When Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno visits Colombia this week as part of a three-nation tour of Latin America, it will be something of a homecoming.
The Ohio senator, who defeated an incumbent last year with the help of Donald Trump鈥檚 endorsement and the highest political ad spending in U.S. Senate race history, was born in Bogota and has brothers who are and business there.
Moreno has emerged as an interlocutor for conservatives in Latin America seeking to connect with the Trump administration.
In an interview with The Associated Press ahead of the trip, he expressed deep concern about Colombia鈥檚 direction under left-wing President Gustavo Petro and suggested that U.S. sanctions, higher tariffs or other retaliatory action might be needed to steer it straight.
The recent criminal conviction of former President Alvaro Uribe, a conservative icon, was an attempt to 鈥渟ilence鈥� the man who saved Colombia from guerrilla violence, Moreno said. Meanwhile, record cocaine production has left the United States less secure 鈥� and Colombia vulnerable to being decertified by the White House for failing to cooperate in the war on drugs.
鈥淭he purpose of the trip is to understand all the dynamics before any decision is made,鈥� said Moreno, who will meet with both Petro and Uribe, as well as business leaders and local officials. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 nothing that鈥檚 taken off the table at this point and there鈥檚 nothing that鈥檚 directly being contemplated.鈥�
Elected with Trump's support
Moreno, a luxury car dealer from Cleveland, defeated incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown last year and became Ohio鈥檚 senior senator on practically his first day in office after his close friend JD Vance resigned the Senate to become vice president.
In Congress, Moreno has mimicked Trump鈥檚 rhetoric to attack top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer as a 鈥渕iserable old man out of a Dickens novel,鈥� called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates and threatened to subpoena California officials over their response to anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles.
On Latin America, he鈥檚 been similarly outspoken, slamming Petro on social media as a 鈥渟ocialist dictator鈥� and accusing Mexico of being on the path to becoming a 鈥渘arco state.鈥�
Such comments barely register in blue-collar Ohio, but they鈥檝e garnered attention in Latin America. That despite the fact Moreno hasn鈥檛 lived in the region for decades, speaks Spanish with a U.S. accent and doesn鈥檛 sit on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
鈥淗e鈥檚 somebody to watch,鈥� said Michael Shifter, the former president of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington. 鈥淗e鈥檚 one of the most loyal Trump supporters in the senate and given his background in Latin America he could be influential on policy.鈥�
Moreno, 58, starts his first congressional delegation to Latin America on Monday for two days of meetings in Mexico City with officials including President Claudia Sheinbaum. He鈥檒l be accompanied by Terrance Cole, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, who is making his since being confirmed by the Senate last month to head the premier federal narcotics agency.
Seeking cooperation with Mexico on fentanyl
Moreno, in the pre-trip interview, said that Sheinbaum has done more to combat the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. than her predecessor and mentor Andr茅s Manuel L贸pez Obrador, who he described as a 鈥渢otal disaster.鈥� But he said more cooperation is needed, and he鈥檇 like to see Mexico allow the DEA to participate in judicial wiretaps like it has for decades in Colombia and allow it to bring back a plane used in bilateral investigations that L贸pez Obrador grounded.
鈥淭he corruption becomes so pervasive, that if it鈥檚 left unchecked, it鈥檚 kind of like treating cancer,鈥� said Moreno. 鈥淢exico has to just come to the realization that it does not have the resources to completely wipe out the drug cartels. And it鈥檚 only going to be by asking the U.S. for help that we can actually accomplish that.鈥�
Plans to tour the Panama Canal
From Mexico, Moreno heads to Panama, where he鈥檒l tour the Panama Canal with Trump鈥檚 new ambassador to the country, Kevin Marino Cabrera.
In March, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate struck a deal that would鈥檝e handed control of two ports on either end of the U.S.-built canal to American investment firm BlackRock Inc. The deal was heralded by Trump, who had threatened to take back the canal to curb Chinese influence.
However, the deal has since drawn scrutiny from antitrust authorities in Beijing and last month the seller said it was seeking to add a strategic partner from mainland China 鈥� reportedly state-owned shipping company Cosco 鈥� to the deal.
鈥淐osco you might as well say is the actual communist party,鈥� said Moreno. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no scenario in which Cosco can be part of the Panamanian ports.鈥�
鈥榃e want Colombia to be strong鈥�
On the final leg of the tour in Colombia, Moreno will be joined by another Colombian American senator: Ruben Gallego, Democrat of Arizona. In contrast to Moreno, who was born into privilege and counts among his siblings a former ambassador to the U.S., Gallego and his three sisters were raised by an immigrant single mother on a secretary鈥檚 paycheck.
Despite their different upbringings, the two have made common cause in seeking to uphold the tradition of bilateral U.S. support for Colombia, for decades Washington鈥檚 staunchest ally in the region. It鈥檚 a task made harder by deepening polarization in both countries.
The recent sentencing of Uribe to 12 years of house arrest in a long-running witness tampering case has jolted the nation鈥檚 politics with nine months to go before decisive presidential elections. The former president is barred from running but remains a powerful leader, and Moreno said his absence from the campaign trail could alter the playing field.
He also worries that surging cocaine production could once again lead to a 鈥渘arcotization鈥� of a bilateral relationship that should be about trade, investment and mutual prosperity.
鈥淲e want Colombia to be strong, we want Colombia to be healthy, we want Colombia to be prosperous and secure, and I think the people of Colombia want the exact same thing,鈥� he added. 鈥淪o, the question is, how do we get there?鈥�
