Fernando Cabrera Salazar
Fernando Cabrera Salazar (born 9 January 1968) is the current commander-in-chief of the Chilean Navy.
On 6 June 2025, President Gabriel Boric appointed Cabrera as the next Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Navy, succeeding Admiral Juan Andrés de la Maza. He formally assumed command and was promoted to admiral on 18 June 2025 at a ceremony held at the Arturo Prat Naval Academy in Valparaíso.
Early life and education
Cabrera was born in Talcahuano, Chile, on 9 January 1968. He attended schools in Concepción, Viña del Mar and Puerto Williams before entering the Arturo Prat Naval Academy. He graduated as a midshipman in December 1987 and completed a training cruise aboard the training ship Esmeralda the following year.
He qualified as a weapons engineer, specialising in artillery and missiles, and as a staff officer. Cabrera holds a master's degree in Naval and Maritime Sciences from the Chilean Naval War Academy and qualified as a military academy instructor in strategy. He also studied at the French War College, where he obtained qualifications in defence, command and strategy, and completed an operations officer course at the Surface Warfare Schools Command in Newport, Rhode Island, United States.
Naval career
Cabrera spent more than sixteen years serving aboard vessels of the Chilean Navy. His assignments included service aboard the training ship Esmeralda, the destroyer Ministro Zenteno, the frigates General Baquedano, Almirante Condell and Almirante Williams, and the missile boats Iquique and Angamos. He was a member of the first Chilean crew of Almirante Williams and underwent training with Flag Officer Sea Training in Plymouth, United Kingdom, in 2003.
His commands at sea included the service vessel Tegualda, the missile boat Teniente Orella and the frigate Almirante Riveros. His shore assignments included positions at the Naval Polytechnic Academy and the Navy's Weapons School, as well as service in the Fourth Naval Zone and Northern Missile Boat Command.
Cabrera also served abroad. He attended the French War College and later served as assistant naval attaché in France. In 2017, he was appointed defence attaché and head of the Chilean Naval Mission in London, while concurrently serving as defence and naval attaché to the Netherlands, Ireland and Sweden.
Cabrera was promoted to rear admiral on 1 January 2019. As a flag officer, he served as secretary-general of the Navy and director of Naval Intelligence. From 2021 to 2022, he was commander-in-chief of the First Naval Zone, based in Valparaíso. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he also served as head of National Defence for the Valparaíso Region.
In 2022, he became director-general of the Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine. He was promoted to vice admiral on 1 January 2023 and was subsequently appointed chief of the Navy General Staff in 2024.