WASHINGTON—Paraguayan President Santiago Peña says he is optimistic about working with President Donald Trump’s administration to boost his nation’s alliance with the United States.
“I think there are great times ahead of us.”
Peña noted that, despite continued healthy relations, no Paraguayan president had been received by the White House under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
He said that cordial relationship had resulted in Paraguay being somewhat overlooked by the United States.
“One of our main problems is that we are not a problem,” he joked.
Peña also emphasized the decades of economic friendship between the two countries, noting that Paraguay is one of the few countries in the world that has a trade deficit with the United States.
The country’s economy is growing. Its poverty rate has dropped from 51 percent to 19.9 percent over the past 22 years. It exports leather, sugar, and seed oils to the United States and imports technology and minerals.
Trade between the United States and Paraguay reached $2.8 billion in 2023.
Paraguay is one of the few landlocked nations in South America. However, it is crisscrossed by rivers, and Pena said it has built out the third-largest fleet of river barges in the world, surpassed only by China and the United States.
In 2024 Paraguay was lifted to “investment grade” status by Moody’s, meaning its bonds are considered a low-risk investment.
While he is hopeful for the prospect of growing U.S.–Paraguay relations, Peña said he disagreed with Trump’s decision to withdraw from global, multilateral projects such as the World Health Organization (WHO).
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order directing relevant agencies to begin withdrawing the United States from that organization.
“I would strongly encourage the Trump administration not to give their back to the multilateral system, but to reshape the multilateral system,” he said.
When asked about some of Trump’s more controversial decisions, such as renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, Peña said he had warmed up to the president’s unorthodox methods.
“I have to acknowledge that during the first Trump administration, I did not get many of his strategies; Now I understand it much better,” he said.
“This idea of national security and national identity and putting America first. So he’s not against Mexico, he’s not against Canada. He’s in favor of Americans, of U.S. citizens … and I think this is a great way of thinking.”
