UNITED NATIONS — Colombian Vice President José Manuel Restrepo said his country is embracing President Donald Trump’s push for a new security alliance across the Western Hemisphere, but drew a clear line on the role American forces would play inside Colombia, telling Fox News Digital that Colombian troops — not U.S.forces — will carry out operations against the country’s armed groups.Restrepo spoke with Fox News Digital in an on-camera interview days after joining Trump and other regional leaders at a Shield of the Americas meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, where Trump called the initiative the "largest and most powerful alliance for economic and national security ever to convene in the Western Hemisphere."Trump urged members to treat what he called "narco terrorists" as common threats and impose sanctions on U.S.-designated terrorist organizations.Restrepo said he personally discussed the region’s changing political and security landscape with Trump.
The shift in Colombia comes amid a broader political realignment across Latin America, with De La Espriella’s June victory adding Colombia to a group of countries including Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia and Panama that have moved to the right, fueled in part by voter concerns over crime, economic weakness and political instability.TRUMP ALLY 'EL TIGRE' SWORN IN AS COLOMBIA'S NEW PRESIDENT AMID CONTINENT'S RIGHTWARD SHIFTPresident Donald Trump, center, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader, second from left, Argentina's President Javier Milei, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, Guyana's President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Costa Rica's President Rodrigo Chaves Robles, Bolivia's President Rodrigo Paz and Chile's President-elect Jose Antonio Kast pose for a family photo during the Shield of the Americas" Summit in Doral, Fla., on Saturday, March 7, 2026.(Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)"There is a wave of freedom, a wave of democracy, a wave of free market.
… There is a new m...