South America · 09 September, 2026 · 3 min read
Marco Rubio Launches Latin America Tour, Seeking Trade Deals and Security Cooperation With Colombia, Peru, Ecuador
Rubio aims to ink trade deals with Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador during the tour. He pledges expanded security cooperation to combat drugs and regional instability.
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Rubio’s Latin America push
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a three-nation tour of Latin America by meeting Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella in Barranquilla on Tuesday, saying Washington hopes to ink trade deals with Colombia, Peru and Ecuador soon.
“Rubio met with Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella during a visit to Barranquilla on Tuesday”
Rubio framed the trip as both economic and security engagement, telling reporters, "We have a lot of common interest with them, both taking on regional transnational criminal terrorism and also economic engagements," and describing it as alignment with U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere.
The tour is set to include meetings with Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa and Peru’s Keiko Fujimori, with Rubio saying before departing that Washington was seeking "good, solid" trade deals in the near future with all three countries.
In Colombia, Rubio said the agenda would include targeting drug-trafficking "terrorists" and trade deals, and the State Department announced agreements with Colombia to deepen cooperation on nuclear energy and critical minerals by accelerating projects through public and private financing.
The Associated Press reported Rubio told reporters that Colombian leaders had not asked for U.S. forces to directly confront drug traffickers but wanted help with equipment, intelligence, and specialized training.
Security framework and sanctions
Rubio’s diplomacy ties directly to a security framework, with the AP reporting that Colombia brought the country into the Americas Counter Cartels Coalition and that Rubio said the Colombians wanted help with equipment, intelligence, and specialized training rather than American soldiers.
In Ecuador, La Presse reported Rubio announced that the Ecuadorian gang Los Tiguerones would now be designated as a 'terrorist organization,' barring them from access to the U.S. financial system and any transactions in their favor.
At a press conference in Ecuador, Rubio said, "We are not talking about an ordinary mafia, we are not talking about criminals, we are talking about terrorists," and La Presse said the Ecuadorian Observatory of Organized Crime linked the group to drug and arms trafficking, illegal mining, money laundering, extortion, and assassinations.
La Presse also said Rubio pledged the deployment of a Coast Guard cutter and five new intercept ships and announced that seven former Ecuadorian officials would be sanctioned for taking bribes and barred from entering the United States.
Separately, Zonebourse Suisse reported Rubio said Washington would ask Congress for $45 million to fund new engagements in support of Ecuador and a $10 million initiative targeting illegal gold mining, gang recruitment, and illicit finance, while also indicating delivery of a 110-foot Coast Guard cutter and five interceptors to Ecuador’s navy.
Trade, digital growth, and stakes
Beyond security, the Latin America tour is occurring alongside a broader push for economic engagement, with the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Trade Organization, and the World Bank Group reporting that international trade ordered or delivered online has quintupled in two decades in Latin America and the Caribbean to nearly US$90 billion.
“international trade that is ordered or delivered online has quintupled in two decades in Latin America and the Caribbean to nearly US$90 billion”
The same report said the region’s exports of digitally delivered services nearly quintupled from US$18.5 billion in 2005 to US$87.7 billion in 2024, and it quoted Fabrizio Opertti of the IDB saying, "To realise this untapped potential and boost productivity, countries across the region need to improve connectivity".
In Colombia, Rubio’s trip also included agreements covering civilian nuclear power cooperation and the protection of the supply of critical minerals used in technology, and the AP reported De la Espriella promised to resume fumigating coca crops, targeting drug labs, and apprehending drug kingpins.
The stakes for the region’s security posture are also tied to how the U.S. campaign operates at sea, with Zonebourse Suisse reporting Rubio said, "Our objective is not to go after fishermen. Our objective is to go after drug traffickers," when addressing criticism of strikes against vessels.
Meanwhile, Air Cargo Week described Latin America’s air cargo market as a comparatively favourable pocket of stability because principal international corridors are largely removed from airspace and hub disruptions affecting major Eurasian networks, and it cited Boeing estimates that perishables represent around 80 percent of tonnage moving from Latin America to Europe and approximately 72 percent of flows from Latin America to North America.