Rubio Bringing Star Power to Summit of the Americas

Avowed non-vice-presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is going on a very presidential trip to the Summit of the Americas this weekend in Cartagena, Colombia.

The ranking member of the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs appeared on the radio show “From Washington Al Mundo” before he left where he wasn’t asked so much about U.S. elections as this fall’s vote in Venezuela.

“Well, first and foremost is to work with our partners in the region to call it for what it is. There is fraud and there are abuses. It’s one of the things I was really upset about when it came to Nicaragua,” Rubio said. “We didn’t prioritize it. I don’t think there is anyone that would dispute that the elections in Nicaragua that were just carried out were fraudulent. Everyone says that. But the U.S. was very slow in saying that, in being forceful about it. We spoke very forcefully the day after fraudulent elections in Russia. It took us forever to put any sort of strong pronouncement out when it came to the issue of Nicaragua.”

The senator, who is making the trip on his own initiative and not as part of a congressional delegation, also expressed his concern about Iran’s influence in Latin America.

“They use terrorism as a part of their stagecraft, as a part of their foreign policy,” Rubio said. “The ability to stage those kinds of attacks from the Western Hemisphere against our own interests is something that I think they’re interested in building up the capability to do. We’ve got to keep an eye on that and be willing to counter it, and also send a very clear message to leaders in the Western Hemisphere that the United States is not going to tolerate terrorist threats emerging from our own hemisphere.”

Rubio’s press secretary, Alex Conant, told Investors Business Daily that several Latin American leaders are interested in meeting Rubio.

The White House held a call with reporters yesterday to highlight President Obama’s trip to the summit. He arrives tomorrow evening, a day after Rubio.

“The summit theme is, as chosen by the Colombians, is one that works quite well, frankly, with the President’s agenda in the Americas,” said Dan Restrepo, senior director for the Western Hemisphere. “It’s — the title is ‘Connecting the Americas:  Partners for Prosperity.'”

“The Summit represents an opportunity for the United States to publicly condemn the most recent anti-democratic actions of the ALBA leaders, such as Ortega’s unconstitutional re-election and Correa’s harassment of the press in Ecuador,” House Foreign Affairs Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said today. “I urge the President to stand up for U.S. interests, values, and allies, press for greater cooperation on narco-trafficking, counter Iran’s influence in the region, and hold the tyrants of the Western Hemisphere accountable for their actions.”