The USA desires to “partner” with countries within 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 top of his first yr as America’s top diplomat, Rubio faced several questions on the Trump administration’s recent 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 within the Western hemisphere to perform U.S. policy goals within 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 all the goal was to guard American national interests.
Asked how the strategy will impact relations with other hemispheric powers like Canada and Mexico, Rubio suggested those and other countries within the region have the identical goal of safety and security.
“We would like to partner with as many individuals (as we are able to) — they face the identical 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. After all we would like to work with other governments within the region to confront this challenge, and generally we’ve 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.
“It is obvious that the present established order with the Venezuelan regime is intolerable for america, the established order that they … not only cooperate but partner with and take part in activities that threaten the national interest of United States,” he said. “So yes, our goal is to vary that dynamic.
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“We now have a regime that’s illegitimate,” he added, a comment he made multiple times while pointing to each the disputed presidential election last yr and a U.S. indictment against Maduro.
In an interview with NBC News on Friday, Trump wouldn’t rule out a war with Venezuela.
Rubio said he wouldn’t speculate on whether the U.S. will take any additional actions that, by law, would require congressional approval. He said “nothing has happened” up to now that will require that approval “or cross the brink into war.”
He wouldn’t directly comment when asked about U.S. media reports that each the UK and Canada have distanced themselves from lethal — and controversial — boat strikes within the Caribbean against suspected drug smuggling boats by refusing or limiting intelligence sharing, and whether that was harming relations with those allies.
Nonetheless, he suggested each that the reports were false and that the U.S. doesn’t need outside intelligence to conduct the operations or establish their legality.
“Look, daily I read stuff that’s just not true,” he said, telling the assembled reporters, “You guys are being lied to sometimes.”
“We now have all the pieces we’d like” for the boat strikes, he added, “and it’s certainly one of the the reason why you’ve seen this massive deployment within the region is to give you the option to collect intelligence and paint an image that we are able to justify to lawyers based on the law. So I’m very confident about that effort, it’s been very successful.”
Ottawa has previously said the Canadian military and government isn’t involved within the U.S. operations.
Rubio’s press conference got here hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his own year-end review to reporters in Moscow, where he held firm on his stance that the war in Ukraine would end with Russia gaining Ukrainian land by either force or through a negotiated settlement.
U.S. and Ukrainian officials are meeting with Middle East mediators in Miami this weekend for more talks.
Rubio said there could be no peace deal unless each Ukraine and Russia can conform to the terms, making it unimaginable for the U.S. to force a deal on anyone. As an alternative, the U.S. is attempting to “determine if we are able to nudge each side to a typical place.”
Asked if the U.S. would help defend Europe — where leaders are growing increasingly concerned about Russian aggression and encroachment — from a possible attack, Rubio said the commitment to collective self-defence has not wavered.
“Article 5 within the NATO alliance is vital, and the president has reiterated that,” he said. “We predict it’s a really strong deterrent against any of those fears or concerns that any of our allies within the region can have. And the president’s been clear that we’re committed to NATO, we’re committed to the alliance, and our commitment isn’t just rhetorical.
“The one thing we’re asking for, which isn’t unfair, is for our partners within the alliance to enhance their very own capabilities … the reality of the matter is that NATO is the important thing defence alliance and agreement that has provided stability on the European continent. We consider it’s stronger today than it’s ever been.”
Canada joined NATO allies this yr in committing to spending five per cent of its GDP on defence by 2035, 3.5 per cent of which will probably be on core military investments.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has boosted defence spending since taking office in March, and has vowed Canada will reach the past NATO defence spending goal of two per cent this yr.
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