MIAMI (AP) — Rising up in Miami amongst Cuban exiles who fled Fidel Castro’s revolution, Sen. Marco Rubio developed a deep hatred of communism. Now as President-elect Donald Trump’s selection for America’s prime diplomat, he’s set to convey that very same ideological ammunition to reshaping U.S. coverage in Latin America.
Because the first Latino secretary of state, Rubio is predicted to dedicate appreciable consideration to what has lengthy been disparagingly known as Washington’s yard.
The highest Republican on the Senate Choose Committee on Intelligence and a longtime member of the Overseas Relations Committee, he’s leveraged his data and unmatched private relationships to drive U.S. coverage within the area for years.
For many years because the finish of the Chilly Warfare, Latin America has light from the U.S. international coverage agenda at the same time as U.S. adversaries like Russia, Iran and particularly China have made deep inroads. If confirmed, the Florida Republican is more likely to finish the neglect.
However Rubio’s fame as a nationwide safety hawk, embrace of Trump’s plan for mass deportation of migrants and knack for polarizing rhetoric is more likely to alienate even some U.S. allies within the area unwilling to fall consistent with the incoming president’s America First international coverage.
“Typically, Latin America policy is left to junior officers,” mentioned Christopher Sabatini, a analysis fellow at Chatham Home in London. “But Rubio’s reflexes are firmly focused on the region. He’ll be paying attention, and governments are going to have to be more cooperative in their larger relationship with the U.S. if they want to draw close.”
Rubio, by means of a Senate spokeswoman, declined to remark about his international coverage targets.
However his views on Latin America are well-known and distinction sharply with the Biden administration’s desire for multilateral diplomacy and dialogue with U.S. critics.
Taking cues from his boss, Rubio’s important focus within the area is more likely to be Mexico, on commerce, drug trafficking and migration. As soon as a sponsor of bipartisan reforms permitting undocumented migrants a path to citizenship, Rubio remodeled himself throughout Trump’s first administration right into a loyal supporter of his requires elevated border safety and mass deportation.
Rubio has mentioned little about Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took workplace final month. However he was a fierce critic of her predecessor, Andres Manuel López Obrador, who in 2022 defiantly skipped the U.S.-organized Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles for a gathering of leftist leaders in Cuba.
Rubio accused López Obrador of capitulating to drug cartels and serving as an “apologist for tyranny” in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. The Mexican president responded by calling Rubio a “racist.”
Regardless of the snub, the Mexican president was welcomed by President Joe Biden to the White Home three weeks later as a “friend” and “partner.”
“That won’t happen under Rubio,” mentioned Sabatini. “He keeps close tabs on who is following his policy preferences.”
Rubio, 53, has lengthy had Trump’s ear on Latin America — and hasn’t hesitated to make use of that entry to advertise his hard-line agenda. He’s been one of the crucial outspoken critics of Russian and Chinese language financial, political and army outreach within the area, and is predicted to punish nations who cozy as much as America’s geopolitical rivals, or those that fail to assist Israel.
When Trump canceled what would have been his first presidential go to to Latin America in 2018, Rubio was there to fill the void, sitting for conferences and picture ops on the Summit of the Americas in Peru with regional leaders from Argentina, Haiti and elsewhere.
“There’s nobody in the U.S. Senate who comes close to having his affinity and depth of knowledge on Latin America,” mentioned Carlos Trujillo, Rubio’s shut pal and former U.S. ambassador to the Group of American States. “Not only does he have personal relationships with dozens of officials, some of them for decades, but he has vetted almost every U.S. ambassador deployed to the region. It’s a significant advantage.”
Amongst these wanting to work with Rubio is Argentine President Javier Milei, whose combative fashion, assaults on establishments and transformation from TV character to far-right chief have drawn comparisons with Trump.
One other ally is El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, whose crackdown on gang violence that after drove thousands and thousands of Salvadoran migrants to the U.S. has drawn reward from Rubio.
Rubio hasn’t hesitated to make use of his energy to bully leftist leaders he sees as harming U.S. nationwide safety pursuits. Even democratically elected moderates have been targets. Earlier this 12 months, he slammed Chilean President Gabriel Boric, a critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, for allegedly offering secure haven for Hezbollah financiers, calling him “one of the leading anti-Israel voices in Latin America.”
In 2023, he referred to as Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 guerrilla group, a “dangerous” selection to guide a rustic that has been the longtime U.S. companion within the battle on medication.
However it’s on Venezuela that Rubio has left his greatest mark.
Inside weeks of Trump taking workplace in January 2017, Rubio introduced the spouse of outstanding Venezuelan dissident Leopoldo Lopez to the White Home. The Oval Workplace go to, marked by a photograph of a grinning Trump and Rubio flanking the then jailed activist’s spouse, instantly thrust Venezuela to the highest of the U.S. international coverage agenda, in a break from earlier U.S. administrations efforts to maintain a distance from the nation’s troubles.
Over the following two years, Trump slapped crushing oil sanctions on Venezuela, charged quite a few officers with corruption and started speaking of a “military option” to take away President Nicolás Maduro. In 2019, at the peak of Rubio’s affect, the U.S. acknowledged Nationwide Meeting President Juan Guaidó because the nation’s legit chief.
However the combative stance — common amongst exiles in South Florida — got here to hang-out Trump, who later acknowledged he had overestimated the opposition. By strengthening Maduro’s hand, it additionally paved the way in which for deeper Russian, Chinese language and Iranian pursuits within the nation, all of the whereas aggravating a humanitarian disaster that led thousands and thousands to uproot, with many migrating to the U.S.
Michael Shifter, the previous president of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, believes Trump might show extra forgiving of Maduro this time, even with Rubio heading the State Division, and proceed the trail of engagement and sanctions reduction pursued by the Biden administration.
“Trump may begin to treat Maduro as he typically treats other strongmen around the world, and cater a bit less to the Cuban-American exile community in Florida,” Shifter mentioned.
Trujillo mentioned Rubio’s fame for candor will serve him nicely negotiating with America’s buddies and foes alike, even when he has to mood his sometimes-heated rhetoric.
“He’s going to be playing a different role now, but he’s an exceptional negotiator and I have no doubt he will rise to the occasion,” Trujillo mentioned.
With Trump’s number of one other vocal Maduro critic, Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida, as his nationwide safety adviser, Trujillo mentioned the Venezuelan chief and his authoritarian allies in Cuba and Nicaragua needs to be fearful.
“There is an opportunity to negotiate but it will have to be in good faith,” Trujillo mentioned. “If they don’t, there will be consequences.”