LIMA, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Peru will join the U.S.-led "Shield of the Americas" coalition against drug cartels, President Keiko Fujimori said on Thursday after talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Lima, tightening security ties with Washington early in her presidency.
Peru's foreign ministry had flagged the move in recent months as part of a broader push to strengthen border security and coordination against transnational crime.
Fujimori told reporters Peru's participation in the coalition
would help speed intelligence-sharing and bolster joint action against criminal groups operating across borders.
Rubio, welcoming the decision, said the initiative was meant to "shield the region" from organizations that threaten the sovereignty of countries across the hemisphere, according to remarks delivered at the joint appearance.
Rubio's visit, the highest-level U.S. trip to Peru since President Donald Trump returned to office, comes as Washington seeks closer security and commercial ties with conservative governments in Latin America while pushing back against China's influence in mining and infrastructure.
Peru is the world's third-largest copper producer, giving the relationship added strategic weight for both governments.
The two countries have already moved to deepen defense ties. In January, the United States designated Peru a major non-NATO ally, and the State Department approved a possible $1.5 billion foreign military sale for design and construction work at Callao naval base, Peru's main naval hub near Lima.
The Peru stop capped Rubio's three-country South America tour this week, after visits to Colombia and Ecuador, centered on counternarcotics, migration and trade.
In Lima, officials also discussed U.S. support for Peru's preparations for a possible El Niño emergency, Fujimori said.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino and Kylie Madry; Editing by Lucinda Elliott)
