Rubio says U.S. wants to ‘partner’ with countries on hemisphere issues

The United States wants to “partner” with countries in the Western hemisphere, including Canada, to collectively tackle issues like narco-terrorism and mass migration, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday.

In a wide-ranging and lengthy press conference to mark the end of his first year as America’s top diplomat, Rubio faced several questions on the Trump administration’s new national security strategy that seeks to re-establish U.S. leadership and dominance over the hemisphere.

The strategy, which sets out a desire to “enlist” countries in the Western hemisphere to carry out U.S. policy goals in the region, has raised alarm bells in Canada about those countries becoming American so-called “vassal states.”

Rubio, who also serves as U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, said he was involved in crafting the strategy and said the entire goal was to protect American national interests.

Asked how the strategy will impact relations with other hemispheric powers like Canada and Mexico, Rubio suggested those and other countries in the region have the same goal of safety and security.

“We want to partner with as many people (as we can) — they face the same threats that we do,” he said, pointing to violence and corruption in parts of Mexico as examples of the threat posed by transnational drug cartels — a threat Canada also faces.

“They (Mexico) recognize it, which is why they’re partnering with us. Of course we want to work with other governments in the region to confront this challenge, and in most cases we have cooperative places.”

Trump’s strategy for the Western hemisphere has seen recent U.S. military operations in Venezuela, which Rubio repeatedly insisted Friday are focused on stopping drug trafficking, not on ousting President Nicolas Maduro from power.

“It is clear that the current status quo with the Venezuelan regime is intolerable for the United States, the status quo that they … not just cooperate but partner with and participate in activities that threaten the national interest of United States,” he said. “So yes, our goal is to change that dynamic.

“We have a regime that’s illegitimate,” he added, a comment he made multiple times while pointing to both the disputed presidential election last year and a U.S. indictment against Maduro.

In an interview with NBC News on Friday, Trump would not rule out a war with Venezuela.

Rubio said he would not speculate on whether the U.S. will take any additional actions that, by law, will require congressional approval. He said “nothing has happened” so far that would require that approval “or cross the threshold into war.”

He wouldn’t directly comment when asked about U.S. media reports that both the United Kingdom and Canada have distanced themselves from lethal — and controversial — boat strikes in the Caribbean against suspected drug smuggling boats by refusing or limiting intelligence sharing, and whether that was harming relations with those allies.

However, he suggested both that the reports were false and that the U.S. doesn’t need outside intelligence to conduct the operations or establish their legality.

“Look, every day I read stuff that’s just not true,” he said, telling the assembled reporters, “You guys are being lied to sometimes.”

“We have everything we need” for the boat strikes, he added, “and it’s one of the reasons why you’ve seen this massive deployment in the region is to be able to gather intelligence and paint a picture that we can justify to lawyers based on the law. So I’m very confident about that effort, it’s been very successful.”

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Ottawa has previously said the Canadian military and government is not involved in the U.S. operations.

Rubio’s press conference came hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his own year-end review to reporters in Moscow, where he held firm on his stance that the war in Ukraine would end with Russia gaining Ukrainian land by either force or through a negotiated settlement.

U.S. and Ukrainian officials are meeting with Middle East mediators in Miami this weekend for more talks.

Rubio said there would be no peace deal unless both Ukraine and Russia can agree to the terms, making it impossible for the U.S. to force a deal on anyone. Instead, the U.S. is trying to “figure out if we can nudge both sides to a common place.”

Asked if the U.S. would help defend Europe — where leaders are growing increasingly concerned about Russian aggression and encroachment — from a possible attack, Rubio said the commitment to collective self-defence has not wavered.

“Article 5 in the NATO alliance is important, and the president has reiterated that,” he said. “We think it’s a very strong deterrent against any of these fears or concerns that any of our allies in the region may have. And the president’s been clear that we are committed to NATO, we’re committed to the alliance, and our commitment isn’t just rhetorical.

“The only thing we’re asking for, which is not unfair, is for our partners in the alliance to improve their own capabilities … the truth of the matter is that NATO is the key defence alliance and agreement that has provided stability on the European continent. We believe it is stronger today than it’s ever been.”

Canada joined NATO allies this year in committing to spending five per cent of its GDP on defence by 2035, 3.5 per cent of which will be on core military investments.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has boosted defence spending since taking office in March, and has vowed Canada will reach the past NATO defence spending target of two per cent this year.