Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed a UN report claiming that most drug-trafficking in South America takes place in Colombia and Ecuador, rather than Venezuela, as a reason not to go after the country's authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro.
Speaking at a press conference along with Ecuadorean counterpart Gabriela Sommerfeld, Rubio rejected the report brought up by a journalist, noting that 5% of all drug-trafficking in the region goes through Venezuela, compared to 87% in Colombia and Ecuador.
"I don't care what the UN says. He's a fugitive from U.S. justice indicted by a New York grand jury. He's not the legitimate leader of Venezuela," Rubio added.
The Secretary of State said on Wednesday in Mexico that the order to "blow up" the vessel rather than interdict it came from President Donald Trump.
"And it will happen again," Rubio added. Before heading to the neighboring country, Rubio had already anticipated that the Trump administration will l "go on the offense" against cartels.
Trump is "going to use the full power of America and the full might of the us to take on and eradicate these drug cartels no matter where they're operating from and no matter how long they've been able to act with impunity," Rubio said.
Earlier on Wednesday Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth explicitly warned the country's authoritarian President, Nicolas Maduro, saying he "should be worried" after the development.
"The only one who should be worried is Nicolas Maduro, who is acting as the kingpin of a narco state. Not actually elected and indicted for $50 million by the U.S. We know he's involved in the kind of drug-running that has affected the American people directly," Hegseth said.
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