Colombia and US Sign Critical Minerals and Nuclear Cooperation Pacts in Barranquilla

Barranquilla pacts widen US-Colombia security, investment ties

President Abelardo De La Espriella and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed two bilateral framework agreements in Barranquilla on September 8, 2026, covering critical minerals supply chains and civil nuclear cooperation, in what Rubio said was his first trip to Colombia since becoming secretary of state. The signing was held at the Batallón Paraíso, which has served as a presidential venue in Barranquilla during the visit, according to El Heraldo. It capped a day of meetings between Rubio, De La Espriella and Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar that De La Espriella framed as the start of a broader package he called the Acuerdos de Barranquilla (Barranquilla Agreements).

The first instrument, the Framework Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Colombia for Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths, sets up cooperation on mineral supply-chain security. The second, the Memorandum of Understanding Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Colombia Concerning Strategic Civil Nuclear Cooperation, links Colombian and American nuclear researchers, regulators and industry and supports US non-proliferation objectives. According to El Tiempo, the nuclear memorandum does not authorize any transfer of nuclear technology, which would require a separate, longer-negotiated “123 Agreement,” and Colombia becomes the 16th country to sign this kind of arrangement with Washington since 2019, following Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Ghana, the Philippines, Armenia, Kenya, Singapore, El Salvador, Malaysia, Bahrain, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Paraguay.

De La Espriella tied the agreements directly to the August 10 earthquake that struck near San José del Palmar, Chocó, and damaged municipalities in Valle del Cauca. He said the US has provided $26.5 million USD in humanitarian assistance since the disaster, calling it more support than any other country has given, and said the two governments are moving “from emergency solidarity to a long-term strategic partnership.” The US Department of State has said the aid, delivered in two tranches, covers food, health care, protection, shelter and post-earthquake structural assessments, and is channeled through groups including the International Federation of the Red Cross, the International Organization for Migration, UNICEF, the World Food Programme and World Vision, according to Portafolio.

De La Espriella described the Acuerdos de Barranquilla as organized around three goals: rebuilding earthquake-affected areas, recovering the economy and strengthening hemispheric security. On the economic side, he proposed a bilateral prosperity dialogue with specific, funded, timelined projects on infrastructure, technology, industrial rebuilding and the minerals sector, and asked Rubio to back Colombia’s access to multilateral financing instruments. He also asked for a US commercial-diplomacy commitment covering investment, funding and technology, in exchange for Colombia offering project sites, production capacity and streamlined regulation.

On security, De La Espriella again pressed for what he calls the Plan Patriota Siglo XXI (21st Century Patriot Plan), a proposal to modernize Colombia’s aircraft, drones, radar, helicopters, counter-drone systems, air defense, cybersecurity and special-forces capability, financed partly with Colombia’s own resources. He said Colombia wants to be Washington’s top hemispheric security partner and set annual, verifiable counternarcotics targets covering precursor chemicals, trafficking routes, leadership networks and money laundering. Colombia joined the Coalition of the Americas Against the Cartels, a multinational anti-cartel effort coordinated by US Southern Command and known regionally as the Escudo de las Américas (Shield of the Americas), on August 12, becoming its 19th member nation, and De La Espriella said Medellín will host the coalition’s Colombian coordination site. Rubio, for his part, said Colombia has not asked for US troops and described the cooperation instead as intelligence-sharing, equipment, target identification and specialized training, according to El Heraldo.

De La Espriella also raised Venezuela, noting the two countries share more than 2,000 kilometers of border and that instability there affects Colombian security, migration, smuggling, armed groups and energy supply; he said Colombia would cooperate with the US on regional stability “in a very responsible manner.” In a separate press appearance the same day, Rubio said Washington had raised the presence of ELN camps and other armed groups operating from Venezuelan territory with the interim government led by Delcy Rodríguez, and that the matter would also be taken up with what he called Venezuela’s future democratic government, calling the pattern of fighters crossing into Colombia to commit crimes and returning across the border “not sustainable,” according to El Tiempo. De La Espriella said the two governments had agreed to expand migration-data and biometric cooperation and border enforcement, and he asked Rubio to study reopening a US consulate in Barranquilla, which last had one years ago. On illicit finance, De La Espriella asked for expanded judicial and financial cooperation to trace and seize laundered proceeds and hidden assets tied to organized crime.

Foreign Minister Bula Escobar cast the visit in commercial terms, saying before Rubio’s arrival that Colombia would pursue “solid, constructive and mutually beneficial relations,” with particular emphasis on “economic and commercial diplomacy: attracting investment, opening markets, promoting exports, tourism, technology and innovation.” Colombia’s ambassador to Washington, María Consuelo Araújo, said in the same release that the bilateral relationship in security, commerce and culture remains “extremely important and relevant” to both countries, according to the US Embassy in Bogotá.

“We look forward not just to restoring that but building upon it and creating a golden age of relationships between our two countries and our two people.”

— Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Rubio, who first met De La Espriella years before either held his current office, said the previous four years of distance between the two governments were “not natural” given the scale of economic, cultural and personal ties between Colombia and the US. Neither side put a dollar figure on the broader minerals, infrastructure or energy commitments discussed; De La Espriella said working teams in Washington and Bogotá will develop specific projects, funding and timelines in the coming weeks.

Full remarks: the Barranquilla signing ceremony and joint statement

The following is the full text of the signing ceremony and joint statement between President Abelardo De La Espriella and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, released by the US Department of State, Office of the Spokesperson. Video of the exchange is available from the official Colombian Presidencia YouTube channel.

MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) Good afternoon. Good afternoon. The Presidency of Colombia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to welcome you to the ceremony of two memorandums of understanding between the Government of Colombia and the Government of the US of America.

We are pleased to have His Highness President Abelardo De La Espriella, who is the president of Colombia, that’s going to be in this act as the witness — as a witness of honor. And we would also like to greet Omar Bula Escobar, who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, and His Excellency Marco Rubio, who is the Secretary of State of the United States of America, who are going to sign both agreements.

(In English) Good afternoon. The Presidency of the Republic of Colombia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcome you to the signing ceremony of two memoranda of understanding between the Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Government of the United States of America. We are honored by the presence of His Excellency Abelardo De La Espriella, President of the Republic of Colombia, who joins us as witness of honor. We also welcome His Excellency Omar Bula Escobar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, and the Honorable Marco Rubio, Secretary of State of the United States of America, who will sign both instruments.

(In Spanish.)

(In English) We will now proceed with the signing of the first memorandum of understanding, the Framework Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Colombia for Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths. (Applause.)

(The Memorandum is signed.)

(Applause.)

(Via interpreter) Okay, thank you so much. We will now proceed with the signing of the second memorandum of understanding that it’s called the Memorandum of Understanding Between the Government of Colombia and the United States of America about Civil Strategic Cooperation, signed by the chancellor of Colombia and the Secretary of State of the US.

(In English) We will now proceed with the signing of the second memorandum of understanding, the Memorandum of Understanding Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Colombia Concerning Strategic Civil Nuclear Cooperation. (Applause.)

(The Memorandum is signed.)

(Applause.)

(Via interpreter) Thank you so much. Thank you so much. And now we were going to go to the joint declaration about the meeting between the statement between Abelardo De La Espriella and the Secretary of State of the United States Marco Rubio. And we’re going to initiate with the Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Mr. Secretary, welcome. Welcome.

SECRETARY RUBIO: (Via interpreter) Thank you so much, Mr. President. And thank you. I’m so glad — I’m so glad. I came here last time as a senator but in the last four years as a senator, and then as the Secretary of State we hadn’t traveled here. And I think that until a certain point, this is a signal of the distance that had been created between our governments, which is not natural because the relationship between Colombia and the United States is almost impossible to replicate because they are personal links, cultural links, and also — and also at the economic level. And also we also have the opportunity to restore that natural relationships that we have between our countries, but also to grow into a new stage, a new cooperation stage with our president even stronger than we had before.

We talked a lot about security, because always security is key, because without security there is no prosperity. But the opportunities that exist between Colombia and the US is much more than security because it’s the base of everything. Without security it’s impossible to operate as a country and as a society. But beyond that — because sometime people say that I — now they’re telling me I’m speaking in a low — you can hear me well, right? They say I’m speaking in a very low voice.

There is no doubt that without security a country cannot progress, and the threats to security that Colombia is facing, it’s the same things that we face in the US: the same networks, the same criminal groups that, although they commit their crimes here, they also commit crimes in the US, and they damage our people. But that’s the base. That’s the key. That’s the most relevant thing.

And because the most important role of any — of any government in any part of the world, it’s the security of its people. But above that, we can build on prosperity, which is extremely important to move forward. And also the opportunity that exists for Colombia at the economic level are huge, are amazing, and these are opportunities that Mr. President has in mind that we can work together so that it benefits both countries.

We have a lot to do because, unfortunately, this government inherited a series of disasters, bad decisions, and we feel — we feel the same when we went into power a year and a half ago. But you are facing the errors of the last four years, and you need to face this. And besides that, there was a disaster. There was an earthquake that was tragical.

But there are amazing opportunities, and we’re going to use this opportunity that we have nowadays, because the links between our two governments are so solid to ensure that not only are we going to focus on security, but this is something going to be key in our relationship, but we’re also going to focus in what we call the opportunity of creating a prosperity that helps the North American people and also helps the Colombian people.

And this relationship between our governments have a — have direct impact on the daily life of people here but also the people in the US, and especially people in the certain part of Florida where I’ve lived most of my life.

If you allow, Mr. President, I’m going to give a couple of words.

(In English) I want to say a few words in English as well. First, I want to thank the president for receiving us. It — it’s not every day — let me say in this in Spanish first. I should’ve said it earlier.

(Via interpreter) It’s not — and we’ve not always traveled to a country and we have the opportunity to exchange with chief of state that you met before they were president, before he was a politician, because of the mutual relationships that we have. And even when we were talking not long ago, the two years ago when we were in the same — we were in the same table at a wedding in the southern part of Florida. That’s why this is a place where the president of the — the president is someone that I’ve met at a personal level. And then he went crazy and decided to become a politician and decided to turn president.

(In English) So I think that it’s unusual that you travel to a country that you meet with a head of state and a president who you’ve actually known for years before he was president, before he was even in politics. And as I was joking, when he lost his mind and went into politics, and — but he’s going to do a great job for this country, and I know that. I know that from what I know about him from before he was president. This is a man of energy. This is a man of strength. This is a man of vision and of courage because he’s confronting a very difficult situation. He has inherited many disasters.

Obviously, the country faces the aftermath of a natural disaster in an earthquake, but he also faces a disaster that’s institutional, that goes through four years of very bad management and that, frankly, harmed the relationship between the United States and Colombia, something that simply is not natural. The United States and Colombia have a strong bond that exists well beyond just the cooperation of our governments. It’s a strong economic bond. It’s a strong cultural bond. It’s a strong people-to-people bond, a social bond.

I can tell you personally, having lived in south Florida the majority of my life, how we follow so closely the events that happen in Colombia, because it has a direct impact on life in south Florida and ultimately in our country. This is the natural state of things, is for the US and Colombia to be strong allies and strong partners, and the last four years is an aberration between our governments. But that is changing as well.

Clearly, the most important obligation of any government is to provide for the security of their people. It’s the number one obligation, and that is certainly an issue that you will confront here and that I am confident the president and his team are very serious about, and we’re going to do everything we can to help you.

But security is the basic and most important requirement of a government, but prosperity follows closely behind it, and that is opportunity of a country and an economy that provides the opportunity for upward mobility and prosperity for all of its people. And we believe we have a lot we can do together in the field of energy, in the field of trade, in the field of commerce, that allows both countries to benefit: the people of the United States, who I work for, and the people of Colombia, who the president works for and his team works for.

So I’m excited that after not having been here for a while, to be back, to be back with someone I know so well as president, who I know has a great vision and energy for the future, and excited to be back in a country that has been our strongest ally and partner in the region for many, many years. And we look forward not just to restoring that but building upon it and creating a golden age of relationships between our two countries and our two people.

Muchas gracias. (Applause.)

PRESIDENT DE LA ESPRIELLA: Thank you.

(Via interpreter) A very special welcome to all of you today. Barranquilla has been the scenario of a very strategic conversation for the present and for the future of Colombia and of our relationship with the United States of America. To welcome the Secretary of State Marco Rubio here in the Colombian Caribbean has a very special meaning, because Barranquilla has been historically the Golden Door of Colombia to the world and represents an absolute conviction of my government because Colombia, it’s not just governed from Bogotá, Colombia; it’s governed from its regions.

I would like to thank Secretary Rubio. His presence — we are honored by his presence. He has been an inspiration for this battle for democracy, institutionality, and freedom because there is no Latino in the world that doesn’t feel represented by Marco Rubio, that has always done things the best way possible. And with regards to our community, that’s why I thank you so much, Mr. Secretary of State. It’s a pride and honor to have you here in the land of Barranquilla.

I also would like to publicly acknowledge the solidarity of the US Government after the earthquake that we endured on August 10th. They have helped us with $26.5 million USD in humanitarian assistance, and besides all of what they are doing regarding the fires that people are suffering near Tolima. No country in the world has helped as much as the United States, and today we’re giving a step forward. We are not going back from the solidarity in the emergency, to a very strategic partnership, a long-term strategic partnership.

From this meeting there is a guideline that we’ve called the Barranquilla agreements, and they follow three main topics that are highly relevant for our country and for the hemisphere. We are going to rebuild the homeland, we are going to recover the economy, and we are going to protect the hemisphere. And we’re initiating a historical and close relationship that was interrupted during four years, but it has always been there in the deeper areas, in the deeper basis of Colombia, because the United States has been our partner. We have been their ally and partner, and when the United States and Colombia have worked together, the only thing that we have had, it’s development, security, and progress.

The main purpose of this agreement, it’s the rebuilding and the economic recovery. The earthquake left huge challenges in households, in bridges, utilities, and in productive capacity. We were thinking where we wanted to work on cooperation, investment, and funding mechanisms, including the International Development Corporation, other agencies, the private sectors and companies from both countries. We would like to attract investments to the infrastructure, energy, households energy, and the productive reconstruction Colombia is also going to do (inaudible) because we are going to do what we have to do regarding fiscal discipline, the legal certainty, efficiency, expanding better investment conditions.

In the same way, I requested Mr. Secretary of State to accompany us before multilateral organisms to enable instruments that allow us to fund these transitions without sacrificing the economic transition of our countries.

We are proposing to the US a partnership where Colombia puts project territories, productive capabilities, resources, and clear rules and regulations (inaudible) the US supports investments funding technologies and business capability.

Other of the important points, it’s shared prosperity. I have proposed Mr. Secretary to have this bilateral prosperity dialogue with very specific projects with — that has funding, timelines that our teams in Washington are going to continue developing. We identified some policies regarding infrastructure, technology, industry, rebuilding, and also rare minerals, which is the treatment we’ve just signed. Colombia has access to two oceans, has the strategic resources and human talent. We need to turn all those opportunities that Colombia has in investments and productive chains, in manufacturing and also in employment for our people.

Another very important point, it’s security in the struggle against drug terrorism. Colombia wants to become the first hemispheric security partner with the US, and we’re going to be the partner number one in South America. The 21st century requires new capabilities. That’s why we have proposed to the government, and I said it once again today, the Patriot Plan 21st century is to update airplanes, drones, radars, helicopters, anti-drone systems, aerial defense, mobility, intelligence, cyber defense, special forces, and the maintenance and the operationality. We’re going to have our own resource and we hope to build together capabilities to be able to face sophisticated threats.

But at the same time, we need the support — we need the support, a push from the United States, and we’re going to work in a very decisive manner in our fight against drug trafficking. We’re going to start with — we’re going to go through the precursors, we’re going to go through the pathways, we’re going to go through the leaders, we’re going to go to the narco-terrorists, we’re going to go through the money laundering and other criminal equity and also those international networks that are a huge challenge not only for the hemisphere but also for humankind. Colombia, it’s ready to have annual quotas, verifiable indicators, and very specific agreements. We’re going to do what we are (inaudible), and with that basis we want to have a co-responsibility that is effective for both countries.

Another important thing — it’s the Shield of the Americas. We’re already operational. Colombia is going to fulfill its responsibilities. We’re going to have the site in Medellín, and we’re going to do whatever it takes to be able to attack and to be able to give them the place that they deserve, which is either a prison or a tomb. And I say it: If a criminal doesn’t — if a criminal doesn’t follow the law, he is not going to get it his way.

And we also talked about Venezuela because we share more than 2,000 kilometers of borders with the neighboring country, and everything that happens in Venezuela has a direct consequence in Colombia regarding security, migration, smuggling, armed groups, and also energy. Colombia will participate along with the United States in a very responsible manner in the focused efforts to be able to ensure regional stability and will delve on trans-border cooperation, migration, and security. Our interest, Mr. Secretary of State, it’s that we each have institutionality, stability, and also security. We want to avoid any type of issue.

Another very important point that I mentioned to Mr. Secretary, it’s our foreign policy is based on a main policy. It’s that Colombia relates with the world from its own national interests. It has sovereignty, autonomy, pragmatism, and also a long-term vision, and this is where we’re perfectly tuned with the United States. We have now resources, geographic positions, human talent, and also very strategic assets. Our diplomacy needs to turn those strengths in opportunities to be able to become the best partners of the US. And we’re going to do it, Mr. Secretary, because this is a new rebirth.

Another very important topic, it’s migration and the rule of law. We agreed to delve on migration — more migration cooperation, exchange of information, biometric tools, identifying of the people (inaudible) to struggle against the migrants’ networks, and also the strengthening of border controls. Our idea, it’s that legal migration and — legal, safe, and organized migration, because our principle, it’s the same one that the United States shared. We’re not against migration. We’re against illegal migration, which is something different.

And there is a topic that it’s very close to my heart, and I said, Mr. Secretary, you know that many years ago we had — we had a consulate. And I said, hey, as the son of this region, I said if you can please open a consular office in Barranquilla, the alternate capital city of Colombia. And we are — we want a venue. We would like to consider it if possible, Mr. Secretary, because it’s been something that we’ve expected for years. First we had a consular office in Barranquilla, and then they took — and they removed the one from Barranquilla. The idea, it’s to go back to things as were before, and we hope to have here in Barranquilla the American consular office.

And once again, a topic that it’s also close to my heart, it’s cooperation to follow the path of the money. We would like to see what’s money laundering resources that come from resources and hidden assets, strengthening judicial cooperation and financial cooperation. All of this, it’s going to be under the evidence of the framework of law, due process, and the respect for institutions, because to catch criminals, it’s not enough. We also need to strike the money that supports those financial structures. We need to affect the pocket of the criminals because it will hurt them.

This was a very deep, cordial, strategic conversation. Not only are we talking about the United States can do for Colombia, we also talked about what Colombia and the United States can do together for the hemisphere, because Colombia contributes a geographic position, strategic resources, productive capability, human talent, a very experienced armed forces, and a government that is committed. And we would — wanted this — this new stage to start here in Barranquilla, in the Colombian Caribbean, and in the region. The Barranquilla agreements need to turn into projects, investments, and cooperation.

In the security and also specific outcomes, we need to rebuild the homeland. We need to recover the economy. We need to protect the hemisphere. As of now, our teams will start to work to turn those expectations, those desires, those projects, and realities. May God bless the United States of America. May God bless Colombia today more than ever. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) Thank you so much, Mr. President. Thank you so much, Mr. Secretary of State. We — in this way, we are fulfilling the agenda of Mr. Marco Rubio to the city of Barranquilla. Thank you so much.

Headline photo: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella and Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar at the signing ceremony in Barranquilla on September 8, 2026. (Photo courtesy Presidencia de Colombia via YouTube)