US Secretary of State Marco Rubio Tours South America Following Regional Right-Wing Victories

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is embarking on a diplomatic tour to three South American nations whose newly elected leaders have closely aligned with President Donald Trump’s administration. Rubio's itinerary begins in Colombia on Tuesday to meet with newly elected President Abelardo de la Espriella. He will subsequently travel to Ecuador to confer with President Daniel Noboa, concluding his trip in Peru to meet with another newly elected leader, Keiko Fujimori.

While the State Department has not yet disclosed a comprehensive agenda, officials stated that Rubio will address “US support for Colombia’s earthquake response; enhanced cooperation in the shared fight against narcoterrorism, which threatens our hemisphere; and the benefits of deeper commercial relationships between our countries”. This diplomatic mission coincides with a broader rightward shift in Latin America, highlighted by the rise of several Trump-aligned leaders. Beyond these three countries, President Donald Trump has also extended backing to Honduran President Nasry Asfura, who secured the presidency in November, and Bolivia’s Rodrigo Paz, who won in October. These alliances build upon existing relationships with Argentina’s Javier Milei, who took office in 2023, and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, who assumed office in 2019.

Rubio’s visit underscores the Trump administration's pledge to assert increased influence over the Western Hemisphere, a strategy President Donald Trump has termed the “Donroe Doctrine”—a modern nod to the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine aimed at opposing external interference in the Americas. This shift encompasses a more militaristic approach to regional security and recasts anti-drug trafficking efforts as a war against “narco-terrorists”. In August, Colombia’s Abelardo de la Espriella deepened bilateral security cooperation by integrating the nation into the Trump administration's “Shield of the Americas” initiative. The coalition's 19 member states have committed to deploying lethal military force to dismantle regional cartels and terrorist networks. In a departure from his predecessor Gustavo Petro, Abelardo de la Espriella has openly praised US military strikes targeting alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. These operations have resulted in at least 227 fatalities, drawing condemnation from rights groups who classify the actions as extrajudicial killings, while families of the deceased maintain the victims were local fishermen rather than traffickers.

The US has emerged as a crucial partner for Colombia following a catastrophic earthquake last month that claimed at least 330 lives and displaced thousands. Similarly, in March, the US military announced a joint security initiative with Ecuador under President Daniel Noboa to combat domestic drug trafficking organizations. Defending these tactics, Ecuador’s Interior Minister John Reimberg voiced support for US vessel strikes in an interview with Teleamazonas. In Peru, Keiko Fujimori—daughter of former leader Alberto Fujimori, whose administration dissolved Congress and the Supreme Court between 1990 and 2000—has likewise committed to fostering closer ties with Washington and pursuing a stringent military crackdown on criminal networks.

The conservative realignment in the region follows a controversial agreement between the US and Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez. That accord, secured in the wake of the January 3 US abduction of Venezuela’s ex-President Nicolas Maduro, grants American corporations access to 65 billion barrels of crude oil reserves over the next century. Simultaneously, Washington has escalated pressure on Cuba, whose Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez rebuffed potential negotiations despite an ongoing US fuel blockade. With Brazil and Mexico remaining the sole regional powers led by leftists, Marco Rubio has characterized the conservative resurgence as an “extraordinary achievement,” which has also coincided with strengthened diplomatic and security ties between Israel and several Latin American nations. Electoral battles loom large, as Brazilian voters prepare for an October presidential contest where Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former right-wing leader Jair Bolsonaro, seeks to unseat Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. President Donald Trump has remained a steadfast supporter of the elder Bolsonaro—currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for conspiracy—and has extended warm diplomatic invitations to Flavio Bolsonaro at the White House.