Rubio arrives in Colombia to meet De la Espriella and revive bilateral ties

Marco Rubio arrived in Barranquilla on Tuesday for a meeting with Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella, opening a visit that Bogotá is presenting as the beginning of a renewed alliance with Washington.

Rubio landed at Ernesto Cortissoz Airport at 1:02 p.m. local time and received military honors. Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula and Colombia’s ambassador to Washington, María Consuelo Araújo, greeted him at the airport before he traveled to Barranquilla’s Paraíso Battalion.

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mutual respect, sovereignty and the defense

The meeting is expected to cover security, trade and regional cooperation. Counternarcotics efforts and bilateral commerce are among the central issues, alongside what Bula called the defense of shared values. It had not been confirmed whether Rubio and De la Espriella would speak to the media afterward.

The visit is the first by a senior official from Donald Trump’s administration since De la Espriella took office on Aug. 7. Bula described it as the start of a bilateral alliance based on “mutual respect, sovereignty and the defense” of national interests. He said the relationship should involve “two sovereign countries that always seek the benefit of their people.” Rubio is also scheduled to visit Ecuador and Peru during his Latin American tour.

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two sovereign countries that always seek the benefit of their people