US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Colombia on Tuesday, the first stop on a Latin American tour designed to bolster pro-US leaders and cement influence over the region.<\/p>\n
The recent election of Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella, a hard-right lawyer, has been a game-changer for Washington, which had combative relations with left-wing former president Gustavo Petro.\u00a0<\/p>\n
De la Espriella, a flamboyant 48-year-old millionaire, was elected in June on an anti-establishment and pro-Trump platform.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rubio is to meet the new Colombian president in his stronghold of Barranquilla, a Caribbean port city more famous for being pop star Shakira’s hometown than as a venue for geopolitics.<\/p>\n
The Colombian president defeated a left-wing candidate in June’s runoff election on the promise of ending peace talks with drug-running armed groups and tackling crime.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since then, Colombia has stepped up air assaults on these groups and authorized joint military operations with the United States.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Colombia has also joined the “Shield of the Americas,” a coalition of countries led by Trump to combat drug trafficking in the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The stated objective of this trip is “enhanced cooperation in the shared fight against narcoterrorism,” according to the State Department.<\/p>\n
Colombia’s Foreign Minister Omar Bula said the trip would start “rebuilding a strategic alliance with the United States.”<\/p>\n
He said it would focus on security, trade and “a commitment to Western values.”<\/p>\n
In Barranquilla, Rubio will also discuss reconstruction after an August 10 earthquake that struck the country’s coffee-growing region, killing more than 330 people, according to State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott.<\/p>\n
The quake destroyed schools, hospitals and scores of residential buildings across several towns and cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The new president has requested US assistance and, in particular, a suspension of customs duties to support reconstruction.<\/p>\n
– Hegemonic ambitions –<\/p>\n
The tour by America’s top diplomat in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru from Tuesday to Thursday comes after a string of right-wing electoral victories across Latin America.<\/p>\n
Since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025, several Latin American countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Honduras, have initiated or confirmed a conservative turn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Washington is openly asserting its desire for hegemony over the South American continent in the name of what it calls the “Donroe Doctrine”.<\/p>\n
That is a blend of Trump’s first name with that of James Monroe, the fifth US president, who more than two centuries ago declared Latin America the United States’ exclusive sphere of influence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This ambition is spelled out in the new US National Security Strategy, and Rubio, himself of Cuban heritage, is its chief architect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After Colombia, the US Secretary of State will travel to Ecuador, where he will meet President Daniel Noboa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Washington and Quito are carrying out operations against boats they say are linked to the criminal group Los Choneros, which is involved in drug trafficking in Ecuador.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A year ago, the US government launched a campaign of air strikes against vessels suspected of being used for drug trafficking in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. The attacks have left more than 200 people dead.<\/p>\n
The administration has failed to provide evidence against these vessels, drawing accusations that the attacks amount to extrajudicial killings.<\/p>\n
The final stop is Peru, which has been led since late July by right-wing President Keiko Fujimori, who is also aligned with the US president’s policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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