Marco Rubio says Trump does not recognize Maduro and has the capacity to inflict 'serious damage' on him

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated in an interview with Fox News in El Salvador that the administration of President Donald Trump does not recognize socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela, assuring that the U.S. president has "many options to inflict serious damage" on the Chavista regime. The statements issued to the U.S. network come a few days after the meeting of special envoy Richard Grenell with Maduro in Caracas, where six US citizens were released.

In the framework of his first official trip abroad, Rubio assured that within the Trump administration there have been no "conversations" to recognize Maduro, who committed one of the biggest electoral frauds in the history of Latin America on July 28, 2024. Likewise, the Secretary of State explained that politicians like Maduro "respect" Trump, knowing that the U.S. president is a leader who will take "actions" if necessary. Rubio added that the Venezuelan dictator and his regime know that Trump "is not someone who just sends strongly worded letters."

Cuba and Panama

Asked if he would agree to go to Cuba to meet with dictator Miguel Diaz-Canel or some of his officials, Rubio explained that he would only travel to the Caribbean country to meet with members of the communist dictatorship to finalize details about his departure from power.

On his recent meeting with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, the secretary of state explained that while he welcomes the decision not to renew the memorandum of understanding with the Chinese regime, also known as the Silk Road, the Trump administration expects him to take more forceful action in the near future.