United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the administration of President Donald Trump hopes to ink trade deals with Colombia, Peru and Ecuador soon, as the country seeks greater ties with right-wing allies across Latin America. Rubio met with Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella during a visit to Barranquilla, Colombia, on Tuesday, part of a three-nation trip aimed at consolidating relations with allied governments and expanding US military involvement in the region. Before his departure to Colombia, Rubio explained that the US was seeking “good, solid” trade deals in the near future with all three countries.
The diplomatic tour comes as the Trump administration seeks to check China’s growing influence in Latin America. China, for example, inked a free-trade agreement with Peru in 2009 and has since become the South American country’s top trading partner, beating the US. The Trump administration has also pushed for greater control over the entire Western Hemisphere, as part of a policy platform informally called the “Donroe Doctrine”.
Security has been a centrepiece of that effort. Since taking office for a second term, Trump has authorised lethal military actions in Venezuela, the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which he touted as critical to combat drug trafficking. De la Espriella took office in August promising a return to a militarised approach towards crime and armed groups, in line with Trump’s priorities.
He has also pledged to pursue closer relations with the US, after clashes between Trump and former President Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first elected leftist leader. De la Espriella indicated he would seek US support for military operations, including through radar and drone technology. A political newcomer with no prior experience in elected office, de la Espriella has been part of a wave of right-wing victories across Latin America in recent years.
The Trump administration has buttressed the electoral campaigns of the region’s conservative candidates by pledging financial and political support. He has also invited them to join the “Shield of the Americas”, known as the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (ACCC), a regional security framework that emphasises US military involvement to combat drugs and crime. Leftist presidential candidate Ivan Cepeda, a Petro ally, slammed Rubio’s visit to Colombia as an “act of surrendering strategic aspects of our sovereignty”, pointing to Tuesday’s mineral and energy deals.
Cepeda also criticised de la Espriella’s decision to loosen gun restrictions on the same day, a position that echoes Trump administration policy. Colombia has asked the Trump administration to lower tariffs imposed on the country in July.
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