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The capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces has deep roots in the personal and political history of Marco Rubio, Secretary of State and National Security Advisor of the Donald Trump administration.
According to an extensive report from the network CNN, the military operation against Maduro was not an impulsive shift in U.S. foreign policy, but rather the outcome of an ideological path shaped over decades.
From his childhood in Miami, Rubio grew up immersed in the narrative of the Cuban exile, listening to his grandfather recount the struggle against communism and life under the regime of dictator Fidel Castro (1926-2016), a background that shaped his view of power and the role of the United States in Latin America.
That background translated, already in his adult life, into a political career closely linked to the Cuban-American community in South Florida, where opposition to the leftist regimes in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua is a central theme, the text emphasized.
Rubio rose in that environment, first in local and state politics, and then in Congress, becoming one of the leading proponents of a hardline stance against chavismo and, in particular, against Maduro.
CNN emphasized that, as a senator, Rubio was one of the most persistent voices advocating for sanctions, international isolation, and direct pressure on Caracas.
In 2014, he reported in the U.S. Senate that Venezuela was following "the same path as Cuba," and for years he used his platform to highlight the repression and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, while also strengthening his role as a key interlocutor for Washington in the Western Hemisphere.
After his unsuccessful presidential candidacy in 2016, Rubio strengthened his profile as a strategist in foreign policy.
The report highlights that during Trump's second term (2025-2029), he managed to adapt his rhetoric: he maintained the goal of regime change, but framed it in terms of drug trafficking, national security, and containing the influence of Russia and China, arguments that ultimately prevailed within the White House.
According to CNN, Maduro's capture has solidified Rubio as the visible face of a new phase in U.S. foreign policy in Latin America, one that has undermined the role of Congress in war decisions and introduced a high degree of regional uncertainty.
Trump even went so far as to claim that Rubio would help “manage” Venezuela during the transition following the arrest of the Chavista leader.
The political impact extends beyond Venezuela. In South Florida, segments of the Cuban exile community view Maduro's fall as a direct precedent for Cuba.
Recent statements from Trump and Rubio himself, who warned that if he were in the Cuban government "he would be worried," fuel the perception that Havana could be the next target of a strategy that has deep personal, ideological, and electoral roots.
Through his account on Truth Social, Trump reshared a message from a user who claimed that Rubio would be "president of Cuba," and added a comment of approval: "Sounds good to me!"
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