Rubio says travel restrictions to Cuba are fulfillment of Bolton's promise

Rubio says travel ban is part of plan to put pressure on Maduro

Sen. Marco Rubio speaks to members of the media after a closed briefing for Senate members May 21, 2019 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON ā€“ Sen. Marco Rubio reacted toĀ President DonaldĀ Trump's decision to banĀ cruise shipsĀ and recreational vessels to Cuba and to no longer allow educational travel by writing on Twitter Wednesday thatĀ it is theĀ fulfillment of national security adviser John Bolton's speech in Miami-Dade County.Ā 

Bolton's speech reinvigorated the Monroe Doctrine, a policyĀ established in 1828 to prevent outside powers from intervening in the hemisphere. Bolton also dubbedĀ Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua the "Troika of Tyranny."

Before Bolton's speech, Trump had alreadyĀ been rolling back former President Barack Obama's efforts to normalize relations. During his campaign in Miami-Dade, heĀ promised to do everything in his power to prevent U.S. dollars from getting to Cuba's Communist regime.Ā 

It's a position Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart has long supported.Ā 

"At this time, while the regime in Cuba is subverting democracy in Venezuela, opposing U.S. interests in our hemisphere, and oppressing the Cuban people, it is crucial that we do all we can to deny U.S. dollars to that brutal dictatorship,"Ā Diaz-Balart wrote on Twitter.Ā 

The Trump administration announced the new ban willĀ take effect on Wednesday. Rubio also wroteĀ the ban is Trump'sĀ direct response to theĀ role that theĀ Cuban governmentĀ plays in support of Venezuela's embattled President NicolĆ”s Maduro.Ā 

"Regime insiders know he can't hang on much longer," Rubio wrote.

This week Maduro used social media to continueĀ to flaunt his meetings with leaders of the Venezuelan military, which has support from Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitriy Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that Russian operatives are in Venezuela cooperating with Maduro.Ā 


About the Authors
Andrea Torres headshot

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.

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