The administration of Paraguayan conservative President Santiago Peña accepted President Donald Trump’s invitation to his proposed international Board of Peace, Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano announced.
The Paraguayan state-owned television network Paraguay TV reports Ramírez Lezcano confirmed and accepted the invitation extended by President Trump to President Peña.
The “Board of Peace” is an initiative presented by President Trump that call upon nations to join the group with the aim of resolving conflicts. This week, President Trump announced that the proposal seeks a $1 billion payment from countries seeking to attain permanent membership, as opposed a three-year appointment. The amount raised would go to rebuilding Gaza.
Ramírez Lezcano clarified that the country’s accession to the proposal “does not entail any binding financial commitments,” referring to the $1 billion permanent membership seat announced by Trump.
“Although the document related to this organization mentions the figure of $1 billion, this amount is not a requirement for member states. The amount is linked to specific aspects of participation within the organization’s framework,” Minister Ramírez said.
“The United States government is clearly aware of the country’s economic reality and that a contribution of this magnitude would not be feasible for Paraguay,” he continued.
The state-owned outlet Paraguayan Information Agency reports that Ramírez Lezcano detailed to a local radio station that the invitation to the Board of Peace is a “recognition” of the role that the country plays in promoting dialogue, as well as an opportunity for its international positioning.
Paraguay’s President Santiago Pena speaks after the signing ceremony of the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, at the Gran Teatro Jose Asuncion Flores of Paraguay’s Central Bank in Asuncion on January 17, 2026. ( Luis ROBAYO / AFP via Getty)
“We believe that for Paraguay it is an excellent opportunity to be part of this mechanism for dialogue,” Ramírez Lezcano said, and explained that the Paraguayan Foreign Ministry is already in coordination with the U.S. State Department for the proposed board.
“Our teams are working, I am already in contact with the U.S. State Department, so that we will have greater clarity on all these elements, so that once President Santiago Peña has made the decision to participate, we will be able to clarify all these details,” he said.
Over the past year, President Santiago Peña, a staunch conservative, has risen as one of the most notable allies of President Trump in the region. Peña was the only Latin American head of state invited by President Trump to October 2025’s historic Middle East Peace Summit hosted in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
On December, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano signed a historic Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), allowing the presence and activities of U.S. military and Department of War civilian personnel in Paraguay.
The occasion also served for both officials to ratify the two nations’ joint fight against transnational crime and drug trafficking, with both countries agreeing to work together over the coming months and years.
At the signing ceremony, Sec. Rubio described Paraguay as one of America’s strongest allies in the world and in the region, and detailed that the U.S. wants to continue to find concrete ways to work together, stressing that it “extends beyond the security realms.”
Read the full article here