United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed this Tuesday that the government of Peru, led by Keiko Fujimori, has joined the so-called Shield of the Americas coalition, an alliance of conservative countries whose main objective is to combat drug trafficking cartels.
“We are synchronizing efforts to protect our hemisphere from transnational and regional threats, welcoming Peru, which is now an important extra-NATO ally, into the Shield of the Americas,” Rubio pointed out in an opinion article published by the newspaper El Comercio.
The Secretary of State also noted that the bilateral economic alliance is built “on the basis of transparent high-value investments in key strategic sectors,” such as mining, in light of the memorandum of understanding signed in February on critical minerals.
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The announcement comes within the framework of Rubio’s Latin American tour between September 8 and 10, a trip in which he plans to hold meetings with Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella; with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, and also with the new Fujimori government.
Rubio detailed in statements to the press that he will not be able to travel to Venezuela due to the tight schedule ahead, as September 11 marks the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks carried out by Al Qaeda in 2001.
