MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Peru joins the Americas Shield during Rubio's visit to Lima

Fujimori said the move relaunches joint work between the two countries and rejected the idea that it compromises Peruvian sovereignty

Peru will join the Americas Shield, the US-backed security coalition against transnational organized crime, President Keiko Fujimori announced on Thursday after meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Government Palace.

The announcement closed a Rubio tour of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, Washington's largest diplomatic push in South America since Donald Trump's return to the White House. In Bogotá he had raised with President Abelardo de la Espriella the prospect of a “golden age” in bilateral relations, and in Quito he described Ecuador as the most determined partner in toughening the response to drug trafficking.

The coalition was set up on March 7, 2026, in Doral, Florida, with thirteen founding members: the United States, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago. Colombia joined during this tour and Peru does so now. In a column published this week in the Peruvian daily El Comercio, Rubio also noted that Peru becomes a major non-NATO ally, a bilateral US designation.

Fujimori said the move relaunches joint work between the two countries and rejected the idea that it compromises Peruvian sovereignty. “Peru's sovereignty is intact,” she said, recalling that the entry of foreign troops requires express authorization from Congress, a requirement she said would remain. Rubio also dismissed those objections, saying people were anticipating problems that do not exist. He added that the United States has the capacity to act unilaterally but prefers to work with partners, and that it cannot enter sovereign nations. Among the results of cooperation he cited the capture in Bolivia, with FBI support, of the leader of the Peruvian gang Los Pulpos.

Former Peruvian foreign minister Hugo de Zela has warned that the country does not benefit from being caught in the confrontation between the United States and China and should act according to its own interests.

The visit came amid friction with Beijing. China's embassy in Lima published messages saying it has never demanded that other countries take sides and that the Western Hemisphere is no one's “backyard,” and noted that Peru is the second largest destination for Chinese investment in Latin America, with a stock of US$30 billion. The messages responded to Rubio's column, in which he accused China of predatory practices, opaque contracts and unsustainable debt in the region.

The most visible point of that competition is the Chancay megaport, inaugurated in 2024 and 60% controlled by Chinese company COSCO Shipping Ports. Washington has questioned whether infrastructure on that scale could serve as logistical support for Chinese naval forces.