MIAMI (news agencies) — Growing up in Miami among Cuban exiles who fled Fidel Castro’s revolution, Sen. Marco Rubio developed a deep hatred of communism. Now as President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for America’s top diplomat, he’s set to bring that same ideological ammunition to reshaping U.S. policy in Latin America.
As the first Latino secretary of state, Rubio is expected to devote considerable attention to what has long been disparagingly referred to as Washington’s backyard.
The top Republican on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a longtime member of the Foreign Relations Committee, he’s leveraged his knowledge and unmatched personal relationships to drive U.S. policy in the region for years.
For decades since the end of the Cold War, Latin America has faded from the U.S. foreign policy agenda even as U.S. adversaries like Russia, Iran and especially China have made deep inroads. If confirmed, the Florida Republican is likely to end the neglect.
But Rubio’s reputation as a national security hawk, embrace of Trump’s plan for mass deportation of migrants and knack for polarizing rhetoric is likely to alienate even some U.S. allies in the region unwilling to fall in line with the incoming president’s America First foreign policy.
“Typically, Latin America policy is left to junior officers,” said Christopher Sabatini, a research fellow at Chatham House in London. “But Rubio’s reflexes are firmly focused on the region. He’ll be paying attention, and governments are going to have to be more cooperative in their larger relationship with the U.S. if they want to draw close.”
Rubio, through a Senate spokeswoman, declined to comment about his foreign policy goals.
But his views on Latin America are well known and contrast sharply with the Biden administration’s preference for multilateral diplomacy and dialogue with U.S. critics.
Taking cues from his boss, Rubio’s main focus in the region is likely to be Mexico, on trade, drug trafficking and migration. Once a sponsor of bipartisan reforms allowing undocumented migrants a path to citizenship, Rubio transformed himself during Trump’s first administration into a loyal supporter of his calls for increased border security and mass deportation.
Rubio has said little about Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office last month. But he was a fierce critic of her predecessor, Andres Manuel López Obrador, who in 2022 defiantly skipped the U.S.-organized Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles for a gathering of leftist leaders in Cuba.
Rubio accused López Obrador of capitulating to drug cartels and serving as an “apologist for tyranny” in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. The Mexican president responded by calling Rubio a “racist.”
Despite the snub, the Mexican president was welcomed by President Joe Biden to the White House three weeks later as a “friend” and “partner.”
“That won’t happen under Rubio,” said Sabatini. “He keeps close tabs on who is following his policy preferences.”
Rubio, 53, has long had Trump’s ear on Latin America — and hasn’t hesitated to use that access to promote his hard-line agenda. He’s been one of the most outspoken critics of Russian and Chinese economic, political and military outreach in the region, and is expected to punish countries who cozy up to America’s geopolitical rivals, or those who fail to support Israel.
When Trump canceled what would have been his first presidential visit to Latin America in 2018, Rubio was there to fill the void, sitting for meetings and photo ops at the Summit of the Americas in Peru with regional leaders from Argentina, Haiti and elsewhere.
“There’s nobody in the U.S. Senate who comes close to having his affinity and depth of knowledge on Latin America,” said Carlos Trujillo, Rubio’s close friend and former U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States. “Not only does he have personal relationships with dozens of officials, some of them for decades, but he has vetted almost every U.S. ambassador deployed to the region. It’s a significant advantage.”
Among those eager to work with Rubio is Argentine President Javier Milei, whose combative style, attacks on institutions and transformation from TV personality to far-right leader have drawn comparisons with Trump.
Another ally is El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, whose crackdown on gang violence that once drove millions of Salvadoran migrants to the U.S. has drawn praise from Rubio.
Rubio hasn’t hesitated to use his power to bully leftist leaders he sees as harming U.S. national security interests. Even democratically elected moderates have been targets. Earlier this year, he slammed Chilean President Gabriel Boric, a critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, for allegedly providing safe haven for Hezbollah financiers, calling him “one of the leading anti-Israel voices in Latin America.”
In 2023, he called Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 guerrilla group, a “dangerous” choice to lead a country that has been the longtime U.S. partner in the war on drugs.
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