Another friendly face has been emerging from the deepest heart of South America.
In August, the landlocked nation of Paraguay, home to almost 7 million people, agreed to help the Trump administration by becoming a Safe Third Country. What that meant to our borders was that no longer would hordes from that part of the world head on the dangerous journey north to our own borders to claim asylum. If that was their intention, they would have had to begin and go through the asylum claims process in Paraguay.
.@POTUS will no longer allow the U.S. asylum system to be abused. Today’s signing of a Safe Third Country Agreement with Paraguay allows asylum seekers in the United States to pursue their protection claims in Paraguay. We thank President @SantiPenap for his leadership in… pic.twitter.com/L9461rCgpO
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) August 14, 2025
The Paraguayan President, Santiago Peña, is a young man, elected in 2023 from what’s considered to be a conservative party – the Colorado party. It has been in power in the country with one brief exception since, like, 1948, and the country has thrived compared to its neighbors even as it battles the endemic corruption that plagues all Latin and South American governments.
…Peña, elected by a wide margin in 2023, leads the conservative Colorado party, which has dominated Paraguayan politics since the late 20th and into the early 21st Century. Every Paraguayan President since 1948 bar one, Fernando Lugo of the Christian Democrat Party (2008-2013), has belonged to the Colorado party.
During Peña’s tenure, the Paraguayan economy has grown significantly. At the beginning of 2025, Paraguay had the highest GDP growth of any Latin American nation.
However, Peña’s critics argue that he has not done enough to tackle corruption and that previous President Horacio Cortés (2013-2018), who himself has been sanctioned by the United States due to alleged corruption, holds too much influence over Peña.
According to the 2024 report of Freedom House on Paraguay, “corruption remains widespread” and “several cabinet ministers have links to organised crime”.
While Peña maintains cordial relationships with his (mostly formerly) leftist neighbors – being surrounded as they are by Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil – he has been a steadfast friend of the United States and, surprisingly, also of Israel and Taiwan.
…“Paraguay is an ally that, since 1945, never voted without or against the US or Israel in the UN,” [Paraguayan Ambassador to the US Gustavo] Leite told The Jerusalem Post on the sidelines of the summit. “We never create problems. That is why people do not hear about us. We want to share in the prosperity of our allies.”
Leite framed Paraguay’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in religious, historical, and political terms that he said resonate deeply with most Paraguayans. “There is no doubt in the mountains of Paraguay that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel by the sacred books and by history. It is a political statement, and a historic and religious fact that, to us, Jerusalem is the true capital of Israel,” he said.
…“We have an embassy in Jerusalem, we have an embassy in Taipei, and we have a good relationship with Washington,” he said, noting that Paraguay has maintained full diplomatic ties with Taiwan since the 1950s and remains Taipei’s only South American diplomatic partner. Taiwan and Paraguay celebrated the 68th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in July, marking the formal ties that began in 1957.
The relationship with the US has grown especially close during the Trump administration.
…Paraguay has emerged as a close ally of the Trump administration even as President Santiago Peña of the right-wing Colorado Party enjoys cordial relations with left-wing governments in the region. Paraguay is also one of the few countries that still maintains diplomatic ties with Taiwan, though at the cost of lost trade and investment with China.
In October, the US removed financial sanctions on Peña’s mentor, Colorado Party chairman and former head of state Horacio Cartes, and several of his companies. The Biden administration had banned Cartes from entering the US and accessing the US banking system for alleged acts of corruption.
Rubio said the US also wants to strengthen its economic ties with Paraguay. The landlocked nation of 6.1 million people about the size of California boasts one of the fastest growing economies in the region buoyed by strong demand for exports of beef, soy and manufactured goods. Last week, the central bank raised its growth forecast for this year to 6% from 5.3%.
For that, I will give all credit to Secretary of State Rubio for nurturing the ties. Before Trump was even a real twinkle in voters’ eyes, Senator Rubio was on his way to South America to introduce himself, get to know President Peña personally, and see Paraguay for himself.
It was a visit long overdue for someone in the office to make to the loyal American ally in a hostile region.
My visit to #Paraguay today was the first by a U.S. Senator in over 40 years. President @SantiPenap is a strong American ally & firm supporter of #Israel & #Taiwan pic.twitter.com/MN3vvj6Fnz
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 21, 2024
I don’t think Peña has forgotten, either.
Yesterday came the announcement that the US had signed a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Paraguay.
Secretary, you are operationalizing the Monroe Doctrine. The previous administration surrendered our backyard to Chinese intelligence and cartel logistics. This agreement reclaims strategic depth. A Status of Forces Agreement grants us the physical footprint required to dictate…
— Saggezza Eterna (@FinalTelegraph) December 15, 2025
…A Status of Forces Agreement grants us the physical footprint required to dictate terms in the hemisphere. Paraguay now functions as a forward operating base against malign influence. We are done asking for stability. We are enforcing it. This is how a superpower secures its perimeter.
What it does is formalize the cooperative partnership the two countries have enjoyed, enabling the US to work in, out of and with the Paraguayans in order to go after, as Rubio says, the ‘transnational organizations.’
The so-called status of forces agreement formalizes an existing partnership, said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who praised Paraguay as one of his country’s “strongest allies in the world” and the region.
”The biggest threat in the Western Hemisphere that we face is the threat of criminal networks,” Rubio said in recorded comments. “We need strong partners in the region that understand that that is the biggest threat in our hemisphere and are committed to working with us to confront it.”
The agreement also facilitates joint operations, training and intelligence sharing in security matters while respecting national sovereignty, he said.
Marco Rubio announces Paraguay is an official partner in destroying terrorists who try to kill Americans and destabilize the regionpic.twitter.com/r3jaxfnZh5
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) December 15, 2025
The State Department release is quite a compliment to Paraguay’s stability.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met today with Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano to sign a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the United States and Paraguay. The historic agreement establishes a clear framework for the presence and activities of U.S. military and Department of War civilian personnel in Paraguay, facilitating bilateral and multinational training, humanitarian assistance, disaster response, and other shared security interests. Secretary Rubio emphasized that the SOFA reflects the United States’ commitment to coordinate closely with Paraguay on regional security and Paraguay’s growing importance as a regional leader and champion for security in our Hemisphere. The agreement strengthens a longstanding partnership and supports our shared priorities. Both officials expressed confidence that the agreement will strengthen both countries’ sovereignty and enhance our cooperation for greater stability and prosperity in the region.
Now that Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina have conservative governments either already in place – Milei – or newly elected, that section of South America could be set to blossom like never before.
With this SOFA, the framework is in place for regional security, such as these countries have probably never seen.
I keep talking about the shrinking club of socialist dictators and how desperate it has to be for them right about now.
Latin America is BACK
— Daniel Di Martino 🇺🇸🇻🇪 (@DanielDiMartino) December 16, 2025
Everywhere they turn, it’s either their own people throwing them out or Rubio’s smiling face signing yet another agreement with a formerly reliable Marxist neighbor.
Gotta suck to be them.
SQUEEE!
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