Marco Rubio says US seeks more economic and security ties in Latin America

According to United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has, the administration of President Donald Trump hopes to ink trade deals with Colombia, Peru and Ecuador shortly, as the country seeks greater ties with right-wing allies throughout Latin America.

Key points

• 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.
• Since taking office for a second term, Trump has authorised lethal military actions in Venezuela, the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
• After clashes between Trump and former President Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first elected leftist leader, he has additionally pledged to pursue closer relations with the US.
• The diplomatic tour comes as the Trump administration seeks to check China's growing influence in Latin America.
• As part of a policy platform informally called the "Donroe Doctrine", the Trump administration has additionally pushed for greater control over the entire Western Hemisphere.

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.

"We have a lot of common interest with them, both taking on regional transnational criminal terrorism and also economic engagements, " Rubio remarked of the three countries before departing. "It's part of a trend that you're seeing in the Western Hemisphere of alignment with US and US interests."

Along with Colombia, the US secretary of state is due to travel afterwards this week to Ecuador and Peru to meet with their respective presidents, Daniel Noboa and Keiko Fujimori.

Before his departure to Colombia, Rubio explained that the US was seeking "good, solid" trade deals in the near future with all three countries.

Notably, the diplomatic tour comes as the Trump administration seeks to check China's growing influence in Latin America.

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. It 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.

"Colombia wants to re-establish itself as the United States' primary partner in hemispheric security, " De la Espriella remarked after his gathering with Rubio. It included the signing of agreements on critical minerals and civil nuclear cooperation.

De la Espriella indicated he would seek US backing for military operations, including through radar and drone technology.

Notably, a political newcomer with no prior experience in elected office, de la Espriella has been part of a wave of right-wing victories throughout Latin America over recent years.

Notably, the Trump administration has buttressed the electoral campaigns of the region's conservative candidates by pledging financial and political backing.

He has additionally 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 additionally criticised de la Espriella's decision to loosen gun restrictions on the same day, a position that echoes Trump administration policy.

"Just how disastrous the 'memoranda of understanding' that Rubio and De la Espriella are set to sign must be, given that an equally disastrous decision – the authorization to carry weapons – is being announced at the same time, " Cepeda wrote on social media.

Colombia has asked the Trump administration to lower tariffs imposed on the country in July.

For now, marco Rubio says US seeks more economic and security ties in Latin remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.