America's Top Diplomat Visits Latin America: What's at Stake
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Colombia's president, Abelardo de la Espriella, in the city of Barranquilla on September 8, 2026. It was part of a three-country trip through Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru. The goal: strengthen ties with friendly governments and increase US military involvement in the region. Rubio said the Trump administration wants to sign "good, solid" trade deals soon with all three countries, part of a wider effort to build closer economic and security relationships with conservative allies across Latin America Al Jazeera.
The meeting produced real results. De la Espriella and Rubio signed agreements on critical minerals (materials like lithium that are essential for modern technology and defense) and on civil nuclear cooperation. De la Espriella took office in August 2026 promising a tough, military-backed approach to crime and armed groups. He said Colombia wants to be the United States' main security partner in the region and would seek US help with military operations, including radar and drone technology. Rubio said both countries share interests in fighting organized crime and expanding trade Al Jazeera.
The trip fits into a bigger Trump administration plan for the Western Hemisphere, informally called the "Donroe Doctrine," which pushes for more US control over the region. Since starting his second term, Trump has authorized military action in Venezuela, the eastern Pacific Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea, which the administration says is needed to fight drug trafficking. The administration has also invited conservative leaders in the region to join the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition (ACCC), or "Shield of the Americas," a security partnership that relies on US military power to fight drugs and crime Al Jazeera.
Rubio was scheduled to visit Ecuador and Peru later in the week to meet with Presidents Daniel Noboa and Keiko Fujimori. A State Department summary from September 8 said Rubio considers Ecuador one of the closest US security partners in the region State Department. NPR reported on September 7 that Rubio has been prioritizing Latin America even while other foreign policy issues compete for his attention NPR. Reuters had previewed the trip on September 4, saying talks would focus on fighting drug trafficking, expanding trade, and deepening cooperation Reuters.
The tour is also about pushing back against China's growing influence in Latin America. China signed a free-trade agreement with Peru in 2009 and has since become Peru's biggest trading partner, overtaking the United States. The Trump administration's trade push with all three countries looks like a direct response to that, especially in Peru, where Chinese business ties are now deeply rooted Al Jazeera.
The Colombia visit faced strong criticism at home. Ivan Cepeda, a leftist presidential candidate, called Rubio's visit "an act of surrendering strategic aspects of our sovereignty," pointing to the mineral and energy agreements. Cepeda also criticized de la Espriella for loosening gun restrictions on the same day as the deals, a move that mirrors Trump administration policy Al Jazeera.
Rubio has been active in the region beyond this trip. In September 2025, he held a press event with Mexican Foreign Secretary Juan Ramon de la Fuente, where both countries reaffirmed cooperation on security based on mutual benefit State Department. In August 2025, Rubio signed an agreement with Paraguay's Foreign Minister Ruben Ramirez Lezcano and the US Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security focused on "safe third country" deals, which send asylum seekers to a third country for processing State Department. In February 2025, Rubio met with Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves Robles to discuss cybersecurity, calling Costa Rica one of the most prosperous countries in Latin America State Department.
The bigger picture here is that the administration is pursuing several goals at once: trade deals, access to critical minerals, military technology transfers, nuclear cooperation, and anti-cartel partnerships. Think of it as building a single interconnected system where economic deals and security commitments reinforce each other. The ACCC framework, paired with agreements on radar and drone technology, could embed US military involvement in partner countries more deeply than anything seen in recent years. De la Espriella's push to make Colombia Washington's "primary partner" in regional security suggests some governments are willing to compete for that role rather than try to balance between the US and China.
Cepeda's counterargument is that the mineral and nuclear agreements are really strategic concessions packaged with domestic policy changes that follow US preferences. The fact that gun restrictions were loosened on the same day the energy deals were signed supports the criticism that these were coordinated bundles, not separate decisions. How Noboa and Fujimori respond to similar proposals in the coming days will show whether this model can work beyond Colombia or whether different political environments create obstacles.
