WASHINGTON (AP) – Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that Israel, the United States, and other conflict mediators are committed to the conflict. Gaza ceasefire agreement They share information to thwart any threat, thereby Identify potential impending attacks last weekend.
A week ago, the State Department announced that there were “credible reports” that Hamas may have violated the ceasefire in its attacks on Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
“We sent a message through the State Department about an impending attack, and we sent it to mediators, but the attack did not happen,” he told reporters on his way from Israel to Qatar, where he met with President Donald Trump. Asian multi-city tour. “So the goal here is ultimately to identify threats before they occur.”
Rubio said multiple countries are interested in joining the agreement. international stabilization force It is intended to deploy to Gaza, but needs more information about its mission and rules of engagement.
He said the U.S. may seek a U.N. resolution supporting the force to allow more countries to participate, adding that the U.S. is in talks with Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, and is also mindful of the interests of Indonesia and Azerbaijan.
“Many of the countries that want to participate in it cannot participate without it,” he said of the international mission.
He also noted that Gen. Dan Kaine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is scheduled to be the latest in a parade of U.S. officials to visit Israel next week.
Vice President JD Vance He joined special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner in Israel earlier this week. strengthen the fragile ceasefire agreement. Mr. Rubio arrived at the same time as Mr. Vance’s departure and met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Visit to US-led coordination center A ceasefire is being monitored.
Rubio also touched on several other important foreign policy priorities in his remarks to reporters. This is shown below.
Sanctions against the President of Colombia
The day after the Trump administration implemented the policy Sanctions against Colombian President Gustavo PetroMr. Rubio told his family and government officials over his alleged involvement in the global drug trade that he was not targeting the country itself, one of the United States’ closest allies in the region.
“This is not a U.S. versus Colombia issue,” he said. “This is us reacting to the actions of what has become a hostile foreign leader.”
He said the U.S. has good relations with Colombia’s people and institutions, and the Trump administration held off on tariffs because it didn’t want to hurt the country’s economy. President Trump threatened to unleash them last weekend.
Asked if he would eliminate tariffs, Rubio said Trump would make such a decision, but “clearly the president was aware of the options available to him and chose these instead.”
The sanctions have heightened tensions with Colombia’s first leftist leader, who has fought back against the Trump administration.
“I believe that when I dedicated my life to fighting the mafia, the current U.S. government violated the rule of law by sanctioning me as if I were a gangster,” Petro wrote to X. “Their despair will set a trap for me. I am ready to fight. For myself and my people.”
Attitude towards Venezuela
Reporters asked Mr. Rubio if other leaders in the region would support the request. President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela He plans to resign amid speculation that recent US military actions in Latin America are aimed at ousting President Maduro.
Mr. Rubio responded that when the United States deploys assets in its hemisphere, “everyone feels a kind of fear.”
The Trump administration has launched series of strikes Regarding suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Deploy an aircraft carrier to South Americaa major escalation of what has already taken place. solid military buildup In the area.
Mr. Rubio asserted that the United States is participating in counter-drug operations. He once again accused the Maduro regime of allowing and participating in the transport of drugs.
“This is a very serious problem for the hemisphere, a very destabilizing problem,” Rubio said. “And that has to be addressed.”
He said other countries in the region, including Ecuador, Mexico, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, were also cooperating in the fight against drug trafficking.
President Maduro told the U.S. government Concocting a war against him.
“They are inventing an extravagant story, a vulgar, criminal and completely false story,” President Maduro said on state television Friday night. “Venezuela is a country that does not produce cocaine leaves.”
Taiwan and China
Rubio said it was important for the United States to maintain engagement with China, but Taiwan was not a bargaining chip for larger trade deals for the world’s largest economy.
Trump says: I look forward to meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In the next few days, he will be staying in South Korea during his trip to Asia. The Chinese government claims sovereignty over the autonomous island and has vowed to occupy it by force if necessary. The United States is obligated by its own law to provide military assistance to Taiwan.
“What people are worried about is, are we going to get some kind of trade deal or trade incentives in exchange for pulling out of Taiwan? No one is thinking about that,” Rubio said.
