There’s a really interesting Latin American power play that is reportedly happening today. Cuba is not too happy with the renewed embargo Trump wants to put on them, and they appealed to Colombia to try to stop them.
That’s when thirsty Marco Rubio stepped in.
In a final effort to stall a new U.S. trade and travel crackdown, Cuba pressured its ally Colombia to suggest it might boycott a Latin American security summit called by U.S. officials if President Donald Trump went forward Friday with announcing his new policy targeting the Raul Castro government.
But this attempt didn’t get very far.
Colombia began to express misgivings about how Trump’s Cuba announcement in Miami would coincide with the two-day U.S.-led Conference on Prosperity and Security in Central America that begins today, also in Miami, and suggested it might just skip out on the conference if Trump didn’t delay his announcement by a week, said an aide to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).
Rubio, who has spent months quietly helping Trump craft his plans to restrict trade and travel with Cuba, was “appalled” at the news — although he knew the White House wouldn’t succumb to any threats for a delay, his aide said.
So Rubio made his own play to get Trump to pressure Colombia. “Santos” refers to Colombia’s president.
“Let me get this right: Santos is coming to us and asking for $400 million to fund his flawed peace plan, but he is threatening to pull out of an event that’s not even about them? It’s about El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras,” the senator told the White House, according to the Rubio aide. A U.S. government official familiar with the flare-up confirmed the broad outlines of the situation described by Rubio’s office. Neither spoke on the record out of concern that it would upset either the Colombians or senior White House officials.
Wow. That’s crazy!!
As far as I can tell, the only thing that is animating Trump’s return to trade restrictions on Cuba is that he wants to spit in Obama’s eye. It’s a good thing he has Rubio around with the experience to know how to get these things done…