Jeanette Núñez wraps up trade mission to Colombia

It’s the executive branch’s second trade mission since Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis took office in January. DeSantis and Núñez led a delegation to Israel in May.

The fact that DeSantis had Núñez lead the mission without him is another sign that he’s giving more responsibility to Núñez than his predecessor, Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, gave to two lieutenant governors in his eight years as governor.

DeSantis has also asked her to oversee the state’s Department of Health and to chair Space Florida, the state-created agency that promotes the space industry, among other responsibilities.

“I’ve been able to venture into areas and just have a much broader presence. That’s good for him, obviously, when you have a lieutenant governor that’s willing to do the work, and is willing to lead a delegation like this,” Núñez said. “He strongly believes that the executive breach should be visible.”

Overall, Núñez said Florida accounts for 24% of all U.S. trade with Colombia and the state is trying to build on that relationship. While South Florida enjoys strong cultural and trade ties to Latin America, she said companies from North Florida, Jacksonville, St. Augustine and the Tampa Bay area were also part of the delegation.

She said Columbia is politically and economically more stable than some of its neighbors.

“From that standpoint Colombia is very appealing for a lot of these companies that are new to the market,” Núñez said.