From his perch as the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., continues to praise the Trump administration for its opposition to the Maduro regime in Venezuela.
Rubio announced on Monday that Chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of Venezuela to the United States Carlos Vecchio will be his official guest when President Donald Trump gives the State of the Union address on Tuesday night.
“Vecchio, a Venezuelan lawyer and co-founder of the opposition party Voluntad Popular, fled Maduro’s narco-terrorist tyranny in 2014 and is currently living in exile. Following the inauguration of Provisional President Juan Guaidó, Vecchio was appointed by the National Assembly as Chargé d’affaires at the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, D.C,” Rubio’s office noted.
“For years, Carlos witnessed first-hand the Maduro regime’s repression and egregious human rights abuses,” Rubio said. “Since living in exile from 2014, Vecchio has been a tireless advocate for the restoration of democracy and freedom of his beloved homeland. I’m honored to host the Venezuelan Embassy’s Chargé d’affaires in the Capitol on Tuesday, and I anticipate President Trump will reemphasize his Administration’s stance against tyrannical leaders in Latin America and in support of the people of Venezuela.”
Reaching out to South Florida’s Venezuelan community, Rubio appeared at an event in Doral with Vice President Mike Pence on Friday.
“Let me just begin by thanking the president of the United States and his vice president,” Rubio said. “And I want to tell you something about them, there has never been a moment where I’ve had to convince them to care about this issue. In fact, I do not recall a conversation I have had with either one of them in the last two years in which the topic of Venezuela was not raised by them. They deserve tremendous credit for that and for the work they’ve done.
“This is not the first visit of the vice president to this community,” Rubio added. “He was here less than a year ago or about a year ago to talk about this topic. But I told him and I believe this will be the last time he has to come here for an event like this because there will never again have to be an event like this. The next event will be free and fair elections in Venezuela for the people of Venezuela.”
