Colombia’s Restrepo Meets with Secretary Rubio in Washington

The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, met on Wednesday in Washington with a delegation from Colombia’s incoming government led by Vice President-elect Jose Manuel Restrepo, in a meeting aimed at preparing the bilateral agenda of the administration that will take office on August 7.

The meeting focused on strengthening cooperation between the two countries, expanding trade, promoting new investment, and addressing regional issues of mutual interest.

The meeting marked the first official high-level contact between Abelardo de la Espriella’s future government and President Donald Trump’s administration, at a time when Bogota is seeking to consolidate its relationship with its main political and economic partner.

Foreign Minister-designate Omar Bula — who is part of the Colombian delegation — described the 45-minute meeting as “very productive.”

Colombia’s Restrepo meets with secretary Rubio in Washington

The meeting took place at the State Department headquarters and was part of the tour that Restrepo and several members of the incoming cabinet have been conducting in Washington since the beginning of the week.

During those days, they also held meetings with representatives of the World Bank, multilateral organizations, think tanks, and members of the U.S. Congress, with the aim of presenting the priorities of the government that will take office in August.

According to information released after the meeting, Rubio and the Colombian delegation agreed on the importance of consolidating a strategic relationship based on mutual trust and strengthened cooperation between the two countries. The conversation included issues related to economic growth, regional stability, and diplomatic coordination on matters of common interest.

One of the main focuses of the meeting was the need to expand trade and investment flows between Colombia and the United States. The delegation from the incoming government outlined its intention to promote a more favorable environment for private investment, encourage the arrival of new U.S. companies, and strengthen economic cooperation in strategic sectors.

Restrepo explained that the future government will seek to create conditions of greater legal certainty to attract foreign capital, stimulate business growth, and consolidate Colombia as one of the United States’ leading trading partners in Latin America. He also raised the importance of expanding cooperation in innovation, infrastructure, and productive development.

The dialogue also addressed mechanisms to strengthen supply chains, facilitate trade, and take advantage of opportunities arising from the Free Trade Agreement currently in force between the two countries, which is considered one of the pillars of the bilateral relationship.

Colombia wants to join the Shield of the Americas

Another point highlighted by Restrepo was the incoming government’s interest in having Colombia join the Shield of the Americas initiative promoted by the Trump administration.

With this approach, this international security and defense alliance has as its founding objective the coordination of countries across the hemisphere to combat transnational organized crime, drug trafficking, terrorism, and irregular migration.

“We reiterated Colombia’s interest in becoming part of the Shield of the Americas and strengthening cooperation on security, the eradication of illicit crops, the restoration of order, and the strengthening of our Armed Forces, always with absolute respect for national sovereignty,” he said at the conclusion of the meeting on his X social media account.

In this way, Restrepo once again places Colombia within the traditional sphere of cooperation with the United States in the fight against drug trafficking, an area that experienced significant disagreements during the Petro administration, precisely because of differences over the approach to that fight.

It is worth noting that Colombia’s outgoing government has prioritized voluntary eradication and crop substitution over the forced eradication of illicit crops, a policy that even brought it into conflict with the Biden administration.

In addition, Vice President-elect Restrepo said that strengthening the relationship between the two countries is intended to translate into tangible benefits for Colombians, especially the most vulnerable sectors of society.

“All of this work responds to a commitment to Colombian families, especially the most vulnerable. Strengthening the alliance with the United States means creating more jobs, increasing household incomes, and accelerating the social transformation that Colombia needs,” he added.

Por instrucción del presidente electo @ABDELAESPRIELLA, uno de los encuentros más importantes de La Patria Milagro en Washington fue la reunión con el secretario de Estado de Estados Unidos, Marco Rubio.

Junto a los ministros de Defensa, Relaciones Exteriores y Comercio,… pic.twitter.com/LmZbaIscyr

— José Manuel Restrepo Abondano (@jrestrp) July 15, 2026