Rubio heads to Caribbean to reassert pursuits after Venezuela strikes

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By MATTHEW LEE, AP Diplomatic Author

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio will journey to the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis this week to reassert the Trump administration’s pursuits within the Western Hemisphere only a month after the U.S. navy operation that eliminated then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from energy.

With the eyes of a lot of the world on the united statesmilitary buildup within the Center East and President Donald Trump’s threats to assault Iran, Rubio will make a one-day go to to St. Kitts on Wednesday to take part in a summit of leaders from the Caribbean Neighborhood, the State Division mentioned.

Rubio has lengthy championed a larger U.S. position within the Western Hemisphere and goals to maintain it in focus at the same time as Trump’s Republican administration has now shifted its prime overseas coverage precedence to Iran, round which American forces at the moment are massing in even bigger numbers than within the run-up to the Jan. 3 Venezuela operation that captured and deposed Maduro.

Maduro has been accused in a U.S. courtroom of working with drug cartels to facilitate the cargo of 1000’s of tons of cocaine into the U.S. and has pleaded not responsible.

Trump’s motion towards Maduro coupled with an more and more aggressive posture aimed toward eliminating drug trafficking and unlawful migration have confirmed a priority for a lot of within the area though they’ve additionally received assist from some smaller states.

Trump, Rubio and others have likened the administration’s Western Hemisphere technique to the Monroe Doctrine, with its rejection of outdoor influences and assertion of U.S. primacy all through in what they think about to be “America’s yard.”

Trump has mentioned his ouster of Maduro, navy strikes on alleged drug-running vessels within the Caribbean, seizures of sanctioned oil tankers and tightened embargo of Cuba are key components of a Trump corollary to the Nineteenth-century coverage that he refers to because the “Donroe Doctrine.”

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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio waves as he departs on the Liszt Ferenc Worldwide Airport in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Picture/Alex Brandon, Pool)

Develop

In quite a few group and bilateral conferences on the CARICOM assembly, Rubio intends to debate methods to advertise regional safety and stability, commerce and financial development, the State Division mentioned in an announcement on Monday.

“Throughout his go to, the Secretary will reaffirm the US’ dedication to working with CARICOM member states to reinforce stability and prosperity in our hemisphere,” it mentioned.