Starting in June, "Wichita" and conducted a goodwill cruise to South America; "Wichita" carried Rear Admiral Andrew C. Pickens, the commander of Cruiser Division 7. Included in the ports of call were Rio de Janeiro and Santos in Brazil, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Montevideo, Uruguay. The cruise ended in late September; the two cruisers arrived in Norfolk on the 24th. Over the next three months, "Wichita" served as a training ship for Naval Reserve midshipmen and conducted gunnery practices off the Virginia capes. On 7 January 1941, "Wichita" departed Hampton Roads for Guantanamo, arriving four days later. She participated in fleet maneuvers in the Caribbean through March and took part in practice amphibious landings at Puerto Rico. She returned to the United States, docking at the New York Navy Yard, on 23 March. "Wichita" went to sea again on 6 April, bound for Bermuda; she reached her destination two days later. She then joined the aircraft carrier and the heavy cruiser for a patrol in the North Atlantic, during which the ships sailed to within of Ireland.