South America30 July, 20263 min read
Peru’s Foreign Minister Carlos Espá Pledges Deeper Ties With the United States Under Keiko Fujimori
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Carlos Espá pledges deeper ties with the United States, calling Washington a strategic partner. Plans to restore diplomatic ties with Mexico and Colombia, and rebuild relations with Venezuela.
Fujimori’s Diplomatic Pivot
Peru’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Carlos Espá said on Friday that Peru will deepen relations with the United States, which he called a “strategic partner,” as President Keiko Fujimori’s incoming conservative cabinet begins setting foreign policy priorities.
Espá said he expects Washington to review President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs and that Peru will work to restore diplomatic ties with Mexico and Colombia while taking initial steps to rebuild relations with Venezuela.
He also said Peru is moving forward with plans to join the Shield of the Americas, a U.S.-backed initiative to combat transnational crime, and he tied the effort to a broader push for cooperation with the Trump administration.
The announcements came as Fujimori was sworn in on Tuesday after winning June’s presidential runoff, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau attended Fujimori’s inauguration in Lima this week.
Espá added that a bill to address forced labor has been submitted to the Peruvian Congress following Washington’s decision to impose tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on products from 60 trading partners, including Peru, over alleged lax enforcement of forced labor prohibitions.
Shield of the Americas
At an event in Lima, Espá said the new government would advance Peru’s formal entry into the coalition, and he framed the shift as deepening “excellent relations with the United States, a strategic partner, ally and friend.”
The Türkiye Today report said the Shield of the Americas was launched in early March at Trump’s Doral resort in Florida and brings together governments across the Western Hemisphere to coordinate intelligence sharing, judicial cooperation, and security operations against drug cartels and migrant smuggling networks.
It also said at least 17 nations have signed on to the coalition’s founding declaration, with member states including Argentina, Ecuador and El Salvador.
The same report described Peru’s move as coming days after Fujimori took office on July 28, when she was sworn in as Peru’s ninth president in a decade after narrowly defeating Roberto Sanchez by fewer than 50,000 votes in June’s runoff.
In parallel, the U.S. Embassy in Peru fact sheet said the presidential delegation that attended Fujimori’s inauguration on July 28 was led by Under Secretary of State Christopher Landau, underscoring the alliance and linking it to security and prosperity goals for the United States, Peru, and the hemisphere.
Tariffs, Forced Labor, and Trade
Espá said Peru expects Washington to review Trump’s latest tariffs, and he connected that expectation to a bill to address forced labor that he said has been submitted to the Peruvian Congress.
“To advance collaboration in emerging technologies, the United States will host an Artificial Intelligence Summit on September 8 in Lima.”
The SRN News report said nearly half of the Peruvian products exported to the U.S., totaling $10.15 billion last year, would be affected by the new tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on products from 60 trading partners.
In a separate account, Infobae quoted Espá saying, “We are confident that once that law is passed, we will be in a better position to talk with the United States and see the possibility of a revision of that tariff,” as he discussed the tariff increase from 10% to 12.5% for about half of the country’s exports.
The U.S. Embassy in Peru fact sheet said the United States will host an Artificial Intelligence Summit on September 8 in Lima and will assign a cybersecurity advisor to work with the Fujimori government on cybersecurity matters.
It also said the United States will send a business development mission to Peru this year and that a DFC investment of up to $5 million in the Peruvian mining sector would support the establishment of a reprocessing plant, reinforcing the critical minerals supply chain.