Fort Lauderdale, Florida (AP) – The Fatal strike on a boat US officials say they were carrying drugs from Venezuela. Secretary of State Marco Rubio A quarter century of politics.
President Donald Trump The former Florida Senator, the top diplomat portrays Venezuela as a trace of the communist ideology of the Western Hemisphere. Rubio has consistently sought the banishment of his leader, Nicolas Maduro. Advocated economic sanctions He then insisted on American military intervention.
“I think the US military should only be used in cases of national security threats,” he said in a 2018 interview with Univision. “I think there will be a strong argument right now that Venezuela and Maduro administrations are a threat to the region and the US.”
Before joining the administration, Rubio represented the more interventionist wings of the Republican Party, but sometimes appeared to be at odds with Trump’s “America-first” spirit. meanwhile Trump has no promise of any more foreign warsRubio and other administrative authorities have more warnings Operations against drug traffickers In Latin America, escalating pressure on the enemy Rubio has long been trying to face.
“The President says he wants to fight these groups because he has been fighting wars with these groups for 30 years and no one has responded.” Rubio told reporters Thursday.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives on Wednesday, September 3, 2025 to board a plane at Zunpango’s Felipe Angeles International Airport, on the way to Ecuador, on the outskirts of Mexico City. (AP photo/Jaclyn Martin, Pool)
Rubio’s achievements in Venezuela
The Florida Senator had already exerted influence over US policies on Latin America during Trump’s first term before being used as Secretary of State and national security adviser.
For Rubio, his interest in targeting left-wing Latin American leaders was personal. His parents are Cuban immigrants who arrived in Miami in 1956, a few years before the 1959 communist revolution. He grew up in Miami. There, many Cubans sought evacuation after Castro came to power.
His consistent criticism of communism helped him receive his support from thousands of members of the Venezuelan diaspora who seized power in 1999 and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, who began a self-explained socialist revolution, to escape crime, economic deprivation and anxiety.
The United States tried to overcome the Cold War legacy of interfering and destabilizing Latin American governments, but Rubio frequently advocated for more actions against Chavez and then Maduro. He linked the struggles of the opposition movement to the struggles of Cuban exiles.
“We’ve seen a lot of effort and we’ve seen you in a lot of ways,” said Jeff Ramsey, a senior Venezuela analyst at Washington’s Atlantic Council.
Rubio shared some of the initial details about the strike despite Tuesday’s strike being a military operation, posting it on social media as Trump briefly announced in his oval office. The White House says 11 people have died.
A day later, he said “it’s going to happen again,” and said Trump had authority “under urgent circumstances to eliminate the imminent threat to the United States.”
“The thing that stops them is when you blow them up and you get rid of them,” Rubio said Wednesday. While visiting Mexico.
The Department of Defense announced two Venezuelan military aircraft late Thursday. Flying near a US Navy shipcalling it a “very provocative move” and warns the Maduro government from further action.
The response within Trump is that once again making America great has been significantly suppressed by American strikes, and supports it as a drug trafficking effort. Israel and Iran conflict.
Rubio went from Trump’s rival to advisor
After Trump won Rubio at the 2016 GOP Primary and took office in 2017, Rubio became a shadow advisor and became the main driver of sanctions against top-level Venezuelan officials for relations between human rights abuses and drug trafficking.
In the Senate, many of Rubio’s televised floor speeches and official statements focus on Venezuela. In 2019, he said there was a “persuasive argument” that the situation in Venezuela cited the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military, presenting a national security threat to the United States.
“The majority of Americans don’t want Vladimir’s army anywhere in our hemisphere. That’s exactly what happens when Maduro is in power,” he said. “That alone poses a national security threat to the United States.”
Many believed that Rubio was one of the voices that urged Trump to support the opposition leaders and separate Maduro.
In 2019, Rubio was squealing the unrest and urged opposition leaders to intervene in other countries. I’ve posted a series of tweets It shows before and after images of fallen leaders such as Moremar Gadafi of Libya, who was killed by opposition fighters in 2011, and Manuel Noriega of Panama, who was expelled in a US invasion in 1989.
“History is full of examples of tyrants who believe they are immortal and face a sudden collapse,” he tweeted afterwards.
The United States is one of several countries that do not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s president. Reliable evidence That he lost last year’s election.
Maduro’s head blessings are also increasing rapidly. After he was charged in 2020 in Manhattan Federal Court Narcoterism accusations In a conspiracy to import cocaine, the US provided a $15 million reward for arrest. The Biden administration later raised it to $25 million. This is the same amount provided for the capture of Osama bin Laden.
The Trump administration has it Doubled the reward Up to $50 million.
“Maduro is not Venezuela’s president, and his administration is not a legitimate government,” Rubio wrote on X shortly before the August 7 announcement.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will speak at a press conference in Caracas, Venezuela on Monday, September 1, 2025 (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
How Maduro sees Rubio
Maduro describes Rubio as a direct American architect Accumulation of warships In the area before this week’s strike.
“President Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, wants your hands to be stained with blood, so you need to be careful. With South American blood, Caribbean blood, Venezuelan blood.”
The Venezuelan leader said his government is maintaining two lines of communication with the Trump administration. One with the State Department and the other with Richard Grenell, Trump’s envoy for special missions.
Grenell’s side appears to be taking the more reconciliatory approach seen when the US allows oil producer Chevron to resume drilling in Venezuela. Adjustment of prisoner exchanges Deportation flight with the Maduro government.
“I think the administration is internally splitting about Venezuela,” Elliot Abrams said. “I think Rubio is looking for a hardline against Maduro.
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Amiri reported Garcia Cano from Mexico City from the United Nations.
