Marco Rubio Hammers Obama Over Latin American Policies

From his perch on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio took aim at President Barack Obamas policy in regard to Latin America. Rubio said he would oppose three pending nominations -- those of Roberta Jacobson as assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs; Mari Carmen Aponte to be ambassador toEl Salvador;and Adam Namm to be ambassador to Ecuador.

Rather than stand up to tyrants and promote democracy, this administrations policy toward Latin America has been defined by appeasement, weakness and the alienation of our allies," Rubio said in a statement released on Tuesday. Earlier this year, I encouraged the administration to seize these nominations as an opportunity to outline a plan to steer U.S. policy in the Western Hemisphere toward renewing Americas commitment to promoting democracy and free markets.

"But it has become clear that the administration plans to continue business as usual in the region. This is unacceptable, Rubio continued. Therefore, I will oppose these nominees in the Foreign Relations Committee, and reserve my right to block or vote against any other future Western Hemisphere nominees until the administration takes meaningful action to change its policies. In particular, I encourage the administration to move quickly on three fronts.

First, the U.S. should immediately adopt significant bilateral and regional measures to encourage a return to constitutional order in Nicaragua, Rubio said in conclusion. Second, the U.S. should take immediate action to impose additional sanctions against the Cuban regime in response to the taking of American hostage Alan Gross. And third, the U.S. should commit to dedicating U.S. democracy funding in Cuba solely to activities that strictly adhere to Sec. 109 of the Libertad Act.