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

The US secretary of state visits Colombia, Ecuador and Peru in a bid to enhance cooperation with right-wing allies.

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio embrace during a signing ceremony in Barranquilla, Colombia, on September 8 [Fernando Vergara/ AFP]

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says President Donald Trump’s administration hopes to ink trade deals with Colombia, Peru and Ecuador soon, as Washington seeks greater ties with right-wing allies across Latin America.

Rubio met with Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella during a visit to Barranquilla on Tuesday, part of a three-nation trip aimed at consolidating relationships with allied governments and expanding US military involvement in the region.

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“We have a lot of common interest with them, both taking on regional transnational criminal terrorism and also economic engagements,” Rubio said 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.”

In addition to Colombia, the US secretary of state is set to travel later 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 Washington was seeking “good, solid” trade deals in the near future with all three countries.

The diplomatic tour also comes as the Trump administration seeks to check China’s growing influence in Latin America.

China, for example, signed 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 the 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.

“Colombia wants to re-establish itself as the United States’ primary partner in hemispheric security,” De la Espriella said after his meeting with Rubio, which included the signing of agreements on critical minerals and civil nuclear cooperation.

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 Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (ACCC), or the “Shield of the Americas”, 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.

“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 authorisation to carry weapons — is being announced at the same time,” Cepeda wrote on social media.

De la Espriella has defended his decision, however, citing Colombia’s struggles with crime and its six-decade-long internal conflict.

“For years, law-abiding citizens faced restrictions while criminals continued to arm themselves illegally to the teeth. That has to change,” he said in a social media post.

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

美国国务卿访问哥伦比亚、厄瓜多尔和秘鲁，旨在加强与右翼盟友的合作。

哥伦比亚总统阿韦拉多·德拉埃斯普里埃拉和美国国务卿马可·卢比奥于 9 月 8 日在哥伦比亚巴兰基亚举行的签字仪式上拥抱 [Fernando Vergara/法新社]

美国国务卿马可·卢比奥表示，唐纳德·特朗普总统的政府希望尽快与哥伦比亚、秘鲁和厄瓜多尔签署贸易协议，因为华盛顿正在寻求与拉丁美洲的右翼盟友建立更紧密的联系。

周二，鲁比奥在访问巴兰基亚期间会见了哥伦比亚总统阿韦拉多·德拉埃斯普里利亚。此次访问是为期三天的三国之行的一部分，旨在巩固与盟国政府的关系，并扩大美国在该地区的军事参与。

列表 1/3：鲁比奥在右翼势力在该地区取得胜利后前往厄瓜多尔、哥伦比亚和秘鲁。

列表 2/3：哥伦比亚请求特朗普暂停关税，该国正遭受地震重创

列表 3/3：哥伦比亚极右翼政府承认以色列对戈兰高地的主权声索

鲁比奥在离开前谈到这三个国家时说：“我们与他们有很多共同利益，包括打击区域性跨国恐怖主义犯罪以及经济合作。这反映了西半球与美国及其利益结盟的趋势。”

除了哥伦比亚，美国国务卿还将于本周晚些时候前往厄瓜多尔和秘鲁，分别会见两国总统丹尼尔·诺博亚和藤森庆子。

在前往哥伦比亚之前，鲁比奥解释说，华盛顿正在寻求在不久的将来与这三个国家达成“良好、稳固”的贸易协议。

此次外交访问正值特朗普政府寻求遏制中国在拉丁美洲日益增长的影响力之际。

例如，中国于 2009 年与秘鲁签署了自由贸易协定，此后成为这个南美国家最大的贸易伙伴，超过了美国。

特朗普政府还推动加强对整个西半球的控制，这是其非正式地称为“唐罗主义”的政策纲领的一部分。

安全一直是这项工作的核心。自连任以来，特朗普授权在委内瑞拉、东太平洋和加勒比海采取致命的军事行动，他声称这些行动对于打击毒品走私至关重要。

德拉埃斯普里利亚于 8 月上任，承诺恢复对犯罪和武装团体的军事化应对措施，这与特朗普的优先事项相符。

在特朗普与哥伦比亚首位民选左翼领导人、前总统古斯塔沃·佩特罗发生冲突后，他也承诺寻求与美国建立更紧密的关系。

德拉埃斯普里耶拉在与卢比奥会晤后表示：“哥伦比亚希望重新确立自己作为美国在西半球安全领域的主要伙伴的地位。”此次会晤包括签署有关关键矿产和民用核能合作的协议。

德拉埃斯普里利亚表示，他将寻求美国对军事行动的支持，包括通过雷达和无人机技术。

德拉埃斯普里利亚是一位政治新人，此前没有任何担任公职的经验，近年来，他参与了席卷拉丁美洲的右翼浪潮。

特朗普政府通过承诺提供财政和政治支持，巩固了该地区保守派候选人的竞选活动。

他还邀请他们加入美洲反卡特尔联盟（ACCC），又称“美洲之盾”，这是一个强调美国军事介入打击毒品和犯罪的区域安全框架。

左翼总统候选人伊万·塞佩达是佩特罗的盟友，他抨击卢比奥访问哥伦比亚是“放弃我们主权战略方面的行为”，并指出周二达成的矿产和能源协议。

塞佩达还批评了德拉埃斯普里利亚当天放松枪支管制的决定，这一立场与特朗普政府的政策相呼应。

塞佩达在社交媒体上写道：“考虑到与此同时还宣布了一项同样灾难性的决定——授权携带武器——鲁比奥和德拉埃斯普里利亚即将签署的‘谅解备忘录’究竟有多么灾难性。”

德拉埃斯普里利亚为自己的决定辩护，称哥伦比亚面临着严重的犯罪问题和长达六十年的内部冲突。

“多年来，守法公民面临诸多限制，而犯罪分子却能继续非法武装到牙齿。这种情况必须改变，”他在社交媒体上发帖说道。

哥伦比亚已请求特朗普政府降低7月份对该国征收的关税。