Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua in the crosshairs of Marco Rubio, Trump's Secretary of State: They are 'a threat to national security'

Prior to the U.S. presidential election, there was some doubt as to what stance a second Trump administration might assume toward the continent's three tyrannical governments of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.

During his first administration, while Trump was extremely forward and harsh against the dictatorships, he did not mention the three countries during his campaign - except for Venezuela to denounce illegal immigration. However, doubts about a second administration began to dissipate after his victory in the elections, when Trump began to appoint as nominees great allies for the freedom of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. Marco Rubio, for Secretary of State, was the most vocal of all.

This morning, January 15, was the long confirmation hearing for Rubio as Secretary of State. Both Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Rick Scott asked Rubio about where he would stand on the big challenges in the hemisphere.

Venezuela, a narco-state giving entry to Iran

About Venezuela, perhaps the biggest concern in the region, Rubio had plenty to say. After his nomination to Secretary of State, Rubio avoided referring publicly to Venezuela, even though the country has been going through a very intense political conflict. Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, had instructed all Trump nominees to refrain from using social media until Senate confirmation. Finally, Rubio has his chance to vent.

"Venezuela, sadly, is not governed by a government, but by a drug trafficking organization," Rubio said in response to Sen. Scott's question. Rubio then strongly criticized the Biden administration's policy of appeasement and concessions to the tyranny in Venezuela.

"They played them the way we knew they were going to play them. They entered into a negotiation with Maduro, agreed on elections and the elections were completely false," said Rubio, who accused Biden of allowing himself to be "duped."

Also, the next secretary of state, who probably will not have strong resistance to his ratification process, criticized the oil licenses that Biden gave to U.S. companies to operate in Venezuela. He particularly mentioned Chevron.

Several media outlets, such as the Wall Street Journal, have reported that U.S. oil companies have been trying for months to persuade Trump to agree with Maduro and not reimpose sanctions. Given Rubio's statements, it appears they have been unsuccessful.

"Companies like Chevron provide billions of dollars to the regime's coffers; and the regime doesn't keep its promises," he said.

Finally, and particularly important, Rubio denounced the Russian and Iranian presence in Venezuela. Regarding the theocratic regime, Rubio said that Iran has not only developed drone factories in Venezuela but that the Maduro regime provides illegal passports to members of the terrorist group Hezbollah.

Nicaragua, focus of illegal migration

On Nicaragua, Rubio was quite forceful. He said that the duo of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo have transformed the regime into a dangerous dynasty, with terrible consequences.

"It is a very strange situation. The Sandinistas expelled all the nuns, they went to war with the Catholic Church (...) They have started a process of reforming the Constitution to build a family dynasty. There is no democracy. They literally arrested everyone who was a candidate for president," Rubio said.

The next U.S. Secretary of State stressed that Nicaragua has become a "national security" problem because the Ortega regime encourages human trafficking and illegal migration; in addition to allowing the installation of Russian bases in the country.

"They are the entry point for people from any country in the world (...) They are contributors of our migratory crisis. Nicaragua invited Russia to set up bases, and that means a threat to our national security," he said.

Cuba, a regime on the verge of collapse

Marco Rubio began his remarks on Cuba by saying that, despite being a Marxist regime, the dictatorship has used a company called GAESA for financing and money laundering. Rubio questioned the Biden administration for lifting GAESA sanctions and removing Cuba from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

"That company, GAESA, owns everything that makes money in Cuba. If anything makes money in Cuba, it is royalties for the regime," Rubio denounced.

In that sense, the promise of the new administration will be to resume the strong sanctions against the companies that financially sustain the Cuban regime. Likewise, Marco Rubio said that, despite all efforts, Cuba is "literally collapsing, both generationally and economically."

According to the next secretary of state, the Cuban regime has a dilemma: either allow the participation of Cuban dissidents or give in to imminent collapse.

"I would hope they would choose the path of empowering Cubans," Rubio said.

Regarding Cuba, Sen. Ted Cruz asked Rubio whether he considers Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism, given Biden's last-minute decision to take the island off the list.

"Without a doubt," Rubio said to the question, "and I'll tell you why."

"Number one, the FARC and the ELN, which are narco-terrorist organizations, have had the full support of the Cuban regime throughout their existence," he said. He also accentuated Cuba's relations with the terrorist groups of Hamas and Hezbollah.