Rubio to meet Colombia’s De la Espriella to seal bilateral rapprochement

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella in Barranquilla on Tuesday, in what Colombia and the United States are presenting as a step toward closer bilateral ties.

The meeting is scheduled a month before De la Espriella’s inauguration and will focus on the fight against drug trafficking and bilateral trade. The State Department said the two officials would examine greater cooperation in the “joint fight against narcoterrorism.”

Colombia recently joined the Coalition Against the Cartels of the Americas, or A3C, a military and operational alliance promoted by the United States to fight drug trafficking and organised crime across Latin America and the Caribbean. De la Espriella has authorised Washington to conduct joint counternarcotics operations on Colombian soil, although none has been publicly announced. The United States has also approved a $1 billion package of material assistance to strengthen security in Colombia.

The leaders are expected to discuss ways to achieve “closer trade relations.” De la Espriella has proposed temporarily suspending U.S. tariffs on some Colombian products, currently set at 12.5%, to ease the impact of the earthquake. Washington has not moved on the request.

They will also examine U.S. support for Colombia’s recovery after the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the country’s western and central regions on Aug. 10 and killed 331 people. Washington has announced $26.5 million in emergency assistance. Rubio will travel on to Ecuador and Peru, where Washington also wants closer political ties with the governments of Daniel Noboa and Keiko Fujimori.