Peru took over the Andean Community’s rotating presidency on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. Foreign Minister Carlos Espá said the country would put regional security, disaster risk and border integration first. Ecuador handed over the post at a ministers’ meeting in Quito. The bloc, known as CAN, includes Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador.
The ceremony took place during a joint session of the bloc’s foreign ministers and trade commission. Delegations from Bolivia and Colombia attended, along with Secretary General Gonzalo Gutiérrez. The post is formally called the pro tempore presidency. It rotates among members each year and sets the bloc’s working agenda. Ecuador held it from September 2025 to September 2026, one year.
Crime Fight and Peru’s Priorities
Ecuador’s foreign minister, Roberto Kury, reported 13 operational measures and 96 concrete actions against organized crime during his country’s year in the chair. Targets included arms trafficking, illegal mining, people smuggling and money laundering. These cross-border problems are too large for any single member government to tackle alone.
Espá named three priorities for Peru: security against transnational threats; disaster risk and environmental work; and Andean citizenship with border integration. State news agency Andina reported that digital transformation, innovation and culture are also on the list. Peru wants to convene the Andean Presidential Council, the bloc’s summit of heads of state. Trade and tourism minister Rogers Valencia called this “the moment to take decisions” for the region.
What Ministers Approved
The trade commission approved rules for tourists bringing private vehicles across borders. The rules now cover cars towing small boats or motorbikes. The commission also adopted a community statistics program for 2026–2030. Ministers told officials to work toward a single Andean sky and a regional coastal shipping regime.
Gutiérrez said the single-sky proposal aims to enable direct flights, including Guayaquil to Cusco without a change of planes in Lima. It would require common rules on passenger data and security standards. He said travelers shouldn’t expect an immediate change: the proposal is a long-term project.
Trade Numbers and a Tariff Fight
The CAN General Secretariat said members exported US$187.46 billion to the world in 2025, up 11.5%. Peru accounted for US$90.47 billion, or 48.3% of the total. Exports among member countries reached US$9.84 billion, up 8.0% from 2024. That’s about 5% of the bloc’s total sales.
The year also brought friction. Ecuador and Colombia raised tariffs on each other. The dispute ended after 124 days in June 2026, about four months before today.
Many details remain open. Andina reported that Peru had prepared for President Keiko Fujimori and Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa to formalize the handover, but officials haven’t published a date for that step or for a presidential summit. Peru’s full 2026–2027 work plan hasn’t been released. Officials gave no target dates for the single sky or the shipping regime.
Why This Matters: Organized crime, illegal mining and disasters hit ordinary people hardest. They cross borders without asking permission. A bloc that coordinates enforcement, disaster planning and border rules has tools that individual governments lack. But the facts show a gap between ambition and delivery. Trade among members is only about 5% of the bloc’s exports, a tariff fight between two members lasted 124 days, and the headline projects have no deadlines. Whether “Andean citizenship” means practical gains for travelers, workers and border communities will depend on a work plan the public hasn’t yet seen. That puts the weight on accountability: published timelines, measurable results and a summit that actually convenes.