Secretary of State Marco Rubio says there could be more strikes on drug traffickers : NPR
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warns more military strikes on drug traffickers, calling for an American strike on a Venezuelan boat a clear message to cartels.
A Martínez, host:
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says there may be more American strikes on alleged drug traffickers. He warned Mexico before traveling in Ecuador. Michele Kelemen of NPR reports that the fight against drug trade and illegal migration are key subjects during the trip.
Michele Kelemen, Byline: The American military strike on a venezuela boat was to be a message to the regional cartels. This is how Secretary Rubio described him while he was standing alongside his Mexican counterpart during a press conference in the capital.
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Marco Rubio: If you are on a boat full of cocaine or fentanyl or anything for the United States, you are immediately threatened for the United States. And the president, under his authority as commander-in-chief, has a right in demanding circumstances to eliminate imminent threats to the United States.
Kelemen: He says that is what Trump did on Tuesday, ordering a strike on a boat in Venezuela. Rubio says that the United States will continue to strike groups which it considers that narco-terrorists.
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Rubio: We are no longer going to sit down and watch these people sail from top to bottom of the Caribbean like a cruise ship. It will not happen anymore. They will not bring drugs to the United States. We will stop them.
Kelemen: Regarding Mexico, Rubio says that the two countries have reached a historic level of cooperation on the fight against drug trade and illegal migration. The Mexican Foreign Minister, Juan Ramon of the Fuente, has echoed this, although he stressed that their cooperation is based on mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. He used these terms several times during their joint press conference, in particular when he was asked for the pressure that the Trump administration exerts Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
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Juan Ramon de la Fuente: We believe in self-determination, non-intervention and the peaceful solution of controversies. All countries are legally equal. We believe in development cooperation, etc.
Kelemen: of the Fuente was optimistic about the visit of Rubio, and the meeting with the Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, the productive caller. The secretary is now in Ecuador, where drug trade and immigration will again exceed the agenda. His aid say that he is also looking for ways to help this country get out of what they call a giant albatrossess – the debt of $ 2.5 billion in China Ecuador.
Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Quito, Ecuador.
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