Little Marco Rubio Is Big-Footing Venezuela and Cuba
Rubio is acting like the viceroy of the Americas, imposing crushing sanctions on Cuba and running Venezuela for corporate America.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in charge of managing US relations with Cuba and Venezuela for the Trump regime. Rubio was born a birthright citizen in Miami in 1971 to Cuban immigrant parents. His history with Cuba shapes his approach to diplomacy in the Americas.
He also works for President Donald Trump, who has promoted his so-called Donroe Doctrine. Which is driven by his desire to dominate the Western Hemisphere.
Rubio and the Trump administration have been meddling in the affairs of the US’s southern neighbors since taking office.
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) gutted USAID assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean. This cut off life-saving services across the region. Rubio, who was once a staunch defender of USAID, cheered on the destruction.
Trump and Rubio used the threat of severe tariffs and the elimination of development aid to force neighboring countries into executing strict border crackdowns, effectively turning them into outer security perimeters for the US border.
The Department of Defense launched Operation Absolute Resolve, invading Venezuela and kidnapping its president, Nicolás Maduro. Now Trump claims we’re getting a lot of oil from the country after we took over and privatized their petroleum industries.
The US helped Argentine President Javier Milei win reelection. Trump and Rubio promoted Milei and engineered a $20 billion bailout for Argentina to make him look good. The US Treasury ended up reducing the sum to $5 billion.
America has instituted a maritime blockade in the Caribbean. US naval forces targeted and intercepted “shadow fleet” tankers carrying sanctioned oil, directly choking off regional trade routes used by Cuba. The blockade, combined with aggressive new economic sanctions, is causing blackouts, a lack of fuel for farming and industry, and the interruption of water and food supplies.
Since people aren’t getting enough food, water, or energy they are resorting to pre-industrial methods to survive. They are farming with oxen, scrounging for water, and relying on home gardens for food. They don’t have reliable refrigeration so must use nonperishable food and older means of food preservation.
The US is bigfooting Panama by threatening economic sanctions and military action in order to reassert dominance over the use of the Canal.
The administration interfered in Brazilian domestic politics by criticizing legal restrictions placed on Trump’s fellow traveler, former President Jair Bolsonaro.
According to Wikipedia, the US military has executed 66 strikes on alleged drug boats, killing at least 221 people in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific. Little proof has been provided to support the Trump administration’s drug trafficking claims and there is no evidence of reduced cocaine consumption in the US.
While you’re here enjoying DonkeyHotey’s latest cartoon, please take a moment to read these articles on related topics:
The cartoon above was created by DonkeyHotey for WhoWhatWhy from these images: Marco Rubio caricature (DonkeyHotey / Flickr – CC BY 4.0) and land 1 (Mike McBey / Wikimedia – CC BY 2.0).