMIRAL BAILEY: So I think the question was about the amphibious portions of the exercise. As you know, we have the Essex out here with us. We have a number of multinational forces who, during this time of the harbor phase, have been going through some phenomenal academics and preparatory work for the at-sea phase, which is coming up. I’ve been very pleased with the naval assets and the international marines who have been doing the work with our forces on these amphibious operations.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Our next question goes to Leo Darshan of Express Newspapers Ceylon Limited in Sri Lanka, who submitted a question in advance. He asked: “Sri Lanka is located at one of the world’s busiest maritime crossroads in the Indian Ocean. How does the United States view Sri Lanka’s role in maintaining a free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific? And what practical cooperation do you foresee with the Sri Lankan navy?”

REAR ADMIRAL BAILEY: Hey, Tim, I thank Leo for that question. It’s a great question, but the broader questions about U.S. policy towards Sri Lanka are best addressed by the Department of State or appropriate policy officials. But from a RIMPAC perspective, Sri Lanka’s participation reflects the value of working with partners across the region to strengthen cooperation, integration, and shared maritime capability. RIMPAC participants are advancing a shared vision for a free and open region for all countries, regardless of size or strength.

MODERATOR: All right, thank you so much. I see we have a question from Mike Cherney of The Wall Street Journal. Mike, if you could unmute yourself and go ahead.

QUESTION: Yeah, hi, can you guys hear me okay?

MODERATOR: Yes.

QUESTION: Right, yeah, thanks for doing the call. Can you talk about whether or not there’s going to be U.S. Coast Guard participation in this year’s RIMPAC, and if so, what are they going to be doing? Thank you.

REAR ADMIRAL BAILEY: So I think your question was about U.S. Coast Guard participation, and we do have participation from the Coast Guard. I believe they have a cutter on station, and I would have to check to see if they have any air assets coming to us as well. But as you likely know, our cooperation with the Coast Guard has been continued and increasing on the 3rd Fleet staff, and we’ll do so here in the RIMPAC Exercise.

MODERATOR: Thanks. We have a question from Rex Espiritu from The Manila Standard. Rex, if you could please unmute yourself and go ahead. Rex, are you able to unmute yourself?

QUESTION: Hello?

MODERATOR: Oh, hi, Rex. Yes, go ahead.

QUESTION: Okay, I’m so sorry. What is the significance, Rear Admiral Bailey, of the participation of the Philippines to the RIMPAC, given the situation in the South China Sea, or what we are referring as the West Philippine Sea? Thank you.

REAR ADMIRAL BAILEY: Thank you for the question. I believe we have both air assets from the Philippines as well as some SOF units and two surface platforms. We have had meetings with the Philippines. We have had cultural experience with the Philippines. We are confident in their ability as partners here at RIMPAC, and they will be incorporated in each and every one of our events come the at-sea phase. I am thankful for the partnership that we have with them.

MODERATOR: Thanks. Our next question goes to Larasati Dyah Utami of Rakyat Merdeka in Indonesia. Larasati, if you could please unmute yourself and go ahead.

QUESTION: Hello, I am Laras from Rakyat Merdeka newspaper. Could you please tell us about participation of Indonesian army to this exercise? Because I just know this exercise. Thank you.

MODERATOR: Absolutely, and thank you for the question. For Indonesia, I believe we have land forces by way of the Indonesian marines, and we have infantry platoons and staff augments, as well as a medical team. So in each one of those – in each one of those specialties, they integrate with each one of the partners, whether it’s medical or in the amphibious landing space, and they will be doing the scheduled events as we have them planned.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Let’s go back to Mike Yeo of Breaking Defense in Australia, who has a question. Mike, if you could unmute yourself and go ahead.

QUESTION: Yes, hi, Admiral Bailey. It’s me again. Can you tell us if there are any new specific platforms or capabilities that will be deployed at RIMPAC for the first time this year?

REAR ADMIRAL BAILEY: Well, Mike, that question gets to the core of why RIMPAC is really just so valuable. The exercise is our premier venue for fleet experimentation, allowing us to test and refine the tools and tactics that will ensure we remain the world’s most capable and integrated fighting force. RIMPAC provides the real-world operational environment where all of our participating forces can mature their developing technologies and innovate their current technologies and improve interoperability.

RIMPAC 2026 will include approximately 40 experimentation initiatives as part of the Fleet Experimentation Program. I won’t get into the specifics on individual technologies or warfighting concepts at this time, but our efforts are focused on exposing the fleet and our partners to emerging capabilities and receiving real-world warfighter feedback very early in the process. This includes continued focus on integration, interoperability, and the ability of partner nations to operate side by side in a realistic operational maritime environment.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Our next question goes to Patrick de Jesus in the Philippines with PTV. Patrick, if you could please unmute yourself and go ahead.

QUESTION: Hello, Rear Admiral Bailey. Good morning here from the Philippines. My question is, the Philippine coast guard is the first foreign organization to participate in this year’s RIMPAC exercises. How significant is this development for the Philippines, especially as it continues to face harassment in the South China Sea from Chinese maritime forces? And may I know what are the exact activities that the Philippine coast guard will participate in? Thank you.

REAR ADMIRAL BAILEY: Thank you for the question. I won’t talk to the specific detail on your policy, because – your policy question, because that would that would better be answered by those that develop the policy. I will tell you that by having the Philippines here en masse, where they are, makes us a stronger force who is really trying to take all of our – all of our integration to a high operating standard. They have come ready and we are going to integrate them into every event they wish to be in.

MODERATOR: Thank you. All right. I think with that, why don’t we turn it over to – turn it back to Rear Admiral Bailey if you have any closing remarks?

REAR ADMIRAL BAILEY: Thank you very much for the time you spent with us today and learning about RIMPAC. Thank you for the thoughtful questions and for your continued coverage. The interest from journalists across the region reflects the importance of this exercise and the value of transparency as our nations train together. While RIMPAC only lasts a few weeks, the relationships, trust, and interoperability built here endure long after the exercise concludes.

Thank you for joining us today. We appreciate your time and interest, and stay with us as we look forward to sharing more as RIMPAC 2026 continues.

MODERATOR: Thank you so much, Rear Admiral Bailey. Thank you all for joining us today. We’ll provide a transcript of the briefing to participating journalists as soon as it’s available. If you have any feedback or further questions, please feel free to contact us at AsiaPacMedia@state.gov. Thanks again, and we hope you can join us for another briefing soon. Take care.

# # #


The United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea Sign a Trilateral Memorandum of Cooperation on Small Modular Reactor Deployments in Other Countries
07/07/2026
The United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea Sign a Trilateral Memorandum of Cooperation on Small Modular Reactor Deployments in Other Countries
07/07/2026 12:30 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson


The United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea Sign a Trilateral Memorandum of Cooperation on Small Modular Reactor Deployments in Other Countries


Media Note

July 7, 2026



Today, on the margins of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye, the United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japan Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu, and Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Cho Hyun signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) to establish a framework for trilateral cooperation on accelerating small modular reactor (SMR) deployments in other countries, with an initial focus on the Indo-Pacific. The MOC advances our mutual security interests and paves the way for partner countries to meet their energy security needs.

The MOC outlines opportunities for our three countries, which have complementary advantages in the civil nuclear field, to encourage mutually beneficial cooperation among their respective nuclear industries. This framework aims to foster fleet deployment models that de-risk project development, achieve economies of scale, catalyze private investment, streamline licensing processes, and optimize supply chains. A coordinated trilateral approach positions American, Japanese, and Korean firms to provide partners in the region with more competitive alternatives to meet their growing energy demands and to uphold the highest standards of nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation as new reactor technology increasingly comes online.

In support of this initiative, the United States is committing over $10 million in new funding for the Department of State’s Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) Program to provide technical support to countries in Indo-Pacific region for the deployment of safe, secure, and reliable nuclear energy. Funds will advance SMR project development activities and establish an SMR Regional Training Hub for workforce development.

The United States is also pleased to announce an industry initiative agreed upon among GE Vernova, Hitachi, Samsung C&T, and SGE to advance deployment of the BWRX-300 SMR across Europe. This initiative will help achieve the ambitions set forth in the memorandum signed today and deepen government-industry partnerships to strengthen global energy security.





Press Briefing with John Barrett, Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy Caracas and General Francis Donovan, Commander, U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)
07/07/2026


Press Briefing with John Barrett, Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy Caracas and General Francis Donovan, Commander, U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)
07/07/2026 02:13 PM EDT



John Barrett, Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy Caracas

General Francis Donovan, Commander, U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)

Miami Media Hub

MODERATOR: Good morning and welcome. I am Natalia Molano, Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Miami Media Hub. This press briefing will be conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation in Spanish.

Please find the globe icon on the lower menu ribbon of your screen to select your preferred language.

(In Spanish.)

We are privileged today to have Chargé d’Affaires John Barrett at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela; and General Francis Donovan, Commander of the U.S. Southern Command in Miami, Florida. They will be discussing the Trump Administration’s robust and rapid delivery of humanitarian assistance for the Venezuelan people following the devastating earthquakes in their nation on June 24, 2026.

The virtual press conference is on the record, attributable by name to each respective official. We will start with opening remarks and then I will moderate questions from journalists.

Chargé d’Affaires John Barrett, you may begin your remarks.

MR BARRETT: Thank you, Natalia, and good morning, everyone. Thank you all for attending. When we spoke, last week Venezuela was still in the immediate aftermath of the devastating June 24 earthquakes. Search and rescue teams were working around the clock and communities were struggling to assess the scale of the destruction. Today, almost two weeks later, we can continue to report real progress.

Under President Trump’s leadership the United States has led the largest international earthquake response in Venezuela’s modern history. What began as an urgent, life-saving operation is now transitioning into a sustained humanitarian relief and recovery effort. Our four American urban search and rescue teams have completed their mission and returned home to Fairfax, Virginia, Los Angeles, California, and the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County, Florida.

We are deeply grateful for their service. These highly skilled men and women helped save six lives and brought hope to countless families during Venezuela’s darkest hours. America’s commitment to Venezuela is clear. The Department of State’s Disaster Assistance Response Team, DART, remains on the ground working alongside partners to deliver food, water, medical care, shelter, and other critical assistance to affected communities.

I also want to recognize the extraordinary contributions of our colleagues at the Department of War. Their airlift, logistics, engineering, and transportation capabilities have been indispensable to this effort. Thank you, General Donovan, for joining us today, and please convey our gratitude to Major General Jarrard and your entire team supporting this humanitarian response.

Our results, they’re significant. With support from the United States and other humanitarian donors, the United Nations World Food Program has reached more than 18,000 people affected by the earthquakes with food assistance. Well over a million pounds of relief supplies have already been delivered to communities across Venezuela, and additional shipments continue to arrive every day.

To date, total U.S. humanitarian assistance related to this response exceeds $310 million. But recovery is about more than emergency aid. As immediate needs are addressed, we are increasingly focused on helping communities rebuild – restoring critical infrastructure, supporting economic recovery, and ensuring Venezuelan families have the tools they need to recover and move forward. Recovery will take time, but the United States is committed to being a reliable partner throughout that process.

The bottom line is simple: The Venezuelan people are not facing this challenge alone. Our message remains the same today as it was on the first day of this tragedy: (Via interpreter) We were with you at the beginning of this and we continue to be with you, and we will continue to be with you until tomorrow.

(In English) We are with Venezuela today and we will be with you tomorrow. Thank you.

MODERATOR: Thank you very much. General Francis Donovan, you may begin your remarks.

GENERAL DONOVAN: Hey, thank you very much, and good morning. And for the chargé d’affaires John Barrett, thank you very much for your comments. And really seeing you yesterday on the ground in Venezuela, remarkable to see the impacts of your leadership and the efforts of our Department of State teammates on the ground that have the sustained relationship with the Venezuelan people, and to see the impact working side by side with the Department of War and the different agencies and entities on the ground – remarkable. So, thank you for your leadership and the time we spent together yesterday.

Really being on the ground yesterday only for a short period of time – it was my third trip to Venezuela in the last five months. Remarkable to see the efforts by the American responders, whether that’s civilians from our search and rescue teams as they wrapped up and were transitioning out of the country yesterday, to the continued efforts by our Department of War teammates on the land and the air and sea – remarkable efforts. And really what struck me yesterday was that the positive attitude and the desire for these Americans to work alongside the Venezuelan people and Department of State teammates to really bring assistance, especially as we move out of this phase of the operation to really recovery and further relief operations.

And so, I wanted to just to really share with you all the impact that we’re having on the ground is significant. There is a long way ahead, obviously, for any nation recovering from a disaster of this magnitude. But we’ll be there in support and provide our rapid response capabilities until they’re no longer requested, and we will then be prepared to pull our forces back and be prepared for the next response.

For U.S. Southern Command, helping nations – especially nations in our region – is what we do. We’ve done this really eight times since 2010. And so, we’ll be prepared to respond throughout the Latin America, Central America, and the Caribbean. But for right now our focus, until we’re no longer needed, is to provide airlift, logistics, transportation; assist in running the airport and seaport; and then heavy lift equipment, if we receive more of that to assist in the relief efforts, we’ll be ready to move that; to really focus on what we’ve done so far and to expand that in accordance with what our State Department leadership needs and what the Venezuelan people need.

So, I could give you some numbers, and I will; I’m very proud of the effort so far. Specifically, our Air Force element, I – Simón Bolívar Airport itself, it’s called the contingent – Contingency Response Element. They were literally on the ground within the first 24 hours. And what they were able to do is get the airfield open and operating at max capacity right away. And that’s important when you’re bringing relief supplies in. And so far, that Contingency Response Element, those Americans on the airfield, working really right now with their Venezuelan counterparts, have delivered more than 1.5 million pounds of cargo. And that’s significant, because that cargo is offloaded and then transported directly to where it’s needed. And that’s key for the relief operation.

A couple things we’ve also established, just to share with you. The Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Center, that was established right there in Caracas with the Chargé d’Affaires and his team so we could bring the – all the elements together to work to solve this problem quickly, and respond to exactly where the need, the Venezuelan people needed the need the most. And I think that was key for us.

Now, about the same time, back here in our headquarters in Miami, we established the Combined Humanitarian Coordination Cell – 12 partner nations and five interagency groups working hard, 24/7, here in Miami, providing information down to the teams on the ground in Venezuela, using some of our high-tech collection, to include space capabilities, to ensure that we could see the environment and make sure we understood where the need was required, and provide that information to our teams on the ground so that we could make better decisions and then to deliver aid exactly where it was needed. And I think that directly saved lives.

So really that’s the update I have. I wanted again to come back to thanking John for your leadership as the Chargé d’Affaires and your partnership as we all move forward together in support of the people of Venezuela. Thank you very much.

MODERATOR: Thank you both. We will now begin taking questions from journalists.

We will start with a question from Rafael Fuenmayor from Telemundo.

QUESTION: Hello, good morning. Thank you for doing this. Based on what you have seen on the ground, why do we still don’t know the real death toll of this disaster? And based on that, is the U.S. assisting or planning to assist Venezuela with forensic resources to identify hundreds of the dead bodies?

MR BARRETT: Well, thank you Rafael. As you know, the government does report death counts on a daily basis, and they continue to refine those numbers, and I think we will continue to see those numbers rise over time, unfortunately, given the scale of this tragedy. We have also been assisting the Venezuelans in terms of storing and caring for the deceased remains that are being pulled out of the rubble, including with the provision of ten containers that have freezer capacity. The government reports that they have accounted and identified the vast majority of bodies received, but they’re continuing to go through that process and, as I understand it, are collecting DNA, fingerprints, dental records from those bodies that they’re in the process of still waiting to identify in coordination with family members.

MODERATOR: General, anything from you?

GENERAL DONOVAN: No. Rafael, thank you for the question. But I think the CDA answered that well. I don’t have anything else. Thank you.

MODERATOR: Okay. Excellent. Thank you.

Our next question is from Jackeline Diaz. Go ahead Jackeline.

QUESTION: (Via interpreter) Hello. Good morning. If you could give in detail what is the priority of the distribution zones so that assistance be duplicated in this response effort?

MR BARRETT: Well, good morning, Jackeline. I believe your question had to do with more of the details of the distribution of relief aid that’s coming into Venezuela. Here at the embassy, in coordination with the DOW and the DART team that’s here on the ground, we track daily arrivals primarily that are coming through to the airport. And then we also track daily distributions to the Venezuelan communities in need. I can report that through yesterday, we have received, as the general mentioned, 1.5 million pounds of relief supplies. And a lot of that relief supplies, as it gets out, distributed to the Venezuelans in need, are in the form of various kinds of kits, from food kits, hygiene kits, water kits. It also includes dry food rations, even hot meals. And when you total up those kits and deliveries, we’re talking about well over 60,000 deliveries. And many of those kits, by the way, extend for longer than a day. Some are packaged to care for a family of four for several days. And so, I wanted to share those numbers in terms of demonstrating some of that important aid and how it’s getting distributed.

And Department of War has been just an excellent partner in terms of looking further afield for communities outside the most affected areas that also need assistance. And thanks to their airlift capacity and their – and previous to that, their capacity to – ability to identify these communities further afield has been extremely helpful in making sure that we are providing speedy and reliable assistance to the Venezuelans most in need.

GENERAL DONOVAN: And Jackeline, thank you for the question. And to follow on from Chargé d’Affaires thoughts is that what we’ll do is we’ll use our logistics and what we call command and control capability to be able to match the right conveyance – let’s think of a helicopter or a truck or a landing craft on the ocean – to match the right platform to deliver that right amount of relief supplies to the right location at the right time. And that’s what we – we assist with Department of State on that. As they track and as they coordinate and as they plan, we then follow up with our capabilities where – really well-equipped, self-sustaining, highly skilled, and really wholly committed U.S. personnel on the ground to match our capabilities, which is primarily logistics and command and control, how you run the operation. We match it with the Department of State’s leadership and decision making through that DART concept that the Chargé d’Affaires talked about earlier to provide the best logistic support and relief to the Venezuelan people.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Now we will hear from Roberto Macedonio from NTN24. Go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you. Thank you, Natalia. Well, I want to ask John Barrett about a picture in which he appears alongside Diosdado Cabello. This has caused some confusion as to whether Diosdado Cabello is or not a wanted enemy of the United States and whether the reward of his capture is still in effect, or whether the United States and the State Department have changed their positions regarding him. And I would also like to ask General Donovan whether the U.S. Southern Command is currently controlling Maiquetía airport and, if so, if there is an airspace restriction preventing María Corina Machado’s possible return to Venezuela, or if she could technically land in the country. Thank you.

MR BARRETT: Well, thank you, Roberto. The U.S. State Department is 100 percent focused on this response, on the response to the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, and in advancing the Trump Administration’s three-phase plan for Venezuela, which remains intact. And that includes stabilization, economic recovery, reconciliation, and democratic transition. So, we will remain focused on advancing these efforts under President Trump’s leadership, and we will continue to do everything we can to assist the Venezuelan people.

And I wanted to mention one thing from the previous question, because I think it’s important in terms of to describe the scale of assistance that we’re providing the Venezuelan people. We mentioned the 1.5 million pounds in aid that has arrived. That has arrived on 37 aircraft. Twenty-eight of those 37 are direct USG partners, mostly Department of War, and then another nine are flights from our humanitarian assistance partners that we have facilitated, again, thanks to the logistical – logistics framework that DOW has established here. Thank you.

GENERAL DONOVAN: Roberto, thanks for the question. Right now, U.S. Southern Command, our elements ashore there in Venezuela are not controlling the airport. What we’re doing is we’re assisting with air traffic control, which – ATC, which is ensuring that the safe landing and takeoff of aircraft and the safe management of the airspace around the airport is key. And the other piece we’re providing is ground operations, which is that offloading and storage and then staging for onward movement of relief supplies. That’s our focus at the airport. Thanks.

MODERATOR: Thank you very much. We have Patrick Markey now from AFP. Go ahead.

QUESTION: General Donovan, can you give us an estimation or a timeline for when the airport will be reopened for commercial flights?

GENERAL DONOVAN: Hey, Patrick. Thanks. I might push that one back to the Chargé d’Affaires because he has a better understanding of kind of what that timeline might be from a ground perspective.

MR BARRETT: Sure, yes. Thank you, Patrick and General Donovan. We are already in conversations, we have been in conversations with U.S. commercial airlines. As you know, American Airlines was the first U.S. airline to restart operations back in early – late April, early May, before the earthquake. And we’re in touch, in communication with U.S. commercial carriers who are very interested in re-establishing operations. There is some work to do in terms of the infrastructure of – to support commercial operations at the airport.

We’re also in communication with the FAA and the TSA, which are the two very relevant and essential U.S. Government agencies that would be involved in the startup of commercial flights. There are commercial flights to other cities, including international flights to Valencia, for example, that have already initiated or restarted. And we’re very eager to see the same thing happen at the main Simón Bolivar International Airport. Thank you.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Now we have Julia Cobb.

QUESTION: Hello. Thank you so much for taking questions. This one is for the Chargé d’Affaires. You’ve praised the government response, saying that you have full confidence in their ability to handle the response to the earthquake, but that doesn’t really jibe with what I’m sure every media organization on this call has seen on the ground in La Guaira, which especially in the first few days after the earthquake was a huge lack of formal government presence and continues now, especially for civilians who are trying to find the bodies of their loved ones. There is still a lack of official presence and help. So how do you square your praise for Delcy Rodríguez with what people are seeing on the ground?

MR BARRETT: Thank you, Julia. This has been a huge – as you know, a huge, massive U.S. Government response here on the ground, and our focus has been squarely on getting as much assistance out to the Venezuelan people as soon as possible. And the interim government, as I have said, has been fully compliant in terms of our requests to advance this massive humanitarian response. And again, we will continue to lead initiatives that mobilize U.S. and international response teams to reach those communities in need, and the government has been compliant with us in terms of ensuring, like I said, those more than 62,000 kits – from hygiene to hot meals to food kits – are being distributed with speed and with reliance out to the Venezuelans most in need. Thank you.

MODERATOR: All right. Now we are going to go with our last question, from Lourdes Ubieta.

QUESTION: Hello. Can you hear me?

MODERATOR: Yes. Please, go ahead.

QUESTION: Yes. Thank you. Good morning, and as a Venezuelan American myself, I want to thank very much – I want to thank you very much, gentleman, for everything that you are doing on the ground after this horrible situation that Venezuelans are facing.

So my question is: There are reports that alleged Venezuelan military personnel are stealing or diverting humanitarian aid intended for earthquake victims, as happened in other countries during similar disasters. Has the U.S. Government seen credible evidence that this is happening? And what safeguards are in place to ensure that American assistance reaches the people who need it rather than being intercepted by corrupt officials or security forces? Thank you.

MR BARRETT: Hi. Thank you, Lourdes, for that. Hey, I’m really proud of this strong network of U.S. assistance on the ground, and again, that includes this spectacularly impressive logistics framework established with our partners from the Department of War; our range of humanitarian assistance partners, from Samaritan Cross to Caritas, Catholic Relief Services; United Nations partners and many more; the DART team that’s here. I’m very proud of this network. And I’m very proud to report that we are seeing a very efficient and speedy and reliable delivery of these – of the important U.S. assistance that’s coming in, again, with over $310 million spent so far to date. I also want to also mention the really critical work of GEM and Samaritan’s Purse, two other really vital partners in all of this.

And again, in my conversations and our eyes on the ground – and there’s a lot of people on the ground looking at this – we follow up with every comment or every observation that we get, and I’m just really proud of this response and how effective it has been in terms of our success, our continuing success. And we plan to sustain this, by the way, into the future to be sure that this assistance continues to reliably meet the needs of the Venezuelan people in this time of crisis.

MODERATOR: Thank you.

General Donovan, any last word from you?

GENERAL DONOVAN: No. I think the chargé did a wonderful job answering that question and really highlighting the work that’s on the ground. These are tough situations. I’ve responded to a number of these in my time in serving in the Marine Corps, and there’s always – there’s always friction, but the reality is I think the chargé did a great job on what is actually working well. And could always be improvements, yes, because it’s a catastrophe, but the reality is remarkable – remarkable effort in support of the Venezuelan people, and I couldn’t be more proud of our joint teammates that are on the ground, in the air, and on the sea supporting this effort. So, thank you.

MODERATOR: Well, thank you to our two speakers, Chargé Barrett and General Donovan, for their time, and to all the journalists who participated today. This concludes our briefing. An English audio recording and a transcript in English will be published on State.gov. In addition, there will be a translation to Spanish of that transcript and will also be available on state.gov on our translations pages. If you have any questions, you may always contact the Miami media hub at MiamiHub@state.gov. Goodbye, and until next time.

# # #


Virtual Press Briefing with Caroline Vik, Chief Policy Officer of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)
07/08/2026
Virtual Press Briefing with Caroline Vik, Chief Policy Officer of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)
07/07/2026 11:38 PM EDT



Caroline Vik, Chief Policy Officer of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)

Asia Pacific Media Hub

MODERATOR: Greetings from the U.S. Department of State’s Asia Pacific Media Hub. I’m Tim Johnson, and it’s my pleasure to welcome journalists to today’s on-the-record briefing. Today, we’re honored to be joined by Caroline Vik, chief policy officer of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, known as DFC.

With that, let’s get started. Chief Policy Officer Vik, I’ll turn it over to you for your opening remarks.

CHIEF POLICY OFFICER VIK: Thank you, and thank you, everybody, for joining us. My name is Caroline Vik and I’m the chief policy officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation, more commonly known as the DFC. I’m excited to be on the call today to share some details about the DFC, our mission, and our recent trip through Southeast Asia where we visited the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

To start, just the DFC is the international strategic investment arm of the U.S. Government. So we work with the private sector to advance U.S. diplomatic and economic interests and drive economic growth for our allies and partners. We have $205 billion to deploy around the world. We do debt, equity, political risk insurance, loan guarantees, and project development funds that are used for early – the early stage of projects for feasibility studies and similar early-stage work.

Think of us as having sort of three core objectives. The first is to build diversified supply chains for critical materials. So critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, agricultural inputs like fertilizers, supply chain – I mean fertilizer, crop protection, vitamins and amino acids – and a range of other high-priority supply chains, to include semiconductors, batteries, magnets, and the like. The second objective is to strengthen strategic sectors – energy, advanced manufacturing, AI, fintech and financial services. And the third is to build critical infrastructure in high-priority locations – so ports, airports, strategic corridors, and everything under the digital infrastructure bucket from telecom, terrestrial fiber, subsea cables, and data centers. So our seven priority sectors fall out of those objectives: energy, critical minerals, transport infrastructure, digital infrastructure, financial services, health care, and agriculture.

We went to Southeast Asia for business development purposes. So we’re trying to actively build our pipeline to do a lot more investing in the region. So we went and met with government leadership, all the relevant ministers, as well as some of the key companies in our priority sectors in the private sector to talk about what the priorities are, what the opportunities were, and hopefully find some deals that we could execute over the next couple of years to really increase our presence in the region. Our goal is to be the region’s best partner and first call so that if there are high-priority projects that governments want to do, we want to hear about them and we want to try to support wherever possible.

I thought I’d start by running through sort of at a very high level some of the meetings we did, and then happy to take more questions.

So in the Philippines, we heard about the government’s priorities from various stakeholders, including Maharlika, the National Security Council, and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, with a focus on major infrastructure and energy projects. We also had several roundtables with private sector companies where we talked about minerals processing, subsea cables, energy, grid modernization, and other infrastructure updates from strategic corridors, bridges, ports, and airports. The DFC is also very excited to work closely with our interagency partners on other major initiatives, such as Pax Silica and the Luzon Economic Corridor, which we heard a lot of enthusiasm about in the Philippines.

In Vietnam, we were really excited to hear about the country’s focus on critical supply chains, particularly for critical minerals and semiconductors. We also spoke a lot about high-priority energy projects to modernize the grid and bring more energy online to drive down the cost of energy. We also had very productive and interesting meetings with major telecom companies to discuss how we could help build out their networks with trusted vendors.

In Cambodia, we met with the Council for the Development of Cambodia and the Ministry of Mines and Energy, who walked us through their very ambitious and exciting national infrastructure plans, with a focus on ports and maritime connectivity as well as power generation and regional connectivity. In private sector meetings, we discussed infrastructure opportunities, including gas, other energy sources, mobile networks, terrestrial fiber, and data centers. I was also honored to attend a signing ceremony on behalf of our CEO, Ben Black, for DFC’s financing of Phnom Penh’s brand-new international airport. For those of you who haven’t seen it, I have to say it is one of the most beautiful airports I’ve ever seen, and the DFC is very proud to support Cambodia on this important project.

In Laos, we were received by a wide range of key government offices, including the central bank, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation, and the Ministry of Finance, who told us about Laos’s ambitious plans to build out their infrastructure strategy and enhanced regional connectivity, to include new rail lines and expressways, as well as important initiatives to address seasonal variance in power generation and electricity export. Our private sector meetings raised a bunch of fascinating and interesting opportunities in energy mining and transportation as well.

In Malaysia, we met with a broad group of the Malaysian government, including the National Security Council, the Office of Economic Advisors, the Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry, Transport and Natural Resources, as well as the Malaysian Investment Development Authority. The interagency group shared a range of national investment priorities, including semiconductors, critical minerals processing, energy security and agricultural security. We also met with a range of private sector companies, to include major telecom operators, where we talked about the ongoing privatization of the national 5G grid and opportunities to help build out – build out those networks with trusted vendors.

Last but not least, in Indonesia we heard about the government’s major focus on promoting energy security through upstream exploration and midstream energy storage and transportation infrastructure, as well as new ports construction and an initiative to support critical minerals mining and processing in the country. Our private sector meetings also shared interesting opportunities in nuclear energy and financial services.

With that, thank you once again for joining me this morning, and I’ll turn it back over for questions.

MODERATOR: All right, thank you so much. We’ll now turn to the Q&A portion of today’s briefing.

Our first question goes to Beatriz Cruz of BusinessWorld in the Philippines, who submitted a question in advance. I think she’s on the line, if you would like to unmute yourself and go ahead.

QUESTION: Good morning. My question is just – it was mentioned earlier, the interest for Luzon Economic Corridor and Pax Silica. Are there investments that you’re looking to put into these projects? And just curious if the Philippines reaching upper-middle income status, how will this affect the type of investments that – the type of financing that the DFC will put into the Philippines? Thank you.

CHIEF POLICY OFFICER VIK: Sure. So yes, both initiatives will involve a range of opportunities, investment opportunities. In terms of the Luzon Corridor, I think we’ve identified a bunch of potential projects for financing, and are looking – are looking for more. So there’s, there’s a sort of wide range.

In terms of Pax Silica, we’re working closely with our State Department colleagues to support. When the time is ready, the DFC stands ready to help the State Department advance the Pax Silica economic zone.

MODERATOR: Thanks. Staying with the Philippines, let’s go to Bless Ogerio of BusinessMirror in the Philippines, if you could unmute yourself and go ahead.

QUESTION: Good morning, everyone. My question is: Did your meetings in Manila identify any specific investment opportunities or projects that DFC is now looking to pursue in the country? And my second question is: The Philippines has been promoting projects such as, as mentioned earlier, the Pax Silica to strengthen our critical mineral supply chains. So how does DFC view opportunities like this, and what will it take for more projects of this kind for the Philippines to attract international investments? Thank you.

CHIEF POLICY OFFICER VIK: Yes, we talked about – both with the government ministers as well as our private sector meetings, talked about a range of projects, from transport infrastructure projects – ports, rail, airports – to potential mining projects, as well as a lot of discussion about both energy generation and grid modernization projects.

MODERATOR: Thanks. Let’s go to Jaden Christian of BFM in Malaysia, if you could please unmute yourself and go ahead.

QUESTION: Hello. So you have previously said that DFC has a number of partnerships and opportunities in the works for Malaysia. So without naming any specific companies, can you share how advanced those discussions are, and whether Malaysians can expect the first DFC-backed investment to be announced within the next 12 months?

CHIEF POLICY OFFICER VIK: I would say in many cases, we’re at early stages of identifying what the priority projects are. I think this trip really jumpstarted our pipeline, and we’ve come back with many, many leads that we’ll need to continue to develop. But our intention is to quickly build our pipeline so that we have a wide range of projects across our priority sectors that we can execute on in the next two years. So yes, I hope we will have things to announce in the next 12 months, but certainly over the next two years we will be moving forward with hopefully a number of projects in Malaysia.

MODERATOR: Thanks. Our next question goes to Evelyn Cheng of CNBC, if you could please unmute yourself and go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, can you hear me?

MODERATOR: Yes.

QUESTION: Great. Thanks so much. I have two questions. One is, could you share some details on any significant steps taken to secure U.S. access to critical minerals? And then two, in terms of the AI race, Chinese AI models and infrastructure are often increasingly considered far lower cost compared to the U.S. ones. So, wondering what’s the level of concern at DFC and are there plans to invest or encourage use of American AI in the region? Thank you.

CHIEF POLICY OFFICER VIK: Sure. Yeah, building more diversified supply chains for critical minerals – from pit to port to processing to product – is one of our top goals. And frankly, every government that we engage with in the region shared those goals. I think we see a lot of emphasis from countries that want to move up the value chain and want to build out their midstream capabilities so that they can process their own minerals, and this is something that we’re interested in helping them build up that capability.

In terms of AI, we are seeing enormous demand for American AI and stand ready to help finance projects where needed. And in addition, we’re seeing a lot of demand for trusted vendors across the digital infrastructure space, which we’re very excited to support.

MODERATOR: Thanks. Our next question goes to Irma Isip of Context in the Philippines, if you could please unmute yourself and go ahead.

QUESTION: My question is: Is there a specific amount out of the portfolio of DFC that can be allotted both for government and private sector projects? Thank you.

CHIEF POLICY OFFICER VIK: I’m sorry, do you mind repeating yourself? I couldn’t hear you very clearly.

QUESTION: I’m sorry. My question is: Is there a specific amount of cost that can be allotted to the Philippines for – both for government and private sector projects?

CHIEF POLICY OFFICER VIK: Two comments. One, while we work very closely with governments to understand their priorities and focus where sort of their priorities intersect with our priorities, our investments are always with private sector entities. So we don’t lend directly to governments. We can work with state-owned enterprises as well, but we primarily work with private sector companies to actually execute on our shared investment priorities.

In terms of specific numbers, we don’t have any sort of quota or cap, so it’s really just about finding projects that are strategically aligned with our priority sectors, that are projects that the Philippine government is interested in us investing in, that are commercially viable. So the DFC only makes sort of commercially viable investments in the private sector. So provided we can find bankable deals that align with both of our governments’ priorities, there’s no cap to how much we can invest. And it’s a high priority for us to engage very heavily, so we’re building out a strong pipeline.

MODERATOR: Thanks. Our next question goes to Niem Chheng from The Phnom Penh Post, if you could unmute yourself and go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you. I have one question, because I – you said you have met with the CDC head and also with the energy minister, so I’m asking if there is any, like, potential cooperation or investment between the U.S. and Cambodia. Thank you.

CHIEF POLICY OFFICER VIK: Absolutely. We had excellent, highly productive meetings with the Cambodian government. We’re really excited to deepen the partnership on investment. They proposed a number of very interesting opportunities that are well aligned with ours, and so we look forward to working hand in hand with them to advance these projects. I would say similarly, our private sector meetings in Cambodia were very interesting; lots of great projects in terms of sort of logistics, expressways, and other projects that we look forward to advancing.

MODERATOR: Thanks. Let’s go to Samantha Beltran of the South China Morning Post, if you could please unmute yourself and go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, can you hear me?

MODERATOR: Yes.

QUESTION: Okay, great, thank you. So I have two questions. So first, with the DFC’s visit across Southeast Asia largely to do with critical minerals, how highly does this rank up the DFC’s priorities, and what were the most promising opportunities identified in the region during this trip? And my second question is: The Pax Silica framework in the Philippines is reportedly being finalized this year. Are there any investments that the DFC has pledged in particular for this? I can also send the question in the chat box, just so you have something to refer to. Thank you.

CHIEF POLICY OFFICER VIK: I would say yes, building diversified supply chains for critical minerals is a priority, but it’s not our overwhelming priority. So we have lots of priorities across our seven priority sectors. These include critical minerals, pharmaceuticals and other health care projects, energy, food and agriculture, transport infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and financial services. So I would just consider critical minerals, while certainly an important priority, it is not our only priority or even overwhelmingly our area of focus. So we’re looking at lots of critical minerals projects, from upstream to midstream to downstream, as well as associated infrastructure, but we are also looking at lots of projects across all of our other priority sectors.

In terms of Pax Silica, I don’t have any details to share today but I look forward to sharing more in the future.

MODERATOR: Thanks. Let’s go to Logan Zapanta of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, if you could please unmute yourself and go ahead.

QUESTION: Hi, good morning. So regarding the support for Pax Silica, I’m just curious: Will you prioritize financing projects by U.S. company locators, or are you open to supporting as well locators from other countries? And my second question is: Are there specific investment sectors that you discussed with Maharlika, the Philippines sovereign wealth fund? Thank you.

CHIEF POLICY OFFICER VIK: In terms of Maharlika, we talked about projects across all of our priority sectors, but with a strong focus on energy and energy generation and grid modernization.

In terms of Pax Silica, we’ll have more details to share in the future.

MODERATOR: All right, thanks. All right. Well, I think we’ll pause here then and I’ll turn it back to Chief Policy Office Vik. If you have any closing remarks, the floor is yours.

CHIEF POLICY OFFICER VIK: Just thank you so much for joining us, and we look forward to speaking with you all as our projects advance and we have more specifics to share. Thank you and I hope this is the first of many conversations.

MODERATOR: Thank you so much. Thank you to all the journalists joining us today. We’ll provide a transcript of the briefing as soon as it’s available. If you have any feedback or further questions, please feel free to contact us at AsiaPacMedia@state.gov. Thanks again, and we hope you can join us for another briefing soon. Take care.

# # #


United States-Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) Trilateral Foreign Minister’s Meeting
07/08/2026

United States-Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) Trilateral Foreign Minister’s Meeting
07/08/2026 10:38 AM EDT


Office of the Spokesperson


United States-Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) Trilateral Foreign Minister’s Meeting


Media Note


July 8, 2026



Secretary of State Marco Rubio met yesterday with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and ROK Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on the margins of the NATO Summit in Ankara to underscore that deeper trilateral cooperation tangibly benefits our shared economic well-being and advances safety, security, and prosperity in a free and open Indo-Pacific. The Secretary and his counterparts emphasized the importance of NATO’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific Partners, including on issues of mutual interest – accelerating defense spending and production, energy, combatting cyber and hybrid attacks, and sharing information on security developments and challenges in the broader Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions.

The Secretary and Foreign Ministers signed a trilateral memorandum of cooperation on civil nuclear energy in support of accelerating the deployment of small modular reactors in third partner countries, as well as diversification towards U.S. energy imports. They also underscored recent progress on trilateral cooperation in regional security and global engagement, economic security, and critical and emerging technologies. The Secretary and Foreign Ministers reiterated their opposition to economic coercion and the weaponization of supply chains for political ends. They reaffirmed their commitment to appropriately derisk and diversify critical supply chains. They committed to trilateral cooperation to preserve freedom of navigation. Lastly, they welcomed new areas of trilateral consultations including on international disaster relief.

Additionally, the Secretary and the Foreign Ministers reiterated their shared commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). They also committed to strengthen trilateral cooperation to deter the DPRK’s malicious cyber and information technology worker activities and reiterated their commitment to the immediate resolution of the issues of abductees, detainees, and unrepatriated prisoners of war as well as the issue of separated families.

The Secretary and the Foreign Ministers emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and expressed concern about increasingly frequent destabilizing actions around Taiwan. They also encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues and opposed any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo, particularly by force or coercion.

The Secretary and Foreign Ministers reaffirmed the commitments reflected in the U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral joint statement of September 22, 2025, and respective bilateral deliverables from the President’s March summit with Japanese Prime Minster Takaichi and from the November 13, 2025 Joint Fact Sheet with ROK President Lee. The Secretary and the Foreign Ministers committed to continuing trilateral meetings at all levels.





Secretary Rubio’s Call with Holy See Secretary of State Pietro Parolin
07/09/2026

Secretary Rubio’s Call with Holy See Secretary of State Pietro Parolin
07/09/2026 12:28 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson


Secretary Rubio’s Call with Holy See Secretary of State Pietro Parolin


Readout





July 9, 2026



The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tommy Pigott:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See. The two leaders discussed efforts to achieve a negotiated end to the Russia-Ukraine war.





Joint Statement on the Tenth Anniversary of the Philippines-China South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal Award
07/11/2026
Joint Statement on the Tenth Anniversary of the Philippines-China South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal Award
07/11/2026 07:02 PM EDT



Office of the Spokesperson


Joint Statement on the Tenth Anniversary of the Philippines-China South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal Award


Media Note





July 11, 2026

The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America, Australia, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, the Republic of the Philippines, Romania, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Philippines-China South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal Award.

Begin Text

We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific that is peaceful, stable, and rules-based, anchored in international law, and commemorate the 10th anniversary of the July 12, 2016, Arbitral Tribunal’s landmark and unanimous decision on the South China Sea constituted under Annex VII of UNCLOS.

We reaffirm that maritime disputes must be resolved peacefully and in accordance with UNCLOS. We reaffirm that the Award rendered ten years ago by the Arbitral Tribunal is a significant milestone and is final, legally binding, and definitive between China and the Philippines with respect to the maritime entitlements and claims addressed by the Arbitral Tribunal.

We reaffirm the Arbitral Tribunal’s decision that there is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, including those based on “historic rights”. We underscore the importance of upholding freedom of navigation and overflight, as well as other internationally lawful uses of the sea, as reflected in UNCLOS.

We reiterate our strong opposition to any destabilizing or unilateral actions including by force or coercion that threaten peace and stability in the region. We reaffirm our strong opposition to the use of coast guard, military, and maritime militia forces to harass, obstruct, or intimidate lawful operations by other States at sea or in the air, and in so doing endanger the safety of personnel and fishermen and seriously degrade regional peace and security. We urge the parties to abide by the 2016 Award and resolve disputes peacefully through dialogue and other lawful mechanisms in accordance with international law.

We remain steadfast in our support for a free and open Indo-Pacific and reiterate our commitment to promoting our shared vision with ASEAN of the South China Sea as a sea of peace, stability, cooperation, and prosperity driven by vibrant lawful commerce.

End Text





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