Rubio says U.S. wants to ‘partner’ with countries on hemisphere issues
Global News
Rubio faced several questions on U.S. military operations in Venezuela, negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, and the ongoing commitment to NATO in a year-end press conference.
The United States wants to “partner” with countries in the Western hemisphere, including Canada, to collectively tackle issues like narco-terrorism and mass migration, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday.
In a wide-ranging and lengthy press conference to mark the end of his first year as America’s top diplomat, Rubio faced several questions on the Trump administration’s new national security strategy that seeks to re-establish U.S. leadership and dominance over the hemisphere.
The strategy, which sets out a desire to “enlist” countries in the Western hemisphere to carry out U.S. policy goals in the region, has raised alarm bells in Canada about those countries becoming American so-called “vassal states.”
Rubio, who also serves as U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, said he was involved in crafting the strategy and said the entire goal was to protect American national interests.
Asked how the strategy will impact relations with other hemispheric powers like Canada and Mexico, Rubio suggested those and other countries in the region have the same goal of safety and security.
“We want to partner with as many people (as we can) — they face the same threats that we do,” he said, pointing to violence and corruption in parts of Mexico as examples of the threat posed by transnational drug cartels — a threat Canada also faces.
“They (Mexico) recognize it, which is why they’re partnering with us. Of course we want to work with other governments in the region to confront this challenge, and in most cases we have cooperative places.”
Trump’s strategy for the Western hemisphere has seen recent U.S. military operations in Venezuela, which Rubio repeatedly insisted Friday are focused on stopping drug trafficking, not on ousting President Nicolas Maduro from power.
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