Secretary of State Marco Rubio will deliver a strong message from President Trump to Colombia's new president this week, urging the eradication of cocaine and dismantling of trafficking groups. The Trump administration has likened its anti-cartel push to the offensive against Al Qaeda and Islamic State, seeking greater control in Latin America. Colombia, the world's largest cocaine producer, has seen a surge in production amid soaring global demand, sparking violence as armed groups battle territory.

Abelardo De La Espriella, Colombia's recently elected president, made crushing "narcoterrorists" a central plank of his outsider campaign. Since taking office, he has touted military operations against trafficking groups and enrolled Colombia in the Trump administration's new security alliance, the Shield of the Americas. Rubio plans to press De La Espriella to eradicate hundreds of square miles of coca crops, a Trump priority.

The two are also expected to discuss deploying security forces and targeting armed groups' financial networks. While Colombia has one of the most advanced militaries in the region, experts say it has been hobbled by funding cuts and a diminished helicopter fleet. Gimena Sánchez of the Washington Office on Latin America said the likely agenda includes joint operations against traffickers and discussions about aid packages and reduced tariffs.

In Trump's second term, the administration has zeroed in on the drug trade, designating numerous Latin American groups as terrorists, including Venezuela's Tren de Aragua and dissident factions of Colombia's FARC. Last month, General Francis L. Donovan traveled to Colombia and Ecuador to discuss joint operations and the risk of traffickers crossing borders.