Summary
- Sen. Bernie Moreno tours Latin America, including Colombia.
- Ohio’s first Latino senator, born in Bogotá, Colombia.
- Elected with Trump’s backing, mirrors Trump’s rhetoric.
- Criticizes Colombia’s leftist president, urges tough measures.
- Seen as a key Trump ally for Latin American conservatives.
Born in the Colombian capital of Bogota, Ohio's first Latino senator, who defeated an incumbent last year with the support of Donald Trump, kept a close eye on his homeland through older brothers who are influential figures in both business and politics.
The 58-year-old Moreno has become a mediator for conservatives in Latin America who want to get in touch with the Trump administration.
He voiced serious concerns about Colombia's course under left-wing President Gustavo Petro in an interview with The Associated Press prior to the trip, speculating that increased tariffs, U.S. sanctions, or other retaliatory measures would be required to turn it around.
Moreno, a luxury car dealer from Cleveland, defeated incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown last year with the help of $441 million in political ad spending — the most in U.S. Senate race history. He became Ohio’s 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’s rhetoric to attack top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer as a “miserable old man out of a Dickens novel,” 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.
In Latin America, he’s been similarly outspoken, slamming Petro on social media as a “socialist dictator” and accusing Mexico of being on the path to becoming a “narco state.”
“What people wanted to hear in January is that we’re going to fly F-16s into Caracas and wage war against the country and that just wasn’t going to happen,”
said Moreno in the interview.
“If we take actions that are too much in that direction, we end up turning Venezuela over to China.”
Such comments barely register in blue-collar Ohio, but they’ve garnered attention in Latin America. That despite the fact Moreno hasn’t lived in the region for decades and doesn’t sit on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Monday marks the beginning of Moreno's first congressional trip to Latin America, which will meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum and other authorities in Mexico City for two days. Terrance Cole, the director of the Drug Enforcement Administration, who was confirmed by the Senate last month, will travel with him for the first time.
Sheinbaum has done more to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States than her mentor and predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, whom Moreno called a "total disaster" in the pre-trip interview.
How does Moreno's Colombia visit influence US-Latin America conservative relations?
Senator Bernie Moreno's visit to Colombia significantly influences U.S.-Latin America conservative relations by serving as a key conduit between conservative leaders in Latin America and the Trump-aligned U.S. administration.
Moreno, born in Bogotá and with strong family ties in Colombian politics and business, acts as an interlocutor for conservatives seeking closer alignment with Washington, particularly under Trump's influence.
His visit is part of a broader tour in Latin America where he engages with political figures such as Colombia's left-wing President Gustavo Petro and conservative former President Álvaro Uribe.