Rubio ends South America tour in Peru, touting cooperation on narcoterrorism fight
LIMA, Peru (TNND) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Peru on Thursday as he wrapped up his South America tour promoting the Trump administration’s crackdown on narcoterrorism and immigration in the region.
Peru
Rubio met with newly elected Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori, where the pair discussed fighting drug trafficking to the U.S. and ending illegal migration.
Both President Donald Trump and Rubio have prioritized the Western Hemisphere when it comes to ending narcoterrorism, with military boat strikes against alleged traffickers in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. The U.S. also participates in a joint operation with Ecuador in its territorial waters.
Three times this week, the U.S. military stopped and took out vessels allegedly carrying narcotics.
On Thursday, Peru’s Fujimori announced that her country is joining the “Shield of the Americas,” a coalition of Latin American countries working to carry out joint military operations against the cartels.
Recently, Colombia also joined under its new president, Abelardo de la Espriella.
Fujimori said her country has already taken actions to fight crime, like declaring a 60-day state of emergency in Lima and the port of Callao, creating a committee to coordinate police and declaring a state of emergency in five prisons.
Before meeting with Rubio, Foreign Minister Carlos Espá said he hoped to discuss how to strengthen Peru’s bilateral relationship with the U.S., focusing on “security and defense and the fight against transnational organized crime, which is so damaging to our country.”
Rubio received Peru’s Order of the Sun from Espá on Thursday, in what he called a “fitting symbol of the strong ties between our two nations.”
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reports that Peru is one of the world’s leading producers of cocaine.
President Trump has said his interest in the Western Hemisphere focuses on drugs, migration and countering Chinese influence.
The Chinese Embassy in Peru this week said “the Western Hemisphere is nobody’s backyard,” in a statement. China said countries in South America have the “sovereign right to freely choose their partners.”
Ecuador
During his visit to Ecuador on Wednesday, Rubio said the administration is now focused on working with allied countries and aligning with their laws, but said the U.S. will “still blow up ships if need be.”
Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Roberto Kury called his country “a loyal ally, an active ally and a decisive ally to be able to build a safer hemisphere, free hemisphere and prosperous hemisphere.”
Rubio shared that he will ask Congress for $45 million to keep funding efforts to dismantle “terrorist groups.”
President Daniel Noboa presented Rubio with the National Order of Merit in the degree of the Grand Cross, Ecuador’s second-highest national honor, for his efforts on bilateral relations.
Colombia
In Colombia, Rubio offered praise and a commitment to supporting Colombia’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella.
Rubio met with Espriella and touted “enhanced and expanded cooperation” between the two countries. He said Colombia has not asked for U.S. forces to directly go after drug traffickers, but has requested other kinds of help with equipment, intelligence and training.
“The Colombians have never asked for American soldiers to come into Colombia and take on drug cartels,” Rubio added. “They’ve asked for our help and training.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.