“My only priority for the American State Department is the United States,” Marco Rubio declared Tuesday after his unanimous nomination by the Senate. A former senator from Florida, he will focus on priorities such as China, Iran, the war in Ukraine and the Middle East. However, he will also have to reorient US policy in Latin America.
Upon his arrival at the White House, Donald Trump made significant decisions, including putting Cuba back on the blacklist of countries supporting terrorism and vowing to regain control of the Panama Canal, burning issues that are now between the hands of Marco Rubio, new Secretary of State.
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And even if their relations have not always been good, with Donald Trump nicknamed Marco Rubio “little Marco” in 2016, the two men now seem united to pursue a more muscular foreign policy.
“Strategic appointment”
What particularly marks this nomination is the profile of Marco Rubio. As the son of Cuban immigrants, he became the first Hispanic and Spanish-speaking person to reach such a strategic position in American foreign policy.
For political scientist and member of the Global South unit at the London School of Economics Gaspard Estrada, this appointment has a “strategic” dimension, particularly to reach the Hispanic electorate, a group which, according to him, has adopted more conservative in recent years.
“The Hispanic electorate has evolved significantly, and this has undoubtedly been one of the factors in Donald Trump’s success,” underlines Gaspard Estrada.
Getting closer to right-wing and far-right leaders
The arrival of Marco Rubio at the State Department heralds a turning point in relations between the United States and their Latin American neighbors. Donald Trump, during his inauguration, already sent a strong signal by inviting right-wing and far-right leaders like Javier Milei (Argentina), Nayib Bukele (El Salvador) and Daniel Noboa (Ecuador).
Marco Rubio is not a simple executive, he plays a determining role in the Latin American agenda
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A direction which, according to Christophe Ventura, research director at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), marks a clear turnaround in American policy in Latin America. “Marco Rubio is not a simple executive, he plays a determining role in the Latin American agenda,” says Christophe Ventura.
Three strategic axes
Christophe Ventura identifies three strategic axes for Marco Rubio in his relations with Latin America. The first is to rally the right-wing or far-right countries of the region in the fight against Chinese influence and against the “reflux”, that is to say the interventionism carried out by certain South American states. .
The second objective is to collaborate on issues of migration repression and the fight against organized crime, in particular drug trafficking. Donald Trump wants to designate drug cartels as “terrorist organizations” so he can strike them militarily on Mexican soil.
Donald Trump and Marco Rubio have publicly expressed their desire to destabilize the regimes of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua
Finally, the third challenge for Marco Rubio will be to support the “hard hand” policy of the United States, in particular against the authoritarian regimes of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, three countries that the Trump administration wants to isolate further. .
The desire to change the regime in these countries remains an ambition clearly displayed by Donald Trump, according to political scientist Gaspard Estrada. “Both men have publicly expressed their desire to destabilize these regimes and support opposing political movements. “The question is whether the United States will actually carry out this strategy of regime change.”
Before focusing on Latin America, Marco Rubio started his mandate with a series of international meetings, notably with his counterparts from Japan, India and Australia.
Salome Laurent/vajo
