Maj. Gen. William L. Thigpen (center), U.S. Army South commanding general, presents remarks during the second multilateral Border Security Conference in Manaus, Brazil, Sept. 28, to improve border security cooperation between Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and the U.S.A. U.S. Army South co-hosted the Border Security Conference with the Brazilian Army to allow the sharing of good practices and lessons learned in dealing with issues related to border protection, observing the individualities of each country's defense policies and identifying opportunities for exchanges that improve understanding of challenges, opportunities and threats of the border region.