Rick Scott Praises Secretary Rubio For His Role in Addressing the Crises in Cuba And Venezuela

Following a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the State Department’s annual budget request, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) spoke with The Floridian publisher Javier Manjarres to discuss his views on Secretary of State Marco Rubio's recent testimony in the Senate about how the U.S. is addressing the political and humanitarian challenges in Venezuela and Cuba.

“Oh, he did a great job,” Sen. Scott affirmed when asked about how the hearing with Secretary Rubio went.

Sen. Scott praised Secretary Rubio for his role in both Cuba and Venezuela.

Scott on Venezuela

“On the Venezuelan side, his plan makes a lot of sense. People are restless because they don’t feel like Delcy [Rodriguez] is going to eliminate all of the political prisoners; there’s still oppression; they won’t have a date for an election, and so his response was a good response,” he added.

According to Sen. Scott, during the hearing, Secretary Rubio assured the committee that progress has been made within the five months since former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro’s capture and that he is committed to improving the state of the Latin American Country.

When asked about whether Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez should be removed as the interim president of Venezuela or whether free and fair elections should be used to get her out of office, Sen. Scott said that he “trusts the president” for his plan to ensure free and fair elections in Venezuela.

Despite political oppression, no designated date for an election, and the presence of political prisoners, Sen. Scott said. “We have to give people time to organize their campaigns” to ensure that democracy is in place.

Scott on Cuba

Pivoting to Secretary Rubio’s role in Cuba, Sen. Scott reiterated Secretary Rubio’s claims that the “regime is broke” and that “they don’t have the money to pay for anything.”

While emphasizing the significance of former Cuban dictator Raúl Castro’s indictment, the Florida Senator also said that the Cuban government “never had money,” arguing instead that “Raúl Castro’s family has all the money.”

“They run all the businesses in Cuba…they have $14+ billion in the bank, and none of it is spent to fix electricity, anything," he added.