"Bulletproofing The Hemisphere": Rubio Kicks Off South America Tour As Continent Lurches Right

Secretary of State Marco Rubio kicked off his three-nation tour of Latin America on Tuesday, first meeting with Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella. He will visit Ecuador and Peru later this week, supporting the Trump administration's increasing engagement with a growing bloc of right-leaning governments aligned with the US.

At their meeting in the coastal city of Barranquilla, de la Espriella said he and Rubio discussed security cooperation against drug trafficking, improved economic ties and an expanded role for Colombia in what he called "bulletproofing the hemisphere." He said Colombia would be an ally to the US on neighboring Venezuela.

El secretario de Estado Marco Rubio y el presidente Abelardo de la Espriella firmaron en Barranquilla acuerdos estratégicos de enorme peso: minerales críticos y cooperación nuclear civil.

Colombia deja de mirar hacia atrás y se sienta en la mesa grande. El Tigre no llegó a pedir… pic.twitter.com/NPcQvReZcc

— Jhonf Fonseca (@Jhonffonseca) September 9, 2026

"Colombia wants to newly consolidate itself as the principal hemispheric partner for the United States on security," said de la Espriella, who took office on August 7 after beating former socialist President Gustavo Petro.  

De la Espriella is among a new generation of right-wing leaders recently elected across South America, reflecting a once-in-a-generation political shift likely influenced by the Trump administration's effort to rid the West of socialist and Chinese influence.

Rubio said the White House hoped to restore cooperation and "perhaps to build upon it," adding, "And I think you have a president here now that is very interested in making that happen." 

SECRETARY RUBIO in COLOMBIA: Security is the basic and most important requirement of government, but prosperity follows closely behind it. pic.twitter.com/FsuPWEhjGA

— Department of State (@StateDept) September 8, 2026

Rubio's next stop on the tour is Ecuador and Peru, whose governments are also aligned with the Trump administration. 

SECRETARY RUBIO in COLOMBIA: Security is the basic and most important requirement of government, but prosperity follows closely behind it. pic.twitter.com/FsuPWEhjGA

— Department of State (@StateDept) September 8, 2026

Rubio's tour comes a little more than a week after President Trump secured the "biggest oil deal in history" with Venezuela, resulting in a major stake in more than 65 billion barrels of oil reserves. 

The oil fields are "going to generate royalties and revenues for the Venezuelan people, eventually through a democratically elected government, hopefully sooner rather than later, and directly benefit the people of Venezuela as opposed to going into the pocket of some, you know, corrupt government official or in the hands of American and Venezuelan adversaries," Rubio said.

Brazil holds its first-round presidential election on October 4. If needed, a presidential runoff can be held on October 25. Right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro is narrowly ahead of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the latest polls, although those leads fall within the surveys' margins of error. Other polls show the two tied.

The election will determine the leadership and direction of the continent's largest economy. 

Traders are already positioning ahead of the Brazilian election, as we showed on Monday with an "explosive surge" in call open interest in the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ).

And someone appears to be making a huge bet on just that: explosive surge in EWZ call OI https://t.co/nqFaGgms4R pic.twitter.com/uen9bXmqBw

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 8, 2026

Regional ETF outperformers include Peru, up 31%; Brazil, up 20.5%; and Latin America 40, up 19.9%.

These ETFs are beginning to attract buying interest heading into late summer.

Brazil's election is now a key focus for investors, with the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) gauging market positioning ahead of the vote.