Colombia leader seeks to be Washington's top ally in the Americas

Eric Martin and Andreina Itriago, Bloomberg News on Sep 8, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

President Abelardo de la Espriella said Colombia wants to be the top U.S. ally in the Americas on security matters, and prosecute its war on organized crime with support from Washington.

Speaking alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, de la Espriella said the two nations are entering a strategic partnership to combat drug-trafficking and illegal migration.

“Colombia seeks to consolidate itself once again as the principal security partner of the U.S. in the hemisphere,” de la Espriella said Tuesday in Barranquilla, on the nation’s Caribbean coast.

Rubio said that Washington’s relations with Bogota suffered under the previous government of President Gustavo Petro, who left office last month. He said the two nations would now revive their normally close partnership.

“The security threats that Colombia faces are the same that we in the U.S. face,” Rubio said. “The same networks, the same criminal groups.”

Colombia joined the U.S.-led Shield of the Americas coalition, founded by President Donald Trump, shortly after de la Espriella took office, ending the strained security relationship of the Petro years.

Washington has also said it intends to provide Colombia with $1 billion in security assistance, subject to congressional approval, including support for technology, military interoperability and coordinated operations. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last month that de la Espriella had also requested closer U.S. collaboration in operations against what both governments describe as “narco-terrorist” groups.

Since taking office on Aug. 7, de la Espriella moved rapidly to deliver on the hard-line security platform that helped propel him to the presidency. In his first weeks in office, he ordered a series of bombing operations against ELN guerrillas and FARC dissident groups, ended several peace processes inherited from Petro and instructed the armed forces to recover territory controlled by illegal groups.

“We will do whatever is necessary to combat organized crime and give those criminals the place they deserve: prison or the grave,” de la Espriella said.

_____

(With assistance from Oscar Medina.)

_____