Chilean President José Antonio Kast arrived in neighboring Bolivia on Friday for the first state visit by a Chilean leader in more than seven decades, as a rightward realignment in South America reshapes long-standing rivalries.
Kast and Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, both recently elected conservatives allied with U.S. President Donald Trump, are seeking to thaw relations strained since Bolivia lost its Pacific coastline to Chile in a 19th-century war. The two governments have joined the Trump administration’s “ Shield of the Americas ” coalition against drug trafficking, part of a broader push by Washington to build security partnerships with like-minded leaders across Latin America.
