What is the policy announced by Donald Trump in the Caribbean for his 2nd term?

Well before President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Senate committees are interviewing the president-elect’s nominees for key government positions. This is a mandatory step to confirm the appointment.

On January 15, 2025, Marco Rubio, appointed Secretary of State by Donald Trump, appeared before the 22 senators of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

He was asked about US international policy.

Marco Rubio confirmed that relations with neighbors in Latin America and the Caribbean are of high importance.

The crisis in Haiti worries the new administration, because it has repercussions in other regions of the Caribbean, notably the Dominican Republic, a country allied with the United States.

Gangs are harmful elements operating in Haiti, destabilizing not only the country, but also threatening the Dominican Republic, not to mention the migratory pressure they exert on the United States, the Bahamas and other regions.

He confirmed that there will be no American military intervention in Haiti. For now, the new administration will continue to support the MMAS (Multinational Security Support Mission).

Republican lawmakers hold majorities in the U.S. Senate and Congress. They believe that the United States must stop funding the Multinational Mission in Haiti.

On January 18, 2025, more than 200 additional Kenyan police officers landed in Haiti to combat gangs.

According to Marco Rubio, Haiti needs “of a legitimate transitional government” to be able to hold the elections.

In the current context, and despite the courage of the Haitian Police in the fight against armed gangs, Haiti is incapable of drawing up an electoral calendar.

When the most powerful person in a nation has the name Barbecue, it is not a good thing for the country.

Marco Rubio on gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, nicknamed Barbecue

One of the guests at Donald Trump’s inauguration is Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, the person recognized by the United States as the winner of Venezuela’s presidential elections in July 2024.

The United States offers a reward of 25 million dollars for the arrest of Nicolas Maduro who was sworn in on January 10, 2025 for a 3^e term as president of Venezuela.

Venezuela is run by a drug trafficking organization that has seized power from that nation.

Marco Rubio, whose parents left Cuba in 1956, said that “the moment of truth” approach for the Cuban regime.

Cuba is collapsing. Young people are leaving the country. Power cuts last more than 21 hours a day. Marxism doesn’t work. The regime is corrupt and incapable.

A few days before the end of his term, Joe Biden, the outgoing president of the United States, removed Cuba from the list of countries that support terrorism.

This measure was applied by Donald Trump during his first term. According to political scientists, Trump will soon put Cuba back on the list.

On December 21, 2024, Donald Trump called for the Panama Canal to return to United States control.

He asserted that this vital infrastructure is now under Chinese control. This country has established free zones on both ends of the Canal.

According to Marco Rubio, in the event of a conflict, Beijing has “the ability to block the Canal, which poses a direct threat to the national and security interests of the United States.”

The United States wants to fight China’s dominance in the Caribbean and Latin America. Beijing has established diplomatic relations with the majority of countries in these regions.

With the construction of vital infrastructure and financial aid, Beijing provides assistance important in the region neglected by the United States.

Marco Rubio admitted that the United States should have been more present in the region with more investments and cooperation programs.

The United States still has good relations with countries in the region which would have preferred American investments to those of the Chinese. But we are absent. An American option to the Chinese proposals does not exist.

Marco Rubio, like many of his predecessors, proposes greater US engagement with its allies in the region.