Marco Rubio Pushes Obama Nominee on Venezuela, Cuba and Colombia

At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., pressed Antony Blinken on U.S. policy toward Venezuela, Colombia and Cuba. Blinken is President Barack Obamas nominee to be deputy secretary of state.

On Wednesday, Blinken said the administration backed Rubios Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 which would impose sanctions on leaders of the Maduro regime.

But Rubio was less than happy with Blinkens responses on Cuba and Colombia.

I am encouraged that the Obama administration finally announced its support for legislation pending before the Senate that would impose visa and financial sanctions on individuals committing human rights abuses in Venezuela, Rubio said after the hearing. In addition to the visa freezes the administration is already implementing against such individuals, they should immediately freeze the financial assets of these individuals. With respect to Colombia, it is important that the U.S. make clear that Colombian drug traffickers serving in U.S. prisons will serve out their sentences, regardless of what demands may be made in negotiations with the FARC. On Cuba, I am very concerned that President Obamas nominee to be John Kerrys deputy at the Department of State passed up several opportunities today to categorically rule out the possibility of unilateral changes to U.S. policy toward Cuba. Unless Cuba begins an irreversible democratic transformation, the U.S. should not reward the Castro regime with unilateral concessions from us that enrich the regime and help it repress millions of Cubans.