Marco Rubio Takes Aim at Flights to Cuba, Iran and States Backing Terrorism

Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio reached out across the aisle to file an amendment with Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey to prevent the expansion of direct flights to the four nations that are listed as state sponsors of terrorism -- Iran, Sudan, Syria and Cuba.

Increasing direct commercial or charter aircraft flights with state sponsors of terrorism is totally irresponsible and would amount to unilateral gifts to tyrants and regimes that actively undermine Americas security, said Rubio on Monday. There is no reason for the United States to help enrich state sponsors of terrorism, especially at a time when free trade agreements with our close allies in Colombia, Panama and South Korea are lingering.

Instead of doing business with regimes that undermine Americas security and routinely violate the basic norms of human dignity, we should be bolstering our democratic allies through deeper economic ties, added Rubio.I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this effort to ensure that U.S. policy does not expose our nation to new security risks and increased security costs, while alienating our most trusted allies.

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