Trump's choice of Rubio as America's top diplomat shook Latin America

MIAMI (AP) — Sen, who grew up in Miami among Cuban exiles fleeing Fidel Castro’s revolution. Marco Rubio developed a deep hatred for communism. Now, as President-elect Donald Trump’s choice as America’s top diplomat, he is poised to use the same ideological ammunition to reshape US policy in Latin America.

As the first Latino secretary of state, Rubio is expected to pay close attention to what has long been disparagingly referred to as Washington’s backyard.

The top Republican on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a longtime member of the Foreign Relations Committee, he has used his knowledge and unique personal relationships to guide U.S. policy in the region for years.

In the decades since the end of the Cold War, Latin America has faded from the US foreign policy agenda, even as US adversaries such as Russia, Iran, and especially China have made profound advances. If confirmed, the Florida Republican would likely end the omission.

But Rubio’s reputation as a national security hawk, his embrace of Trump’s plan to mass deport immigrants, and his mastery of polarizing rhetoric will likely alienate even some U.S. allies in the region unwilling to go along with the new president’s America First foreign policy.

“Typically, Latin American policy is left to junior officers,” said Christopher Sabatini, a research fellow at Chatham House in London. “But Rubio’s reflexes are definitely focused on the zone. “He will pay attention, and governments will have to be more cooperative in their broader relations with the United States if they want to get closer to the United States.”

Rubio, through his Senate spokesman, declined to comment on his foreign policy goals.

But his views on Latin America are well known and contrast sharply with the Biden administration’s preference for multilateral diplomacy and dialogue with U.S. critics.

Taking cues from his boss, Rubio’s main focus in the region will likely be Mexico, trade, drug trafficking and immigration. Rubio, once a sponsor of bipartisan reforms providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, transformed himself during Trump’s first administration into a staunch supporter of calls for increased border security and mass deportations.

Rubio has said little about Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office last month. But he was a harsh critic of his predecessor, Andres Manuel López Obrador, who defiantly skipped the 2022 US 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 a “defender of tyranny” in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. The Mexican president responded by calling Rubio a “racist.”

Despite the humiliation, the Mexican president was welcomed by President Joe Biden as a “friend” and “partner” at the White House three weeks later.

“This will not happen under Rubio,” Sabatini said. “He keeps a close eye on who follows his own policy preferences.”

Rubio, 53, has long had Trump’s ear in Latin America and has not hesitated to use that access to promote his hard-line agenda. Trump, one of the most outspoken critics of Russia and China’s economic, political and military aid in the region, is expected to punish countries that act close to America’s geopolitical rivals or do not support Israel.

When Trump canceled his first presidential visit to Latin America in 2018, Rubio was there to fill the void; He was sitting with regional leaders from Argentina, Haiti and other regions for meetings and photo ops at the Summit of the Americas in Peru.

“There is no one in the U.S. Senate who comes close to his closeness and depth of knowledge of Latin America,” said Carlos Trujillo, Rubio’s close friend and former U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States. “Not only does he have personal relationships with dozens of officials, some for decades, but he also vets nearly every U.S. ambassador deployed to the region. “This is a significant advantage.”

Among those willing to work with Rubio is Argentinian President Javier Milei, whose combative style, attacks on institutions and transformation from TV personality to far-right leader have drawn comparisons with Trump.

Another ally is Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, whose crackdown on gang violence that once drove millions of Salvadoran immigrants to the United States has won praise from Rubio.

Rubio has not hesitated to use his power to bully left-wing leaders he sees as harming U.S. national security interests. Even democratically elected moderates became targets. Earlier this year, he criticized Chilean President Gabriel Boric, a critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, for allegedly providing safe haven to Hezbollah’s financiers, calling him “one of Latin America’s leading anti-Israel voices.”

In 2023, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 guerrilla group, said it was a “dangerous” choice to lead a country that has long been a U.S. partner in the war on drugs.

But Rubio left his biggest mark in Venezuela.

A few weeks after Trump took office in January 2017, Rubio brought the wife of prominent Venezuelan dissident Leopoldo Lopez to the White House. The Oval Office visit, marked by a photo of a grinning Trump and Rubio next to the then-imprisoned activist’s wife, instantly catapulted Venezuela to the top of the U.S. foreign policy agenda, providing a break from previous U.S. administration efforts to distance itself from the country’s foreign policy agenda. troubles.

Over the next two years, Trump imposed crushing oil sanctions on Venezuela, accused numerous officials of corruption, and began talking about a “military option” to remove President Nicolás Maduro. In 2019, at the height of Rubio’s influence, the United States recognized National Assembly Speaker Juan Guaidó as the country’s legitimate leader.

But the combative stance popular among exiles in South Florida came back to haunt Trump, who later realized he had exaggerated the opposition. By strengthening Maduro’s hand, it also paved the way for Russia, China and Iran’s deeper interests in the country; meanwhile, it has worsened the humanitarian crisis that has led to the displacement of millions of people and the migration of many to the United States.

Michael Shifter, former head of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, believes that even with Rubio at the helm of the State Department, Trump may be more forgiving of Maduro this time and continue the path of engagement and sanctions relief pursued by the Biden administration.

“Trump might start treating Maduro the same way he treats other powerful men around the world and appeal a little less to the exiled Cuban-American community in Florida,” Shifter said.

Trujillo said Rubio’s reputation for outspokenness will serve him well in negotiating with America’s friends and foes alike, even if he has to tone down his sometimes fiery rhetoric.

“He will now play a different role, but he is an outstanding negotiator and I have no doubt that he will handle this situation,” Trujillo said.

On Trump’s selection of Florida Rep. Michael Waltz, another vocal Maduro critic, as national security adviser, Trujillo said the Venezuelan leader and his authoritarian allies in Cuba and Nicaragua should be worried.

Officials in Venezuela and Cuba, who routinely criticize the United States on social media, have so far not commented on Rubio’s candidacy and have remained largely silent on Trump’s victory.

“There is an opportunity to negotiate, but it has to be in good faith,” Trujillo said. “If they don’t, there will be consequences.”

___

Mark Stevenson and Maria Verza in Mexico City and Isabel DeBre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to this report.

Find more ways to stay up to date with your latest local news. Subscribe to our newsletter Get the day’s biggest headlines delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for the biggest stories and you can’t miss the video.

Related Posts