Secretary of State Marco Rubio notified Congress on Tuesday that the State Department will be redirecting $52 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) away from Europe and the Middle East and redistributing it here in the Western Hemisphere to some of the nations most closely aligned with the United States in Central and South America.
The money will go from Slovakia, North Macedonia, Tunisia, and Iraq to Panama, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia.
The move should come as no surprise. Both Rubio and Donald Trump have been clear from the beginning of the president's term that it's time for Europe and various NATO allies to step up and spend more of their own money on their defense. They also released the Trump administration's National Security Plan last December, which made it clear that the United States would prioritize the Western Hemisphere over other regions of the world, including going after the cartels and organized crime that plague the region with drug trafficking and violence.
As a matter of fact, Rubio was just in South America last week, visiting Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. Over the past year, Ecuador has been one of our greatest partners regarding security matters, as its president, Daniel Noboa, is attempting to clean up his country. Ecuador was once one of the safest, most peaceful nations in Latin America, and now it's one of the most violent.
And speaking of Ecuador, I just learned via SOUTHCOM that we took out another "floating refueling station supporting illicit at-sea drug trafficking operations in the Eastern Pacific" on Tuesday.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessel's involvement with the Los Choneros violent narco-terrorist organization. Individuals removed from the vessel will be transferred to Ecuadorian authorities," SOUTHCOM reports.
On Sept. 15, under the direction of #SOUTHCOM, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) forces successfully interdicted a floating refueling station supporting illicit at-sea drug trafficking operations in the Eastern Pacific.
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) September 15, 2026
Intelligence confirmed the vessel's… pic.twitter.com/LEADvwvH9b
Not only that, but while he was there, Rubio designated the Ecuadorian gang Los Tiguerones as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and imposed sanctions on and revoked the visas of seven former Ecuadorian officials accused of taking bribes or otherwise interfering with institutional procedures to benefit Los Choneros, Los Lobos, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), and the Sinaloa Cartel.
Rubio also met last week with Colombia's new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, who's only been in office a little over a month and is already stacking major wins against the terrorist groups that have overtaken parts of his country. And the secretary met with Peru's new president, Keiko Fujimori, who is very aligned with the U.S. and will hopefully bring stability to a country that hasn't had much of it in recent years. He also welcomed both Colombia and Peru into the Shield of the Americas.
FMF is part of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and it "authorizes the president to finance procurement of defense articles and services for foreign countries and international organizations. [FMF] enables eligible partner nations to purchase U.S. defense articles, services, and training through either FMS or, for a limited number of countries, through the foreign military financing of direct commercial contracts (FMF/DCC) program."
The Secretary of State determines who will receive the funding and how much, while the Secretary of War executes the programs.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are once again respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
Help us continue to report on the administration’s peace through strength foreign policy and its successes. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the Conversation
VIP members get the ability to comment on articles.