MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguay’s president travels to Washington and will meet the CIA director

Peña has declared himself an ally of the White House on foreign policy

Paraguayan President Santiago Peña travelled to Washington on Wednesday for a brief visit that includes a meeting with US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe and a keynote address at the annual gala of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank.

Peña will be away until Friday, accompanied by Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez and the head of the presidential Civil Cabinet, Javier Giménez, according to the Senate. The president confirmed he will be “meeting the CIA director”, without giving further details. He will also take up an invitation from George Washington University, and the Inter-American Dialogue gala will be held at the headquarters of the Organization of American States.

Before leaving, Peña accompanied US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau in the Alto Paraná department on the final day of his official visit to Paraguay. The two toured a new military unit created to fight terrorism and organised crime in the Triple Frontier area with Brazil and Argentina, and the binational Itaipú dam. Landau is now continuing his tour in Buenos Aires.

Peña has declared himself an ally of the White House on foreign policy. In January he signed in Davos, together with Argentine President Javier Milei, the founding charter of the Board of Peace promoted by Donald Trump to oversee the Gaza peace plan, and Paraguay is a member of the Shield of the Americas, the regional security alliance promoted by Washington.