Rubio visits Lima as Peru joins US-led 'Shield of the Americas' security alliance

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met President Keiko Fujimori at the Presidential Palace in Lima on the third stop of a tour of recently inaugurated South American governments, followed by a joint press availability. Fujimori announced Peru's entry into the 'Shield of the Americas,' a US-led regional security alliance built around intelligence-sharing and cooperation against drug-trafficking cartels, declaring 'a new era in relations between Peru and the United States.' Rubio said Washington has 'the capacity to act unilaterally' against cartels but prefers to work with regional allies. Fujimori's government awarded Rubio the Order of the Sun of Peru, one of the country's highest civilian honors. The visit reinforces the security-cooperation track that underpins Fujimori's parallel push for domestic emergency powers against organized crime.