US Secretary of State in South America: Rubio visits Colombia

Hugs and lots of smiles: Colombia's new President Abelardo de la Espriella is doing everything he can to improve relations with the USA during the visit of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The declared goal: make Colombia the main ally of the USA in South America – with a “Patriotic Plan for the 21st Century”.

To this end, Colombia wants to invest in more modern aircraft, drones, helicopters, radar systems as well as air and cyber defense, de la Espriella announced on Tuesday. The USA should support this with, among other things, equipment, training, intelligence information and financial aid.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived with his wife in the Colombian Caribbean city of Barranquilla on Tuesday as the first stop on his South American trip. Rubio spoke there of a new phase of cooperation that was “even stronger” than before. This would restore “natural relations” between the two countries. Colombia has been the US's most important ally in South America for decades. The USA pumped billions into the country for the so-called War on Drugs - without being able to stop the drug trafficking and murder.

Relations cooled during the term of left-wing President Gustavo Petro. Petro took on US President Donald Trump and engaged in power struggles and verbal battles on social media. Trump called Petro a “drug lord” without evidence and had him added to the sanctions list. The ex-president still stands by this today, even though he actually repaired relations towards the end of his term in office.

The new government has “inherited a series of disasters” and is confronted with “the mistakes of the past four years,” Rubio summarized in Barranquilla. The press was not allowed to ask any questions at the appearance.

Rubio's visit is dominated by Trump's national security strategy. Accordingly, Latin America is considered a strategic location for US security and raw material procurement. The foreign ministers of the two countries signed agreements on supply chains for critical minerals and civil nuclear cooperation. A few days ago, the discovery of the expensive defense metal tungsten in the Caldas department by the company Collective Mining made headlines.

Shortly before his arrival, Colombian media published a letter from Rubio in which he was more specific: He sees Colombia, Ecuador and Peru as allies in the fight against drug trafficking, for migration control and against the increasing influence of China. Colombia occupies a central place in the US national drug control strategy for 2026. After the devastating earthquake in August, the USA sent $27 million in aid. De la Espriella's request to lift the punitive tariffs of 12.5 percent has not yet been heard.

The ultra-right de la Espriella was Trump's declared preferred winner in the presidential elections in May and June, has US citizenship and lived in Miami for a long time. As a lawyer, he used to make money defending Colombian narcos and paramilitaries, among other things. This flexibility doesn't seem to bother Trump.

In his first month in office, de la Espriella copied Trump: He ordered the deportation of “illegal” migrants, which in fact mainly affects Venezuelans. Colombia will work together with the USA on regional stability and deepen cooperation in the areas of border protection, migration and security, he announced in Barranquilla. Rubio spoke of possible joint operations on the Colombia-Venezuelan border. This is controlled by FARC and ELN guerrillas.

US “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth announced in August that the Colombian government had permitted joint military operations with the USA in Colombia. On Tuesday it became known that the responsible court (Consejo de Estado) was unconstitutionally not consulted in advance.

When it comes to armed groups, de la Espriella, like Trump, speaks of “narcoterrorism.” Since de la Espriella, Colombia has been part of Trump’s “Shield of the Americas.” In his first month in office he carried out several bombings. Leaders of armed groups were killed, as were civilians, including children. De la Esperiella has also announced that he will extradite FARC leaders to the United States.

The next step should be a meeting between Trump and de la Espriella - for which the US President would have to travel to Colombia. De la Espriella has announced that he will not leave Colombia during his term in office. Rubio is traveling in South America until Thursday. After Colombia, Ecuador and Peru are on the travel plan - all countries that are considered allies of the USA.