The U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the Latin American presidents present this Saturday at the Shield of the Americas summit.
“Thank the countries that are here today. First, the president has made this region a priority in his Administration. Many presidents have claimed they would do it, but he has done it,” Rubio said in Spanish to the representatives of the 12 Latin American countries closest to Washington.
"These are countries that are not just allies; they are friends. They are countries that always respond when there is a need and work together with us, and there is still much to be done. These are countries with large populations and great potential, and we want to be their partners in developing their nations, their economies, and their security," he added.
"Thank you very much for being here with us. May God bless all of your countries, the United States, and thank you as always for the cooperation. We will continue to work together, and we are going to achieve very good, very important things for this region. Future generations will be grateful for the work we are doing," he concluded.
Previously, Rubio had stated in English that Trump is a president of action.
"That's why I believe he will go down in history as one of the most important figures in the history of the United States and, certainly, of the last hundred years, for what he has been able to do and for what he is currently doing with the Western Hemisphere,” he explained
Rubio stated that this is a critical moment for our hemisphere. The challenges we face—organized crime, drug trafficking, migratory pressures, and the influence of hostile regimes—require cooperation among us all.
"And that is exactly what this summit is about," he concluded.
Among the attending leaders were Javier Milei (Argentina), Nayib Bukele (El Salvador), Daniel Noboa (Ecuador), Santiago Peña (Paraguay), Luis Abinader (Dominican Republic), José Raúl Mulino (Panama), Rodrigo Chaves (Costa Rica), and Nasry Asfura (Honduras), as well as representatives from Trinidad and Tobago and Bolivia.
Also in attendance at the Summit is José Antonio Kast, the elected president of Chile, who will assume office on March 11.
The summit aims to formalize a regional coalition against drug trafficking, cartels, illegal migration, and transnational organized crime.
Rubio, key in the talks with Cuba
This Saturday, during his appearance at the summit, Trump stated that Cuba "wants to negotiate" and that, partly thanks to Rubio, an agreement with Havana could be reached "very easily."
"And they want to negotiate. They are negotiating with Marco and me, and with some others. I believe an agreement with Cuba could be achieved very easily," said Trump
"Cuba is in its final moments as it has been. It will have a new and great life, but it is in its final moments as it is now," he added.
In front of Latin American leaders, Trump joked about Rubio's role in the negotiations.
"What are you going to do, Marco? Take a couple of days off? No, he won't. Maybe an hour. He'll take an hour off and then finish an agreement about Cuba. That one will be easy. But what we're doing encompasses the entire region," he said
"Many of you have come here today and tell me: 'We hope you can handle Cuba, because they have had problems with Cuba,' he added, referring to the Latin American presidents present."
"I was surprised, but four of you said, 'Could you do us a favor and take care of Cuba?' I'll take care of that, it's fine," he concluded.
Trump also stated that the island is "at the end of the road," that it "has no money" or oil, and attributed this situation to what he described as "a bad philosophy" and "a bad regime that has been detrimental for a long time."
"Before, they used to receive money from Venezuela. They received oil from Venezuela. But now they have no money from Venezuela, no oil, nothing," he said.
He also commented that in Cuba there is not even enough fuel for air operations.
"People can't even... when they land in Cuba, they can't get fuel to take off again. They have to leave their planes there," he stated.
Trump insisted that the Cuban system is going through its final phase and that a transformation is imminent.
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