MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) Welcome to the Túpac Amaru Hall of the Government Palace. Next, we will hear the remarks of the President of the Republic Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi and the Secretary of State, His Excellency Marco Rubio. They will give their remarks after the meeting they held in the framework of the official meeting.
Next, we'll listen to the remarks by the President of the Republic, Ms. Keiko Sofía Fujimori.
PRESIDENT FUJIMORI: (Via interpreter) Good morning, Secretary of State Mr. Marco Rubio, ministers, high officers, journalists. Your presence in Peru, Secretary Rubio, represents much more than an official visit. It symbolizes the meeting of two nations which for 200 years share the same view about freedom, independence, and sovereignty.
Two hundred years ago Peru started to build its republic. The United States were already consolidating it. We were two young nations but with a very strong aspiration, that America could decide about its own destiny. Two hundred years have gone by and that vision is still in force, with different nuances, aspects, and new challenges, but with the same aim: that no external force takes away from us the possibility of living in freedom.
For that reason, the first topic of our meeting has been how to face transnational organized crime, and we have talked about citizenship and security. As president of the Republic of Peru, I am happy to inform our nation that Peru will become part of the Shield of the Americas - (applause) - a multilateral coalition that includes more than 15 countries and which is led by the United States.
Thank you, Secretary Rubio, for this opportunity because we have had to face terrorism and we know how difficult it is to face these criminal organizations that do not respect any borders. And for this reason, we need to join efforts with other countries. Being part of the Shield of the Americas will enable us, as we have already proved, to obtain faster information and act more firmly. And from Peru, we will act with all the powers granted by the law and the constitution.
We have also had the chance to talk about the challenge posed by the El Niño phenomenon. We were sharing with Secretary Rubio that this phenomenon will begin, it was announced, in February; however, the previous government did not take pertinent actions. In the first days of August, as the press already knows, we began with the cleaning of the riverbeds and prepare ourselves for the emergency. And we would like to take the opportunity to thank the United States for the support that is being provided thanks to the coordinations of Ambassador Navarro.
And we are thankful because in February 2027, the Comfort American ship will arrive to the coast of Peru. This is one of the largest hospital vessels of the world, with more than 1,000 beds and highly equipped technology. This will help the population of the northern part of our country. We thank for the assistance that could be given by the Southern Command and the support that we are already receiving from the DEA and the FBI and other federal agencies. We've been able to talk about many subjects - education, infrastructure investment, our trade exchange.
But we salute today the political decision of President Trump to look at Latin America that Secretary Rubio is here in Peru because it shows the true value you're giving to this bilateral relations. We're talking about 200 years of friendship. Welcome, Secretary Rubio. (Applause.)
MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) We thank the words of President of the Republic. Now we have the remarks from the Secretary of State, our Excellency Marco Rubio.
SECRETARY RUBIO: (Via interpreter) Thank you very much, dear President, for having a meeting. The cooperation that exists through the first 40 days of your administration has meant a lot. We've done a lot, but we will do more. I think that I come and I leave with a lot of confidence that the relations between our countries will start a very special era and will benefit both countries in a very important way.
It's important to have, like you've said, the relation for more than 200 years between our countries. We are a very, very young republic. You were starting as a republic; and we've done a lot during these 200 years, but we still have a lot to do. We are facing the modern threats, which are different from a decade ago, those new (inaudible) threats.
Our obligation, the most important thing, is to achieve peace, to achieve security of the people. And when that is threatened, it's impossible. It's impossible to have economy growth, prosperity. It's impossible to achieve other things if peace, calm, and order are not present. These are important things and are very necessary for economic growth and prosperity, which is all - what we want.
Which is the biggest threat? The threat nowadays are transnational organized crime. Bear in mind that we had these groups operating within national territories only, but nowadays it is a network, it's a terrorist network, a criminal network, which is very dangerous, operating through borders and multiple countries with liaisons. It's a criminal infrastructure with banking, finance, and they're trying to take this hemisphere. We cannot let this happen. The only way we can confront them is to be strong and confront them.
This is why we're very happy and - well, that you have been elected. People elected you because you promised to confront this, and we will provide the support. Why? Not only because of the friendship, because it's only of our national interest. To have operating criminals operating in this hemisphere - it's a direct threat not only for the Peruvian people, but as well for the United States.
I'm very, very happy to listen to the announcement that you will be partner of the Shield of the Americas. A shield against what, people may wonder? A shield against these criminal bands, criminal groups, terrorist groups that are a direct threat to the sovereignty to our countries. When we are encountering criminal bands that have more money and best military equipment than the military themselves, that is not acceptable. And against that is the shield. This is why we have 14 countries working together - hopefully we will add more countries - to confront and defeat forever these elements.
What can we do at the same time for security, prosperity? And this is why we will always seek trade opportunities to work together with your government and your country, to seek trade agreements that will benefit directly our people, and as well, the United States economy. And we have multiple possibilities. We have spoken about that today and we still have a lot to do. And we're starting to work on those topics.
So for us, it is an honor to be here with you today and to start this new era in the relations between Peru and the United States. I think we have the possibility in our hands to start a very important time, historical era, in terms of what we can achieve together.
If I may please switch to English because I do have U.S. press covering this.
(In English) (Inaudible) President Fujimori for receiving us here today. I truly believe that we are entering a new era in U.S.-Peru relations, a golden era in many ways, because her administration has the right ideas. In her first 40 days in office, we've already done many things together, and there's so much more for us to do together.
I remind everybody that the most important obligation of any government to its people is the security and the stability and the order in that country. And when that is threatened, nothing else is possible - not economic growth, not prosperity, not upward mobility. And in fact, we look at the criminality that exists and the terrorism that exists in this region today - and the people most victimized by it are working people, common people, who cannot defend themselves against these criminal elements.
This is - this has always been a threat in this region. But it has become a new threat because these are now transnational threats. These are transnational terrorist organizations that do not respect sovereign borders and operate in multiple countries with the same aim and the same goal of exploiting countries and exploiting their people and harming them.
And I'm very pleased to hear the announcement that Peru will be joining the Shield of the Americas. What is it a shield against? It is a shield against these threats to the sovereignty of these independent nations. It is a shield against these transnational criminal groups that, in many cases, have more money and better military equipment than the states. That is unacceptable, and the only way to defeat it is to confront it forcefully. And it's the reason why President Fujimori was elected because she told the people of this country she would confront this threat and she would defeat it, and we will help her. We are going to help as we possibly can because it is in our national interest as well.
Beyond that, there is extraordinary commercial opportunities. We've talked about some of those today. There are real opportunities to us to work together on commercial deals and commercial projects that are extraordinarily beneficial to Peru, to the people of Peru, but also beneficial to the people of the United States. That will be a core of our relationship as well.
So it's an honor to be here. It's an honor to be with you. And I thank you and I thank your team for receiving us. I can't wait to see the exciting things we'll do together. Thank you. (Applause.)
MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) We thank our Secretary of State for his remarks. Now we will take two questions per country for each authority. Please we'd like to invite the press. Start with the name of your organization.
QUESTION: (Via interpreter) Good afternoon, President and Secretary of State. My first question is for you. What is the importance of this meeting that you have sustained with the Secretary of State, considering that this first official encounter with the United States of America? And number two, what is the importance that Peru becomes part of the Shield of the Americas, and how this will strengthen the security policy in favor of Peruvians? Thank you.
PRESIDENT FUJIMORI: (Via interpreter) For Peru, it is of the essence - it is of the essence for Peru to know that the United States has now a political view of Latin America. We were speaking with Secretary Rubio that in previous administrations that importance was not given to the region. And his presence marks this difference - President Trump's view.
Entering the Shield of the Americas is of the essence for Peru. First of all, because it relaunches the joint work of both countries (inaudible) during the '90s. Let's remember that the USA helped us in the fight against drug trafficking, and we were able to reduce the coca leaf production. In 1990 we had 120,000 hectares; that went down to 20,000 hectares. This reduction was possible with the work done with alternative crops, directly working with the farmers themselves. We have already shown results when two countries have a political decision, can work jointly shoulder to shoulder.
Entering the Shield of the Americas will help us to obtain information. Peru confronted Shining Path and the MRTA, two terrorist groups, and was able to defeat them. And these two groups worked within Peruvian territory. Now criminal organizations know no borders. Some weeks ago it was possible to capture a criminal from the Los Pulpos criminal organization, and he was in Bolivia. This information was handed over to us through the FBI, and the Peruvian and Bolivian police were able to work jointly.
For this reason it is of the essence to be part of the Shield of the Americas, because we will be able to act directly on our own behalf and on behalf of the cabinet of ministers led by Mr. Galarreta. We have the will to confront them, and with information from all countries we will be able to act faster and obtain specific and tangible results.
QUESTION: Vera Bergengruen with The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Secretary, you have stressed that the members of the Shield of the Americas are sovereign partners. But if one of these governments refuses to act against one of these groups that Washington deems a terrorist threat, does the U.S. reserve the right to act unilaterally, including here in Peru?
And President Fujimori: (Via interpreter) The question wanted more information about the partner of the Shield of the Americas. This will include to collaborate with the United States here in the country.
SECRETARY RUBIO: I'll answer that question in English to Spanish. I don't know if you guys heard it. Basically, the gist of the question is, if you're a member of the Shield and refuse to act, does the United States - will the United States act unilaterally?
Well, if we were going to act unilaterally, why would we need the Shield? We're not - if we were interested in acting unilaterally, we have the capacity to act unilaterally. The reason why we're not doing it is because we want to do it with our partners. It's the most effective way to do it. For us to confront transnational criminal groups, we need to do it inside the sovereign territory of countries, and we want to partner with those countries. It's in their interest to do it. That is why we have the Shield. That is why the Shield exists.
People make up these problems that don't exist. They're getting ahead of themselves with these - these ridiculous sort of things that no one's even contemplating. The bottom line is the reason why we have a Shield is because we choose to act in partnership with our partners. So it's very simple. This is not very complicated; let me explain this to you. It's a very, very simple equation. We have a country that says we want to defeat these criminals, these terrorists, these evil, despicable human beings; we want to defeat them. We want to work with America to defeat them. And so we say, of course we want to work - what should we say to them? No, we don't want to work with you? No, we'd like you not to do anything about these groups?
We have a president here who has said very clearly - not to us, to the people of her country; it's why they elected her - I am going to defeat these groups that extort you, I am going to defeat these groups that kill you, I am going to defeat these groups that terrorize your children in our communities. And the United States has said we're so happy you're doing that, it's important for us as well, and we're going to partner with you. That is the purpose of the Shield, to shield the region against this threat to the sovereignty of every one of our nations.
(Via interpreter) The question was if the United States will act unilaterally if the member country of the Shield will not act. It's a ridiculous question because if we're going to do it unilaterally, then why would we have the Shield? The reason why we have the Shield is because we don't want to act unilaterally. We want to act together. We want to act jointly.
Why do we want it? It's very simple. These are terrorist groups. Please be clear, these are not criminals stealing a bank. These are terrorist groups extorting people, extorting and doing a lot of - committing multiple crimes, things that you cannot even think about. They're evil. So these - we need to defeat them, and we need to work together. When we see that there is a leader, a president that was elected with that promise to the people - and she is compliant with this; she will defeat and confront these groups - we will support her. Because it's of our interest as well to work with you, of course, to your country or a sovereign country.
And this is an enormous responsibility to confront these groups, and we will do our best to support to be able so she can comply with that promise. She will help us, but we will help them as well. This is how the partnerships work, this is how allies work, and this is what is the Shield. It is a powerful partnership against these diabolic groups that have terrorized the region for many, many years and through multiple leaders, and many, many, many political leaders from multiple countries don't have the courage to confront them, or at many times they were involved. And this impunity will no longer be accepted, and this is what we are seeing, and in other countries as well that are a member of the Shield of the Americans.
PRESIDENT FUJIMORI: (Via interpreter) I want to reflect on a question. When we requested powers, this request was filed with congress by the prime minister. We requested to declare these criminal groups as hostile and terrorist groups. This mechanism will be fundamental.
Second of all, we want to coordinate and strengthen the justice administration system to face decisively these criminal organizations. All of these mechanisms will help us obtain information through the Shield of the Americas and the different government agencies.
(In English) So we are extremely happy, and we are thankful for Peru to be part now of the Shield of the Americas.
QUESTION: (Via interpreter) Ayrton Luera from ATV Noticias. My question was with this incorporation of Peru into Shield of Americas, Mr. Rubio, would be - will we expect military operations or emergency operations in Peruvian territory?
And if so, Madam President, could you tell us about the conversations that have taken place, if these interventions respect Peruvian sovereignty? And Mr. Rubio, what would be your answer to this public response of the Chinese embassy after your column in the press?
SECRETARY RUBIO: (Via interpreter) I don't know what the Chinese embassy said. I'm not here to talk about what the Chinese embassy said. So, but the first question that you asked, we're going to be - this is a sovereign country. You have your laws, you have a process. It's a democratic country. You have a system, government system, a legal system; you will comply to that. We're willing to do all what we can to assist you. This is going to be based on the cooperation that you request. We don't want to be less, offer less, but not offer more than what you're requesting. We'll work together with this government that has an interest in defeating and have an obligation it's committed to confront and defeat these criminal groups. So we're not going to do anything that is outside the legal framework of your country or outside what the government will request.
(In English) The question was would we do anything in the country, military activities and the like - we're not going do anything that our partners don't ask us to do. This is a democracy. This is a republic. They have laws, they have a system of government, they have regulations, they have a process they have to go through. We are not - we don't want to do less than what you ask of us, but we're not going to do more than what you ask of us. We are partners and we are allies. That's how partnerships and alliances work.
PRESIDENT FUJIMORI: (Via interpreter) I wanted to mention that even before we entered the Shield of the Americas our police force was being trained by the FBI. Even Great Britain was assisting us in this training and in the strengthening of our police force. And with our entry into the Shield of Americas we will have a more solid position.
With regard to the entry of troops, there is a special provision in the constitution. Every time there is this kind of entry, a special authorization is requested to the congress of the republic. Of course, we will uphold this rule. Peru's sovereignty is intact. We will recover order, tranquility, and peace for all of the Peruvian people. For this reason, we thank Secretary Rubio for his presence and to be here to be able to announce that Peru will be part of the Shield of the Americas. Thank you so much.
MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) We will now listen to the last question of this conference.
QUESTION: Eric Martin with Bloomberg News. Secretary Rubio, as you get ready to conclude this three-day visit to Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador, what is your message to the people of the region about the benefits of partnering with the U.S. and to voters in neighboring Brazil as they face elections in one month from now in some of the same security and other challenges of countries in the region?
And President Fujimori - Presidente Fujimori: (Via interpreter) After the visit of Secretary Rubio —
SECRETARY RUBIO: (Via interpreter) Oh, he spoke Spanish. You're tricky.
(In English) I didn't know he spoke Spanish.
(Via interpreter) I can no longer speak Spanish because he'll know.
(In English) I'm sorry.
QUESTION: (Via interpreter) Thank you, Secretary. President Fujimori, after the visit of Secretary Rubio, after today, and after being six weeks in office, are you prepared to take more steps to associate and work with the United States despite the massive investment of China in Peru during the last years, including the Port of Chancay? Thank you.
SECRETARY RUBIO: (Via interpreter) Thank you. He speaks Spanish. I mean, I was - I'm no longer going to be able to speak Spanish in front of you. It's a joke, obviously.
First, what's our message? Let's be clear on this. I've said for more than 20 years, unfortunately, administrations of both political parties, they've ignored the region. The focus was on different parts of the world. If you study - because I have two jobs: Secretary of State and also I am a consultant to the national security for President Trump at the Security Council. So our National Security Strategy speaks very openly about we will give priority to this side of the hemisphere. Why? Because we're part of it, because geography is real, and the problems of the hemisphere impacts directly. It doesn't mean that other problems outside this hemisphere are not important, but what really happens here in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean has a direct impact to the United States.
Number two, we have a lot of people in common. How many U.S. Americans come visit, have businesses here, are tourists, live here, and vice versa? We have very - a very strong bond we cannot ignore, so we'll give the priority. And not rhetorically - because there has been other administrations, oh, no, yes, we are focused on the side of the hemisphere, but they are not doing things, they haven't done things. We are going to be focusing. First, it's important for us, Peru as a country, as part of our national interest.
So this visit is not unexpected. I've done this visit as a senator, I'm doing this as the Secretary of State, and we will continue doing this type of visits, and we will have concrete efforts. It's not just simply the Shield of the Americas. We'll have other efforts jointly to confront the interests that we have in common with our friends and our allies. And we want all the time - this is the most important. This is very, very important in democracy. When a president is elected and the president decides to cooperate and work with the United States, it's super important that we can show the people that there are benefits for the people to get a partnership with the United States and work together, not only at the security level but as well trade and economically speaking.
And we need to try to do that, and we want to make sure that the countries that cooperate with us are going to be able to respond to their voters: This is the consequence, the result of our cooperation with the United States.
(In English) Very briefly, the question was in English: What is our message? Our message is what we've been saying all along. We have a National Security Strategy. I helped write it. And it talks about how the Western Hemisphere is a priority for this administration - not a rhetorical priority, not a symbolic priority, not a ceremonial priority - a real priority. That's why I've traveled extensively in the region, that's why we've received visitors from the region, and that's why we're here today. Because geography is real. The things that happen in this hemisphere directly impact us. We're not doing anybody a favor here. Us getting involved in the region is not a favor; it is essential to our own security, to our own prosperity, to our own well-being in the United States of America.
And this administration is committed to this. And there'll be more if - people talk about the Shield of the Americas. I'm very proud of it. There's going to be more initiatives like that in multiple realms where we can work together. But for this administration, this hemisphere is a priority, and you will continue to see it demonstrated over and over and over again.
PRESIDENT FUJIMORI: (Via interpreter) Peru is part of APEC, the Asian Pacific economic forum; the United States too. And Peru has a significant production of minerals, fish products, agricultural products, and we will continue with this effort of having trade exchanges with different countries from Asia, from the Pacific, and from Europe of course. But today, with the presence of Secretary Rubio and the agreement signed in recent days, and with this direct collaboration that will be reciprocal, we begin a new era of relations between Peru and the United States. And these relations will surely strengthen both countries.
So thank you, Secretary Rubio, for your presence. We hope you can visit us again. And we have already talked about other dates where we will be able to exchange more ideas and re-establish this cooperation, bridges between both countries. Thank you. (Applause.)
MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) We would like to thank the press for their questions, and we would like to invite President Fujimori and Secretary Rubio to step up for an official photograph. We hope that you can move forward to be able to capture this photo. This act has ended. Thank you for your presence. We wish you a good afternoon, and we will now like to request the Peruvian press to remain in your places while we wait for the other part of the press to leave. Thank you.
