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Secretary of State Marco Rubio begins a three-day diplomatic tour of Latin America Tuesday with an official visit to Colombia. Rubio will meet with Colombian newly inaugurated right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella in Barranquilla. This will be the first high-level encounter between the US Trump administration and newly inaugurated De la Espriella administration, which took office in August. Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula described Rubio’s arrival in the country as a “symbol” of “reconstruction” of the “best” U.S.-Colombia alliance, and the first step by the administration to re-orient hemispheric policy.
Rubio will travel to Ecuador to meet with President of Ecuador Daniel Noboa and Peru to meet with Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori. Rubio’s focus on relationships with conservative-led governments in South America is a priority for the State Department and a focus for the Trump Administration in the Western Hemisphere.
The Secretary will use his visit to explore ways to increase trade between the U.S. and these three nations of Latin America, as well as discuss ways to increase cooperation on the issue of combating narco-terrorism and transnational organized crime. Secretary Rubio’s trip will also underscore the Trump Administration’s commitment to increase assistance to help other countries around the world facing natural disasters, such as the recent earthquake in Colombia. All of this will reaffirm the Trump Administration’s commitment to a secure, prosperous, and democratic Western Hemisphere, as stated by State Department Spokesperson Thomas Pigott, wrote Breitbrart.
According to the Colombian Foreign Minister, the shared Western values of security and trade will be key during Rubio’s visit to the country. This first high-level diplomatic visit by the administration to a conservative government in Latin America demonstrates that Trump’s preference for ideology will prevail in the new administration’s foreign policy and the relationships with the countries in the Hemisphere.
Rubio and the Colombian president will sign civil nuclear energy development and critical mineral extraction agreements after their formal meeting, Colombian magazine Semana reported. The agreements, which would secure strategic resources for the United States while solidifying the partnership with the Latin American country to develop alternative energy, have enormous geopolitical implications. The United States is currently engaged in a competition with China to secure access to the rare earth elements as well as energy diversification in the Western Hemisphere.
Rubio will also hold meetings with the U.S. Embassy staff in Bogota. Diplomatic visits by high-ranking officials typically include meetings with Embassy staff to go over their priorities, discuss security matters and review the progress of implementation of a number of the Secretary of State’s key policy initiatives within the department. For Rubio, meetings with Embassy staff will underscore his focus on building the institutional capacity to carry out the administration’s Latin American policy.
