US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated this Wednesday during his official visit to Ecuador that leftist movements have brought misery to several Latin American countries and pointed directly to Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua as examples of this situation.
When asked whether US policy toward the region could lead to a rise in leftist movements, Rubio rejected that possibility and asserted that these groups have already had the opportunity to govern in various countries of the hemisphere.
“Leftist groups have already been here and have destroyed the hemisphere. The left destroyed Venezuela. The left destroyed Cuba. The left destroyed Nicaragua,” the U.S. official stated.
Rubio added that left-wing governments have brought “misery” to the region and particularly questioned the results of those political movements in countries like Bolivia and Ecuador.
“What have leftist movements done in this hemisphere? Simply misery. Misery in Venezuela, misery in Cuba, misery in Nicaragua,” he said.
The Secretary of State also linked left-wing sectors with drug trafficking organizations, stating that, in his opinion, some of these groups maintain alliances with criminal structures operating in the region.
“These leftist groups are, in reality, allied with these drug trafficking criminal organizations. They are aligned with them. They are their allies. They allow them to carry out these activities in a nefarious alliance between them,” he said.
Cuba, among the threats to the United States
Rubio’s remarks come as the Trump administration maintains a policy of intense pressure on the Cuban regime. Washington announced new sanctions last week against five Cuban companies and Fidel Ernesto Castro Calis, Raúl Castro’s grandson, as part of its strategy to increase economic pressure on Havana.
In Ecuador, Rubio advocated for a more active US policy against the threats that, according to Washington, are posed by transnational criminal organizations and other actors in the hemisphere.
“What we will not allow is to live in a region that eventually threatens the United States, our national security, having transnational groups more powerful than governments, with government weapons, with drones, with a series of military technologies that threaten the State and eventually the United States,” he stated.
The official made it clear that Washington intends to act when it believes there is a threat to its interests.
“I work for the United States of America. And if a threat to our national security and national interests is emerging in this region, we will address it,” he asserted.
Rubio arrived in Quito from Barranquilla, Colombia, where he met on Tuesday with the newly inaugurated Colombian president, Abelardo de la Espriella. He is then scheduled to continue his South American tour to Peru.
During his stay in Ecuador, the Secretary of State also announced that Washington will request an additional $45 million from the U.S. Congress to support the country’s security in its fight against drug trafficking, as well as new equipment for Ecuadorian forces. @ADNCuba
Original article
Comments