Marco Rubio, a hawk on Latin America: From attacking the ‘narco-dictatorship’ in Venezuela to welcoming his ‘friend’ Javier Milei
The next secretary of state, known for his tough stance on countries such as Cuba, is expected to put the region at the center of his agenda
Marco Rubio has been preparing for this pivotal moment in his political career. The Florida senator, the son of Cuban immigrants, will become the first Latino Secretary of State in the future Donald Trump administration. Rubio comes to this role with extensive foreign policy experience, having served on both the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees, and he is ready to shake up U.S. policy toward Latin America.
Judging by the statements he has made about the region throughout his political career, Rubio is likely to support populist leaders like Argentina’s Javier Milei, whom he has called “a breath of fresh air.” Meanwhile, he will likely distance himself from left-wing governments in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. His stance on Cuba and Venezuela will also be firm: Rubio will seek to halt any attempts at rapprochement with Cuba and will push for tougher sanctions against Venezuela’s “narco-dictatorship.”
In an April article for National Interest, Rubio urged the U.S. to embrace a “new generation of potentially pro-American leaders” in Latin America, highlighting conservative governments in Argentina, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Peru as key allies. “These leaders expressed strong support for the American-led international order, as well as a strong desire for greater economic collaboration with the United States,” Rubio wrote. “I think it is in our national interest to reciprocate this willingness.”
Here is a compilation of some of the key statements Marco Rubio has made about Latin America, organized by country and in chronological order.
Argentina
On Javier Milei:
“Milei deserves praise for […] fulfilling one of his most important guarantees: keeping Argentina out of the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) trade group… Milei’s socialist predecessor, Alberto Fernandez, cozied up to both Moscow and Beijing, and he called joining BRICS a ‘great opportunity.’ That would have been a disaster for Argentina.” (Op-ed in Real Clear World, January 2024)
“Milei is a friend, and the United States should support him […] [Milei] is a breath of fresh air. [...] President Biden should use the United States’ influence at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help President Milei restructure Argentina’s debt.” (Article published on the Medium platform in December 2023)
Brazil
On Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva:
“Brazil’s Lula da Silva is the latest far-left leader who whitewashes the criminal nature of the [Nicolás] Maduro narco-regime.” (Post on X slamming the Brazilian leader for opposing U.S. sanctions against Maduro, in May 2023)
“President Biden must take a firm line with Brazil’s new president, holding Lula to account for his friendliness toward the CCP—as well as other bloody handed dictatorships, like those of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.” (Column in The Epoch Times, published in February 2023)
On Jair Bolsonaro:
“A strong, vibrant and democratic Brazil that is more closely aligned with the United States as a strategic partner can be a force multiplier in addressing the ongoing crisis in Venezuela [...] The Trump administration should move quickly to advance goals that would be welcomed by the Bolsonaro government.” (Op-ed on CNN in January 2019 after Bolsonaro’s inauguration)
Colombia
On Gustavo Petro:
“Petro [...] has appeased terrorists, treating them like legitimate groups rather than the bands of criminals they are [...] Petro has also appeased cartels [...] I urge President Joe Biden to deal firmly with his Colombian counterpart in response. The United States should condition our foreign aid on a decrease in Bogotá's appeasement tactics […] Moreover, we should never again relinquish our rights to refuse extradition of Colombian gangsters or terrorists who violate U.S. law.” (Article published on Medium in May 2024)
“Petro is an agent of chaos.” (Article on Medium in April 2023)
“It is very dangerous that the president of a country that for years has been a great ally of the United States chooses to now be the spokesman for a criminal narco-dictatorship like the one in Venezuela. In order to gain the support of intermediaries like Maduro and Castro for ‘negotiations’ with the ELN terrorists, Petro is willing to lobby for a vile dictatorship.” (Interview with the Colombian magazine Semana in April 2023)
Cuba
On the rapprochement of the last two Democratic governments with Cuba:
“Rather than compelling the Cuban dictatorship to end its human rights abuses and bring democracy to the island, the Biden-Harris Administration has only looked for opportunities to pacify the regime and mend diplomatic relations. We see no other reason for expanding NIVs [nonimmigrant visas] to Cuban individuals.” (Letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken after Biden expanded these visas in September 2024)
““If Biden were to recommit to the same [Barack] Obama-era policies, we know far too well who would suffer: those who seek a freer, more democratic Cuba, including the island’s dissidents, political prisoners, artists, and activists.” (Op-ed in the Miami Herald following Biden’s victory in December 2020)
“[Obama’s] decision to reward the Castro regime and begin the path toward the normalization of relations with Cuba is inexplicable […] Cuba, like Syria, Iran, and Sudan, remains a state sponsor of terrorism.” (Statement after Obama announced he was restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba in December 2014)
El Salvador
On Nayib Bukele:
“[Bukele’s] leadership in making El Salvador a safe country to live in should be an example for President Joe Biden. Instead, Biden continues to ignore allies like Bukele.” (Post on X in February 2024)
“Despite what you hear from the Biden administration and left-wing pundits, Bukele is a democratically elected leader who has enacted reforms with the collaboration of legislators and the people who elected him. I would be the first to condemn any tyrannical move from Bukele, but I also think it’s absurd to criticize him for giving Salvadoran people their freedom back.” (Op-ed published in Compact Mag in April 2023)
Guatemala
On President Bernardo Arévalo:
“Friday’s announcement by Guatemalan prosecutors to strip President-elect Arévalo of his legal immunity and cast doubt on his January 14, 2024 inauguration is a threat to Guatemala’s democracy.”(Statement on the transition of power in Guatemala in December 2023)
On the defunct International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG):
“I am concerned that CICIG, a commission mostly funded by the United States, has been manipulated and used by radical elements and Russia’s campaign against the Bitkov family in Guatemala.” (Statement made in May 2018 regarding the CICIG, whose funding was temporarily frozen)
On former president Jimmy Morales:
“Looking forward to visit with great friend of U.S. [Jimmy Morales] has made real progress addressing corruption & narcoterror.” (Post on X in February 2018)
Mexico
On Claudia Sheinbaum:
“While the U.S. continues to face an unprecedented fentanyl and illegal migration crisis, it is my hope President-elect Sheinbaum stands up to confront these security and democracy challenges. The U.S. must also be prepared to face continued and significant challenges in the future of the U.S.-Mexico relations.” (Statement after Sheinbaum’s victory in June 2024)
On former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador:
“López Obrador is not a good ally. The current president, unfortunately, is dedicated to talking nonsense, to interfering in U.S. policy. [...] He has handed over a large part of his national territory to the drug traffickers who control those areas. That matters to us because we are seeing the consequences of that violence, that criminality entering our border and our country. (Interview in El Universal in May 2023)
“Glad to see that the Mexican president, who has handed over sections of his country to drug cartels and is an apologist for tyranny in Cuba, a murderous dictator in Nicaragua and a drug trafficker in Venezuela, will not be in the U.S. this week.” (Post on X in reference to the Summit of the Americas held in Washington in June 2022)
On possible U.S. military intervention in Mexico to combat cartels:
“I would be willing to support this measure, but it has to be in coordination with the armed forces and the Mexican police force. Otherwise, it would not be possible to do it.” (Interview with El Universal in May 2023)
Nicaragua
On Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo:
“The Ortega-Murillo crime family continues to pose a severe threat to our national security interests in the region […] Nicaragua is now a hub for human trafficking and [the State Dept.] should designate the country as a state sponsor of human trafficking.” (Remark at a Senate hearing in April 2024)
“Our Catholic brothers and sisters in Nicaragua carry a heavy cross as they remain targets of repression and religious persecution… It’s time for the international community to confront this threat and hold these tyrants accountable for their countless crimes.” (Interview with the religious media Angelus in January 2024)
“The decision made by the criminal Ortega-Murillo regime to completely undermine the presidential election process in 2022, as well as their decision to force into exile nearly all of Nicaragua’s opposition and actively repress members of the Catholic Church, indicates that the regime’s vile nature continues to grow. U.S. policy towards Nicaragua should no longer be the same.” (Statement announcing new legislation to impose sanctions on Ortega, June 2023)
Venezuela
On the elections last July:
“The Biden-Harris Administration claimed concessions to the Maduro regime would secure a ‘free and fair’ election process in Venezuela, yet we all know it was a farce. The ‘strategies’ presented by this administration have done nothing but empower narco-dictator Maduro and his thugs [...] Any negotiations are a continued lifeline to the narco-regime.” (Statement issued in August 2024)
“Such an outcome to this sham election was entirely predictable from the start. It was made more so by three years’ worth of concessions to and negotiations with the Maduro narco-dictatorship [...] The Biden-Harris Administration gave away every ounce of leverage we had over Maduro, then appeared surprised when he didn’t do what they wanted.” (Op-ed in the Miami Herald in August 2024).
On possible U.S. military intervention in Venezuela:
““For months and years, I wanted the solution in Venezuela to be a non-military and peaceful solution, simply to restore democracy […] I believe that there is a very strong argument that can be made at this time that Venezuela and the Maduro regime has become a threat to the region and even to the United States.” (Interview with Breitbart News in September 2019)
“That option [military intervention] is always there simply because the United States has a right to defend its national security and there are national security interests assigned to this.” (Interview with Breitbart News in May 2019)
On Maduro and his supporters:
“In the interest of U.S. national security and regional stability, Maduro must stand trial for his crimes against the Venezuelan people.” (Letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland calling for Maduro’s arrest in June 2022)
“Diosdado Cabello is not simply a drug-trafficking leader. In my opinion, he is the Pablo Escobar of Venezuela.” (Comment during a Senate hearing in July 2017)
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