Senator Marco Rubio criticizes AMLO for defending Cuban and Venezuelan regimes

Senator Marco Rubio criticized Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s (AMLO) stance towards authoritarian regimes in Latin America and his questionable relationships with Miguel Díaz-Canel, Nicolás Maduro and Daniel Ortega.

“I don’t know how a democratically elected leader can defend regimes that punish democracy,” said Rubio.

Reunión de trabajo con la vicepresidenta de Estados Unidos. https://t.co/ndCB6Xy1Yq

— Gobierno de México (@GobiernoMX) November 18, 2021

The vice chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence spoke about the Mexican president’s participation at the upcoming Leaders for Democracy summit, which will be held virtually on December 9 and 10.

Since he was mayor of Mexico City, López Obrador has expressed support for the Cuban and Venezuelan regimes, even though previous Mexican governments have criticized officials in both countries, said the senator.

“The previous governments were aligned with our policy in terms of what is going on in Venezuela. We would like a government like that to return. But we are not going to interfere in Mexico’s elections and internal politics,” he said.

Rubio questioned the presence of leaders such as López Obrador at the Leaders for Democracy Summit, saying that heads of state like AMLO should question the lack of free and fair presidential elections in Venezuela and the lack of democracy in Cuba for more than 60 years.

The Florida senator also mentioned the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and highlighted the role of its neighbor, Colombia, which has accepted the people fleeing from Venezuela. He also warned about the current situation in Nicaragua and how this will cause people to also flee the country.

“[Daniel Ortega] is going to create a new migratory crisis. More Nicaraguans will want to leave the country. This has created problems for Canada, the United States and even Mexico, which has become a transitory country for migration,” he concluded.