(Via translation.)
QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, thank you very much for being here with us for the first time on Fox News.
SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you very much.
QUESTION: This is also your first interview in Spanish with the American media and for that we thank you.
SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you very much.
QUESTION: What are President Donald Trump's short- and long-term strategies and priorities in the Western Hemisphere?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, it's the same priority that exists all over the world, and that is to defend the national interests of the United States. Obviously, we have neighboring countries that are great friends and allies of the United States. I'm talking about the governments, for example, of El Salvador, the government of Honduras… the government, pardon me, of Guatemala. We have also had a lot of cooperation from Honduras recently, we also have a lot of cooperation from Costa Rica, and even though we have some differences with what is happening with the canal, the Government of Panama is a government that is a friend of the United States, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Paraguay. In short, I don't want to exclude anyone specifically, but the fact is that we have many alliances and we have to maintain those alliances and ensure that there is a policy in which being a friend and ally of the United States brings benefits.
Moreover, we also have specific issues such as drug trafficking, the illegal smuggling of migrants into the country, and many of these countries that I have mentioned are… well, they are either from there, it is where many of these people who come are from, or they are points of transit, and we have looked for ways to cooperate with these countries. And with regard to that, I have to say that they have all cooperated. Panama, Guatemala, even Honduras, which we have never had… under the new government we have not had very strong ties with them, but they have cooperated and they have taken steps to improve our relations with them, and we must also give credit to Mexico, even though we have differences in terms of matters of trade, without a doubt, we must also acknowledge that the Mexican government and the government of President Sheinbaum have taken very strong measures, the likes of which we have never seen in the past, to combat these cartels and, at the same time, the massive illegal immigration to the United States, which always crosses through Mexico, although obviously not all of them are Mexican, the majority are from other places.
So the strategy is to defend the national interests of the United States, working together with our allies in the region.
QUESTION: Marco, is Mexico a narco-state?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Unfortunately, we know that a large part of Mexican territory is controlled by the cartels and these criminal elements. Furthermore, in many of these places, the corruption that exists at the judicial level, for example, is very, very powerful. We saw recently that they sent us more than twenty-odd people who have been wanted for years, the most dangerous criminals, in the custody of the Mexican authorities, in an unprecedented wave of extraditions. It's a very positive step.
But we also know, and we have been told this directly from Mexico, that in many of these cases, what prevents cooperation is that there are very dangerous levels of corruption and influence over the country's legal system. We have also seen candidates, journalists murdered, politicians murdered, members of the government murdered in Mexico for taking a stand… for standing up to the cartels. That's why I have always said the same thing, that these cartels are not only a threat to the United States. They are a threat to the Mexican state. They are a huge threat to Mexican laws and to the Mexican people.
QUESTION: Yes. That's why I want to ask you this… because the real victims are the Mexican people, especially the poor, who can't defend themselves. So I want to know if you have any idea how the Mexican people feel that Donald Trump is the one saying "I want to do something against the cartels," and that Sheinbaum, in many… in many cases, she is defending them or doing… uh saying that she is going to help with the [unintelligible] and whatever. I mean, what does… what do the American people say about what Donald Trump wants to do?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, we have seen a level of cooperation from the Mexican authorities that we have never seen in the past, but it is not enough. We have to do more. We understand that there are obstacles within the Mexican [legal] system as well, but at least we have seen some willingness to address this. Furthermore, I believe that the Mexican people are aware of the threat that the cartels represent, because they live with these threats on a daily basis, and the threat that the cartels represent to the United States is massive. That is to say, the amount of drugs that are entering the United States through these cartels is killing thousands of Americans every wee… every month. That is unacceptable.
However, the Mexicans also say that the weapons these cartels are using come from the United States, and we are willing to help them control that. And we have had those conversations with them. So we have seen a response from the Mexican government that has never happened in the past, that has never happened before. And that is because of President Trump, and the pressure that President Trump has put on, and the emphasis that President Trump has placed on this issue. But there is still a lot to be done.
QUESTION: Yes, for me it's unbelievable to think that Donald Trump is more concerned about what is happening with the cartels inside Mexico than Sheinbaum is. But that's me. I would like you to explain Trump's tariffs and what the results he hopes to achieve are.
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, what we've seen so far is simply based on his emergency power, and it's a power over immigration, and it's a power over the drug issue. We've seen historic border figures. It's because… we can say that in the past month the number of people crossing, coming to the United States illegally through the southern border, is almost zero. It's incredible… and it's an achievement that… that represents the pressure that Donald Trump has put through the tariffs.
However, drugs are still coming in and we know that those figures have not changed. And that has to do with those cartels, who have a powerful network that starts at the border, but they also have a presence within the United States. And the President has been clear, that although we have made progress on the immigration issue, there has not been enough progress yet on the drug issue. And that is why he has continued to threaten these tariffs as a consequence of what is happening. And I think President Trump is right in the position he has taken. We have made progress, we have seen efforts made, but we have not yet seen results on the drug issue, and that has to change, because it is a poison that is killing thousands and thousands of Americans every month in this country. Unacceptable.
QUESTION: You visited Panama and came back with a major victory. President Mulino announced that he is no longer going to renew The Belt and Road Initiative with China. Now, BlackRock says they will buy two ports in the canal. But here's what Mulino said recently about the sovereignty of Panama and the canal. Please take a listen. (A video was played.)
QUESTION: Okay. What is your reaction?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Look, President Mulino is pro-American, he's pro-United States, he's an ally, he's a friend. He has worked with us on many issues. We have a difference of opinion on the control of the canal. The president has been clear. That canal was built by the United States. That canal was given to Panama, not to the Chinese. Not to the Chinese government. Not to a Chinese company. We have great concerns about the influence that companies with links to the communist government of China have over… over the canal. It is unacceptable. We consider that the agreement between the United States and Panama has been violated, and they have taken concrete steps, in many cases, to address that.
Obviously, they have their own internal constitutional process. Control of the canal does not belong to the Panamanian government, it belongs to the authority that governs the canal. But they continue… and there are… there are differences. But at the same time, it must be acknowledged that President Mulino has taken decisive steps. The Belt and Road Initiative… it is the first country in the hemisphere to abandon that… that position with China. I think he is a president who also recognizes the links to the corruption that has existed in the past with previous administrations in Panama through Chinese money. At any rate, we have cooperated. He is still a friend. We will continue to work with them, but President Trump's position is clear. And that is that the canal cannot have the influence of the Chinese government that it has now, and we will see what steps can be taken to end that control. Because at the end of the day, we cannot allow such a key location in our hemisphere -which is paid for by the United States, built by the United States- to fall into the hands of a communist government in China.
QUESTION: Secretary, in this program we have spoken many times with María Corina Machado. She, as you already know, is a very brave woman. She is now living in hiding, in fear for her life. What do you think is the future for María Corina Machado?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, she's a woman… of…
QUESTION: So, is she going to stay there? Is she going to stay in Venezuela? What's going to happen?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Yes. Well, I can't speak for her. I will tell you that she has incredible courage. She is one of the few… of all the great figures of the… of the Venezuelan resistance, of the opposition, she is the only one left. I don't blame anyone. I know it's difficult to live there. I am aware of the threat they face every day. But I don't… I don't say this to criticize those who have left… who have left the country. I say it to pay tribute to the courage that María Corina Machado is showing the world every day by setting an example.
And you have to… you have to compare that to the cowardice of the Maduro regime. A drug-trafficking regime, a regime that is friends with Iran, that has invited Iran. The Maduro regime has told Iran that it wants to be Iran's operational base in our hemisphere. A regime who threatens its neighbors in Guyana. That just a few days ago it threatened an American oil tanker belonging to an American… to an American company that is legitimately and legally exploring for oil in Guyana, it threatened them and who has also been responsible for the thousands and thousands of gang members from el Tren de Aragua, who went… who came here to the United States from Venezuela, and who have created a wave of crime in various cities in this country. That regime has an obligation… an obligation to accept its citizens who are in this country illegally.
Specifically, we have asked them to accept the return of all these gang members. Thousands of them from el Tren de Aragua that we have in our custody. And they haven't, they have not done so. They accepted two flights, less than 200 gang members, and now they are refusing to do any more. That is unacceptable. And so there are consequences. That is why the president has canceled a concession that Joe Biden stupidly gave him, he gave him millions, billions of dollars in revenue for that regime. And we have other options to continue punishing that regime. If they don't cooperate, not only on the issue of immigration, but if they don't cooperate with their own people and also don't cooperate… and they continue to invite Iran to create an operational base within Venezuela, which is not going to happen. That is unacceptable. Donald Trump, President Trump, will never accept Iran having an operational base in our hemisphere, in Venezuela or anywhere else.
QUESTION: Secretary, she clearly… or her… her opposition party clearly won the last elections in… in Venezuela. In Venezuela. Donald Trump can certainly relate to the idea of (unintelligible), and… and the fact that she was cheated out of those elections. She won… or her party won. Will we see Maduro relinquish his power in Venezuela over the next four years?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, we would like that to be the result. Unfortunately, we have a regime that has taken over Venezuelan territory, that is in business with the narco-cartels. That supports the narco-guerrillas that are also destabilizing the people of Colombia. That is also linked to Iran. Who are willing to murder and imprison, exile, more than 8 million Venezuelans who have had to leave their country, and all of those who resist his political mandate or his… sorry, his political power within the country. Ultimately, I believe that the future of Venezuela rests with the Venezuelan people, and that solution is a legitimate, democratic, observed election, and everything that has not happened, what has… Maduro cannot win. Maduro could never win a legitimate election in Venezuela. And he knows that. That's why they stole the last elections.
What we cannot do is reward him. What we cannot do is make concessions, like what Joe Biden did, giving him billions of dollars as a gift in exchange for fraud, in exchange for a lie. And after those fake elections were over? Not lifting the sanction… not imposing the sanctions, as Donald Trump has just done.
QUESTION: Washington D.C., as you know, is a very divided city. There has been a great deal of agreement, however, between both parties, that you are the right person, perfect for this job. That means there are high expectations and hopes for your success at the end of your four years as secretary. What… what do you think you want… what does success look like to you? Are there two or three specific things you hope to achieve, for example?
SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, we have to start by being clear. I am here to implement President Trump's policies. President Trump was elected by the American people. A massive mandate. He won all of the key states and they gave him a mandate to govern. And my role as his Secretary of State is to implement President Trump's policies. He is a president who wants peace. He does not want to start new wars and he wants to end the war currently going on in Ukraine, all of the wars that are happening, that are happening now, and to avoid war in the future.
Secondly, it is to establish and defend the national interests of the United States. I believe that the real achievement would be a world order in which the policies of US interests are paramount. If I leave here in four years' time having led a State Department that has defended the national interests of the United States and that has implemented the policies of President Trump effectively and efficiently, I believe that would be a great achievement for me. That is our role. People here sometimes make the mistake of thinking that the Secretary of State is the one who creates policy. We have no influence, we can give advice, but at the end of the day the president of the United States is the one who determines U.S. policy, and our job, as his Secretary of State in this State Department, is to implement the directives we receive from the White House.
QUESTION: Well said. Secretary Marco Rubio, thank you very much for joining our program. It has been an honor.
SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you very much. It has been an honor for me.
