Team Paraguay’s amazing FIFA World Cup run put the South American country on the radar for most Americans. But, for U.S. policymakers, Paraguay should be about far more than soccer. Paraguay is one of the most ethnically and religiously homogenous on the continent. This imbues it with tremendous stability and social cohesion. That it is reliably pro-American, open for business, and centrally located is a virtue that wins it increasing attention within the State Department and Pentagon.Secretary of State Marco Rubio certainly understands this. In February 2024, he became the first U.S. senator to visit Paraguay in 40 years. Just six months ago, Rubio hosted a ceremony at the State Department to celebrate the new Status of Forces Agreement under which U.S. troops might operate inside the country while on joint operations and exercises. Transforming that into a more permanent agreement is simply a matter of President Donald Trump and Rubio signaling their desire.To Trump and Rubio’s credit, they are willing to break with decades of diplomatic inertia to reconsider American priorities. This is one of the reasons why the Trump administration has moved to embrace the Democratic Republic of Congo. Economists and geologists estimate that more than $24 trillion in strategic minerals, metals, and rare earths lie buried inside Africa’s second-largest country. While previous administrations have largely deferred the DRC’s resources to China, Trump has sought to deal with President Felix Tshisekedi to win a share of the DRC’s rare earths for American industry.