The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, has come out this Saturday in defense of the line marked by the administration of Donald Trump in the face of some of the most relevant international challenges, from Cuba and Venezuela to China, Iran, and the war in Ukraine, while claiming the role of the American president in the field of foreign policy and national security.
In statements to Fox News, Rubio has placed Cuba among the greatest threats to the security of the United States, has insisted on maintaining pressure on the Iranian regime, has supported Washington acting as a potential mediator between Russia and Ukraine, and has emphasized that the personal relationship between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is a determining factor for sustaining stability between the two powers.
CUBA, A "SUPERPOWER" OF ESPIONAGE
Rubio has endorsed a recent report on Cuba that warns of the intelligence and influence activities attributed to the Government of the island, and has assured that Havana has managed to infiltrate American institutions for decades.
"If you look at the history of espionage in the United States, Cuba is the only country that has consistently implanted and embedded spies in our system, without even paying them," he has stated.
The head of American diplomacy has recalled several episodes of penetration in intelligence agencies and has maintained that the Cuban regime has also played a prominent role in political interference operations both in Latin America and in U.S. territory.
In this line, he has defended that the protests recorded in recent years in the United States respond to structured and financed networks in which, he has pointed out, Cuba plays a key role in exerting pressure on American public officials.
Likewise, he has rejected the criticisms directed against the report and has emphasized that this situation constitutes a threat that should not be overlooked, also attacking those who, in his opinion, maintain favorable positions towards Havana.
"I know that there are many people in American academia, and frankly in the American press, who sympathize with the Cuban regime," he has pointed out, before noting that this sympathy has also occurred at different times within the U.S. Administration itself.
VENEZUELA: POLITICAL TRANSITION AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Regarding Venezuela, Rubio has pointed out that any attempt at democratization will take time due to the decades of chavismo's permanence in power and has explained that the first objective must be to stabilize the country before moving towards a political transition.
Within that process, he has considered it essential to rebuild the economy and offer legal security that allows for the return of foreign investment.
"You need to have laws, rules, and regulations in place so that investors from America and the world can enter and invest safely and create prosperity. Ultimately, you have to have a transition," he has stated.
Rubio has also advocated for an internal reconciliation that leads to legitimate elections and has cited the transitions experienced in Eastern Europe after the collapse of the Soviet Union as possible references.
THE RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA
Regarding the ties between Washington and Beijing, the Secretary of State has admitted that both countries will continue to compete in strategic areas, although he has defended the convenience of keeping channels of dialogue open to avoid an escalation of tensions.
In his opinion, one of the main assets of the current U.S. administration is precisely the direct contact between Trump and Xi Jinping.
"The basis of that is the relationship that President Trump has with President Xi, which is a relationship of mutual respect and they get along well," he has affirmed.
In this line, Rubio has warned that it would be "irresponsible" to cut communication between the two largest powers on the planet, despite their economic, military, and geopolitical clashes.
In this context, he has also defended the shift in foreign and economic policy driven by Trump, considering that for years the United States made wrong decisions after the end of the Cold War.
"What you see President Trump doing now is rebalancing those things, in the economy using tariffs, in geopolitics using our presence in the world especially in the Western Hemisphere," he has pointed out.
IRAN: PRESSURE TO HALT NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT
Regarding Iran, the Secretary has defended Trump's strategy against Tehran and has maintained that U.S. military action has altered the strategic balance by diminishing Iranian defensive capabilities.
"I don't think the Iranian regime has ever faced a president like President Trump, who is someone who really takes action," he stated.
Although he reiterated that the White House's priority remains to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, the head of the State Department added that the regime's behavior must also change.
"The regime has to change. The Iranian regime has traditionally been expansionist. Essentially, their vision is that they not only want to govern Iran, but they want to govern the region," he argued, insisting that the only way to force that change is to raise the cost of that strategy.
MEDIATION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE
In relation to the war in Ukraine, the secretary noted that the United States will continue to seek ways to promote a negotiation process between Moscow and Kiev, although he admitted that the positions remain very far apart.
"The president has made it very clear that the United States can play a role in ending that war. We will continue to explore it," he indicated.
In this regard, he emphasized Donald Trump's role as the only leader capable of bringing both sides to the table and assured that the New York magnate is "the only leader in the world who can make the Russian side and the Ukrainian side sit down to talk about how to end" the conflict that began in February 2022.