Administración Trump planea designar a Perú como aliado principal «extra-OTAN» - teleSUR
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El canciller Hugo de Zela dijo que ese paso pondrá a Perú «en una posición privilegiada en la cooperación militar con Estados Unidos».

Peru’s Foreign Minister, Hugo de Zela, confirmed on Saturday that the Donald Trump administration has notified the United States Congress of its intention to designate the South American nation as a “major non-NATO ally,” a step the foreign minister described as “a political gesture” to declare that the country is “reliable on security and defense issues.”

De Zela specified that the issue “has been discussed for some time now” and that it was addressed in a meeting he held on December 5 in Washington with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will visit Peru in the first months of 2026.

The designation, according to the Peruvian Foreign Minister, “brings some important military and economic benefits ,” such as “the ease of joint development of research projects, equipment, munitions, and the possibility of having access to US-owned war reserve stocks.”

He also mentioned the possibility of signing cooperative training agreements, material loans, expedited processing of export licenses, in addition to “greater eligibility for foreign military funding ,” which will put the Peruvian Armed Forces “in a privileged position of cooperation and facilities in terms of military cooperation with the United States.”

Following his recent meeting with De Zela in Washington, Rubio noted on X that they agreed on the next steps in bilateral work to “dismantle criminal organizations in the region,” boost cooperation on critical minerals, and “strengthen security cooperation.”

De Zela reported on Wednesday, December 10, that Peru is evaluating a memorandum on the exploitation of critical minerals presented to it by Washington , and that the United States Army Corps of Engineers is working on the expansion of the port of Callao, in Lima, the country’s main port, “a fairly significant investment by the United States,” estimated at around $3 billion.

On Friday, Peru’s Prime Minister Ernesto Alvarez declared that restoring the country’s defensive capabilities is “an urgent necessity,” alluding to the upcoming purchase of fighter jets and an agreement with South Korea to acquire some 200 armored vehicles.

Earlier, the prime minister had confirmed that Lima will purchase 24 fighter jets for $3.5 billion, in addition to signing a strategic agreement to receive 195 K2 tanks and armored vehicles from the South Korean firm Hyundai Rotem , the largest export of ground defense from the Asian country to one in Latin America.