US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will discuss the possibility of deporting suspected Tren de Aragua gang members to El Salvador in an upcoming meeting with Salvadorean president Nayib Bukele, according to State Department Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone.
“We’re looking to do a new agreement that might include the members of the Tren de Aragua, who will want to go back to Venezuela rather than having to share the prison with the Salvadorean gangs like MS-13. It’s part of what we want to discuss and how President Bukele can help us…” Claver-Carone told reporters on Friday, praising Bukele’s security efforts in recent years.
Since taking office in 2019, Bukele has launched a security crackdown in El Salvador, detaining tens of thousands of people on suspicion of gang membership.
Once suffering from the highest murder-rate of any country outside a war zone, El Salvador has now fewer murders than the United States according to government figures.
But human rights activists say the Bukele administration’s approach is overbroad – new legislation introduced as part of the crackdown allows police to detain citizens without proof.
Last year, El Salvador opened a controversial new maximum security prison for alleged gang members, known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT.
The news comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 20 recommending that the State Department start the process of designating the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang as a foreign terrorist organization.
Rubio begins his tour of Central America this weekend, and is expected to arrive in San Salvador on Monday.
Trump has made stemming migration to the United States a top priority and has enacted a slew of directives meant to crack down, including ordering thousands more troops to the US southern border.
Tens of thousands of migrants from the three Northern Triangle countries that Rubio plans to visit – Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras – attempt to travel into the US each year. However, according to Customs and Border Protection data, the number of border encounters with people from these three countries dropped in 2024.
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Rubio and Bukele to discuss sending suspected gang members from US to El Salvador
In a groundbreaking move, Senator Marco Rubio and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele are set to discuss a controversial proposal to send suspected gang members from the United States to El Salvador for prosecution. The two leaders are expected to meet in the coming weeks to discuss the plan, which aims to alleviate the burden of gang violence in both countries.
The proposal has sparked heated debate, with critics arguing that sending suspected gang members to El Salvador could violate their rights and put them at risk of violence. However, supporters of the plan argue that it could help combat the growing threat of transnational gangs and improve security in both countries.
Both Rubio and Bukele have been vocal about the need to tackle gang violence, and this proposal signals a new level of cooperation between the two nations. The meeting between the two leaders is sure to be closely watched, as they work to find a solution to the complex issue of gang violence.
Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.
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Rubio, Bukele, suspected gang members, US, El Salvador, immigration, deportation, Central America, crime, gang violence, security, foreign policy, politics, cooperation, transnational crime, border control, collaboration
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Panama Saturday for his first trip as the United States’ top diplomat that that will test if his diplomacy can build on President Donald Trump’s bellicose and transactional approach to “American First” foreign policy, particularly on migration.
Rubio’s choice to visit Central America – Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic – is intentional and meant to drive forward the Trump agenda by “paying closer attention to our own neighborhood.”
Migration will be a key focus throughout Rubio’s trip, set against the backdrop of the dramatic confrontation between Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro last Sunday.
Discussion about the Panama Canal – which Trump has repeatedly said should be back under US control – is also “a priority” while the top US diplomat is in Panama City.
Rubio is also expected to emphasize efforts to counter China in the region. However, aid officials and some US officials say this effort – and priorities like countering illegal migration and drug trafficking – have been undermined by his sweeping foreign assistance freeze.
On migration, Trump officials have been mapping out a Latin America strategy, keenly aware that the region is integral to their aggressive deportation agenda. For years, the US has been sending back migrants from Central American countries. However, the Covid-19 pandemic in part spurred record migration across the Western Hemisphere, meaning that more people were journeying to the United States’ southern border from multiple countries.
The less-than-day-long public showdown between the Trump and Petro has been a key talking point among Trump officials and offers a window into how the administration plans to approach its dealings with regional allies.
“We need to work with countries of origin to halt and deter further migrant flows, and to accept the return of their citizens present in the U.S. illegally,” Rubio wrote in the Wall Street Journal Friday.
“Some countries are cooperating with us enthusiastically—others, less so. The former will be rewarded,” he said. “For the latter, Mr. Trump has already shown that he is more than willing to use America’s considerable leverage to protect our interests. Just ask Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro.”
Still, how the administration plans to specifically work with its partners in the Western Hemisphere is still unclear.
One test will be how the Trump administration leverages its close relationship with El Salvador. US officials are in talks with the country to strike an asylum agreement that would allow the US to send asylum seekers who are not Salvadoran to El Salvador to seek protections.
The matter is expected to be discussed during Rubio’s meetings with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele and other officials.
“During the first Trump Administration, El Salvador was one of three countries that had a Safe Third Agreement with the United States, which will also be a topic of discussion,” Trump special envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone told reporters Friday.
The US and El Salvador also expected to discuss the possibility of deporting suspected members of the Tren de Aragua gang, which originated in Venezuela, to El Salvador, where Bukele’s vast and violent crackdown on gangs has earned admiration from the Trump administration.
“Those extraordinary measures, which are frankly the envy of a lot of countries throughout the Western Hemisphere, has really made him one of the most consequential leaders not only on security but a great ally on migration,” Claver-Carone said.
“We’re looking to do a new agreement that might include the members of the Tren de Aragua, who will want to go back to Venezuela rather than having to share the prison with the Salvadorean gangs like MS-13. It’s part of what we want to discuss and how President Bukele can help us,” Claver-Carone said.
In Costa Rica too, Rubio will seek to expand repatriation efforts.
“One of the subjects of discussion will be a repatriation program with Costa Rica to help with not only those that are coming up from South America but those that are coming from throughout the world, extra-continentals that are coming through and how they can help repatriate in that manner,” Claver-Carone said.
Panama is also critical to efforts to reducing migrant traffic. The country is home to the Darien Gap, a treacherous jungle connecting South and Central America. Crossings there have served as a barometer of how many migrants may be journeying to the US southern border. The number of people trekking through the passage has plummeted.
The number of migrants who have crossed Panama in the first 23 days of January 2025 has decreased by 93% compared to the same period in the previous year, according to the National Migration Service of Panama.
The US and Panama struck an agreement last year under former President Joe Biden to address the flow of migrants coming through the Darien Gap that included equipment, transportation, and logistic support. The passage, which remains a priority for the Trump administration, is expected to come up in meetings between Rubio and Panamanian officials, including President José Raúl Mulino.
“We have a very successful repatriation program with Panama that frankly should be expanded, and obviously that’ll be a focus on the conversation,” Claver-Carone said Friday.
The issue of the Panama Canal is “a priority to be discussed,” he said. Rubio will tour the canal and “visit with the Panama Canal administrator.”
Trump’s repeated, publicly stated desire for the US to retake control of the key waterway has already caused a diplomatic stir, with Mulino repeatedly stating that that Panama’s sovereignty over the canal is not up for debate.
“There is no discussion on this issue. The soul of a country is not up for discussion,” Mulino emphasized on Thursday, just days ahead of his scheduled meeting with Rubio.
Officials, including Rubio, have argued it is a matter of national security and deterring Beijing because Panama Ports – part of a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings – operates terminals on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the canal.
“It’s a technicality, but in reality, if China wanted to obstruct traffic in the Panama Canal, they could,” Rubio said in an interview with Megyn Kelly Thursday.
“We cannot allow any foreign power – particularly China – to hold that kind of potential control over it that they do. That just can’t continue,” he said.
The issue of countering China is expected to come up across his regional visits. Trade between China and Latin American countries has ballooned from $10 billion in 2000 to $450 billion in 2022, according to the Americas Society/Council of the Americas.
“We look forward to expanding with Guatemala the discussions on how to continue to support us on migration, and obviously countering Chinese influence throughout the region,” Claver-Carone said. Guatemala has maintained diplomatic ties with Taiwan even as other countries like El Salvador have not.
Humanitarian officials and some US officials argue that the US is ceding influence to China in South and Central America because of Trump’s policies like the foreign aid freeze, which they say creates a vacuum that Beijing will be happy to fill.
There are scores of programs in the region caught up in the sudden and sweeping pause on foreign assistance. Those programs include efforts to counter narcotics, something that is said to be a priority when Rubio visits the Dominican Republic.
CNN has asked the State Department if any waivers have been issued for programs in the region ahead of Rubio’s visit.
CNN’ Angelica Franganillo Díaz, Stefano Pozzebon and Patrick Oppmann contributed reporting.
Senator Marco Rubio is set to embark on a trip to Central America as the Trump administration ramps up its efforts to crack down on migration to the United States. The Florida senator, known for his tough stance on immigration, will be visiting countries in the region to discuss ways to address the root causes of migration and strengthen cooperation between the US and Central American governments.
Rubio’s trip comes at a critical time, with the Trump administration taking a hardline approach to immigration and pushing for stricter enforcement measures at the US-Mexico border. The senator has been a vocal supporter of the administration’s efforts to curb illegal immigration and has called for increased border security and tougher immigration laws.
During his visit, Rubio is expected to meet with government officials, business leaders, and community organizations to discuss ways to address the underlying factors driving migration from Central America, such as violence, poverty, and political instability. The senator will also explore opportunities for economic development and job creation in the region, in an effort to provide alternatives to migration.
Rubio’s trip underscores the importance of addressing the root causes of migration and working collaboratively with Central American countries to find solutions to this complex issue. As the Trump administration continues to tighten its immigration policies, Rubio’s visit offers a unique opportunity to engage with key stakeholders in the region and explore new approaches to managing migration flows.
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Newly minted Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reportedly directed his agency to freeze passport applications that contain a request for an X gender marker or a change of gender.
According to an internal State Department document obtained on Thursday by The Guardian, Rubio told staff that “sex, and not gender, shall be used” on documents like passports and overseas birth certificates. The document instructs workers to “suspend any application requesting an X sex marker,” as well as “any application where the applicant is seeking to change their sex marker,” citing President Trump’s anti-trans executive order this week: “The policy of the United States is that an individual’s sex is not changeable.”
Rubio’s memo reportedly did not provide additional details about the suspension policy, including how long any such suspension periods may last. In response to an emailed request for comment from Them, a State Department spokesperson said only that the agency “does not comment on leaked internal documents.”
Earlier this week, following Trump’s executive order, White House officials said that the policy changes would not affect existing valid passports until they are renewed. At that point, trans, nonbinary, and intersex people “have to use their God-given sex, which was decided at birth,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NOTUS.
“This is an area where there is broad presidential authority to make changes,” said ACLU attorney Chase Strangio in an Instagram video Friday morning. “This has always been the area where they could act the fastest [in the sex discrimination executive order].” Strangio emphasized that “it would be a significant escalation outside their legal authority” to attempt to revoke currently valid passports, and that the policy change does not affect state ID cards or similar state-level identification. Speaking to Them via email, Strangio further stressed that “just because we are seeing immediate action on this part of the [executive order] does not mean that the rest of the EO is going to be immediately implemented across the government.”
Trump’s Anti-Trans Executive Order Includes “Conception” Language That Signals Trouble for Reproductive Rights
“This is just the first of many alarm bells that should be sounding about this administration,” an ACLU spokesperson told Them.
“We are monitoring every agency action that is attempting to implement Trump’s executive order,” Strangio added in the video. “I’m here, and I’m sorry, and we’re going to keep fighting.”
LGBTQ+ legal advocacy group Lambda Legal also vowed to litigate against Trump’s orders this week, noting in a statement that the State Department was forced to adopt “X” passport markers as a result of a lawsuit from intersex activist Dana Zzyym. A district court ruled in 2018 that the department’s previous binary sex policy violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
“Lambda Legal secured the first U.S. passport with an ‘X’ gender marker for our brave client, Dana Zzyym,” wrote Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings, “and we’ll continue to stand with Dana and all intersex, nonbinary, and transgender people to defend their right to identity documents that accurately identify who they are, and their equal protection rights against targeting and exclusion by their own government.”
In a controversial move, Senator Marco Rubio has ordered the suspension of passport applications from anyone seeking to change their gender marker. This decision has sparked outrage and criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates and allies.
Rubio’s decision to suspend these applications is seen as a direct attack on the transgender community and a violation of their rights. Many argue that individuals should have the right to change their gender marker on official documents in order to accurately reflect their gender identity.
Critics of Rubio’s order have pointed out that this move is discriminatory and goes against the progress that has been made in recognizing and respecting transgender individuals. They are calling for the immediate reversal of this decision and for the protection of transgender rights.
This latest move by Rubio has reignited the debate over transgender rights and has once again brought the issue to the forefront of political discourse. It remains to be seen how this decision will be challenged and what impact it will have on the transgender community.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered the US State Department to immediately suspend all applications for passports with the “X” gender marker, a third option introduced by the agency under the Biden administration for nonbinary, intersex and other gender nonconforming persons.
An internal email first reported by The Guardian documented the move. It orders the suspension of any passport applications for persons who did not mark either “male” or “female” in the gender section. It also identifies biological sex as the term that will be used going forward, noting: “The policy of the United States is that an individual’s sex is not changeable.”
Active requests for the agency to change gender markers on existing passports were also halted.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio moved quickly to implement Donald Trump’s executive order, ending the state’s recognition of trans people. (REUTERS)
It’s a decision in line with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump this week directing the federal government to halt recognition of gender identies, part of the war on “wokeness” and the acceptance of transgender rights by the previous administration. That order, described as efforts to prevent “eradicat[ion of] the biological reality of sex,” is a broad swipe at any recognition of transgender persons other than their sex at birth.
“The erasure of sex in language and policy has a corrosive impact not just on women but on the validity of the entire American system. Basing Federal policy on truth is critical to scientific inquiry, public safety, morale, and trust in government itself,” claims Trump’s order.
Rubio’s directive at the State Department will not suspend any currently-active passports, and those issued with the new markers under Biden’s presidency will not expire in the next four years. But the policy will require those persons with “X” gender passports to mark either male or female when they do seek renewal of their passports if the policy has not reverted.
Passports with the “X” marker were first issued by the agency in April of 2022, with a 10-year lifespan. It isn’t known exactly how many Americans applied for those passports or completed applications to have their gender changed on their passports in the months following.
All applications for passports with the “X” gender marker will be immediately suspended (AFP via Getty Images)
Lambda Legal, a legal group specializing in LGBT civil rights cases, told The Intercept that the new policy “will certainly be challenged.”
“Their appalling approach denies science and will make life immeasurably harder for intersex, nonbinary, and of course, transgender people,” the group’s director added in a statement.
The group began a legal battle over the issue in 2015 after an intersex person (naturally born with characteristics of both or neither gender) requested a passport without male or female gender markers, but was denied.
The battle persisted through the first Trump administration and into Biden’s first year in office, when the agency announced it would begin issuing “X” gender markers.
The webpage on the agency’s website marking that announcement was taken down this week, according to a review of screenshots.
Rubio was the first Trump Cabinet secretary to be confirmed, breezing through a unanimous vote this week just hours after the president was sworn in.
He’s due to make his first foreign trip around the end of the month, news reports revealed on Wednesday. He will head through Central America as his boss rolls out a massive plan to curb both legal and illegal migration to the US through the southern border.
The State Department’s recent decision to freeze nonbinary passport applications has sparked outrage and concern among the LGBTQ+ community. This move comes as Senator Marco Rubio unveils his plan to roll out former President Trump’s anti-LGBT agenda.
Many are expressing frustration and disappointment over the State Department’s decision, which effectively halts any progress made towards recognizing and affirming nonbinary individuals. This move not only undermines the rights of nonbinary individuals but also perpetuates discrimination and exclusion.
Senator Rubio’s announcement of his intention to push forward with Trump’s anti-LGBT agenda only adds fuel to the fire. This decision threatens to erode the progress made towards equality and inclusivity for the LGBTQ+ community.
As advocates and allies continue to fight for equal rights and recognition for all individuals, it is crucial to stand together and push back against these harmful policies. The fight for equality is far from over, and it is more important than ever to resist any attempts to roll back the rights of marginalized communities.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed the State Department on Thursday to immediately stop processing applications from trans, intersex, and nonbinary people for passports that accurately reflect their gender.
Rubio’s order, a copy of which was provided to The Intercept, is one of the most immediate impacts of President Donald Trump’s bigoted executive order enshrining as a matter of federal policy that there are only “two sexes, male and female,” and that sex is an “immutable biological reality.”
The executive order, signed Monday, directed the State Department and other agencies to require that passports, visas, and government documents “reflect the holder’s sex” assigned at birth.
“The Department will no longer issue U.S. passports … containing an X sex marker and will suspend applications seeking to change an individual’s sex marker.”
Starting in 2021, the State Department began allowing individuals to select a marker on their passport that accurately reflected their gender identity without requiring medical certification. In 2022, the State Department introduced an “X” marker for nonbinary, intersex, and gender-nonconforming people.
Rubio’s order eliminates these options.
“The Department will no longer issue U.S. passports … containing an X sex marker and will suspend applications seeking to change an individual’s sex marker,” reads the order, which was sent to all diplomatic and consular posts around the world. The order directs State Department employees to suspend “all applications currently in process and any future applications,” pending further guidance.
There will be no allowances for individuals who have had gender affirming surgery, seemingly, since “the policy of the United States is that an individual’s sex is not changeable,” per Rubio’s order.
The White House previously told Washington publication NOTUS that trans and nonbinary people would be able to keep their current passports, but that when passports are renewed they would have to match the holder’s sex as assigned at birth, which must be either male or female.
Rubio’s order suggested, however, that the State Department is still considering options about current passports.
“Guidance on existing passports containing an X sex marker will come via other channels,” reads Rubio’s order.
LGBTQ+ rights organizations have vowed to challenge the executive order in court.
“We’ve been here before,” said Carl Charles, a senior attorney at Lambda Legal, which successfully sued the first Trump administration over its refusal to issue an accurate passport to one of Lambda’s intersex clients. “This policy will certainly be challenged.”
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Update: January 23, 2025, 2:34 p.m. ET This article has been updated with a comment from Carl Charles that was received after publication.
Senator Marco Rubio has sparked controversy once again with his latest order to the State Department. In a shocking move, Rubio has demanded that the department stop issuing accurate passports to transgender individuals.
This discriminatory action not only goes against the rights of transgender people, but it also undermines the importance of accurate identification documents. By denying transgender individuals the ability to have passports that reflect their true gender identity, Rubio is perpetuating harmful stereotypes and putting these individuals at risk of discrimination and violence.
It is crucial that we stand up against this blatant attack on the rights of transgender individuals. We must demand that the State Department continue to issue accurate passports to all individuals, regardless of their gender identity. Rubio’s actions are not only unjust, but they also go against the values of equality and respect that our country should uphold. Let’s make our voices heard and fight for the rights of all individuals to have accurate identification documents. #TransRightsAreHumanRights
NEW ORLEANS — Gabriel Rubio stepped away from Notre Dame’s football program in the spring to handle a personal matter.
Now the senior defensive tackle is one day away from stepping into the spotlight as Notre Dame (12-1) takes on Georgia (11-2) in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal played in the Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans (8:45 p.m. EST). (UPDATE: The game has been postponed to Thursday.) Rubio will make his first career start in the biggest game of his career to date.
A season-ending knee injury to starter Rylie Mills led to Rubio’s promotion since a 27-17 victory over Indiana on Dec. 20 in the playoff’s first round. Rubio, who played 29 defensive snaps against IU, will need to be ready for an increased workload against the Bulldogs.
“A lot of time and effort has been put into my preparation,” Rubio said. “My mindset around it is that there’s just a great opportunity around this situation. Unfortunately, it had to come at Rylie’s expense, and I really look up to the dude. He’s a leader for the entire D-line. I know that he’s home rooting for us.”
A Notre Dame spokesperson confirmed with Inside ND Sports that Mills didn’t travel with the team and isn’t expected to be at Thursday’s game. Mills, one of five Notre Dame defenders to start the first 13 games of the season, is Notre Dame’s leader this season in sacks (7.5) and tackles for loss (8.5). Those totals are more than Rubio has recorded across four seasons with the Irish.
Rubio, who missed three games last season recovering from a knee injury, missed the first five games of this season recovering from a broken metatarsal in his left foot. Fortunately he’s available now when his team needs him the most.
“It’s been a battle, but it’s a worthwhile battle,” Rubio said. “The spring was unfortunate. The summer was unfortunate going into fall camp with a broken foot, all that deal. I’m not the kind of guy to just give up as soon as hardship comes about.”
Though Rubio has been playing since the Stanford game on Oct. 12, it wasn’t until the week of the Army game on Nov. 23 that Rubio started to feel really good. The following week against USC, Rubio recorded his first career sack.
“As the weeks continue, I just feel better and better,” Rubio said. “I say it every week: this week is by far the best week.”
Rubio, who has played in 30 games during his Notre Dame career, is still leaning on Mills and starting nose tackle Howard Cross III for pointers and advice.
“He’s been helping me learn the little nuances of the defense like tiny technique things while playing the three-tech that other guys may not know just yet,” Rubio said of Mills. “Having that experience has been very important.”
Rubio will start alongside Cross, who has played in 63 Notre Dame games in six seasons. Cross dealt with an ankle injury of his own this season, which limited him to 10 games. In playing two more games than Rubio this season, Cross has accumulated 10 more tackles (24 to 14), 3.0 more tackles for loss (5.5-2.5) and 3 more sacks (4-1).
The 6-foot-5, 316-pound Rubio and 6-1, 288-pound Cross have different strengths. Rubio relies on brute strength whereas Cross relies more on speed. Whatever gets the job done.
“He’s been a huge help,” Rubio said of Cross. “He’s a very technically savvy guy. With his leverage and everything, he’s very conscious of everything that he does being low and explosive. So, he really gets on me about that. Along with the calls, he’s a veteran guy. He’s been playing forever — as long as I’ve been here. With all that experience comes a lot of knowledge on how to play certain situations right. I’m counting on him that he’ll lend me that hand in the game too.”
Rubio is being a leader himself and helping prepare Armel Mukam, the 6-3, 302-pound sophomore who will serve as Rubio’s backup. Though it’s likely junior Donovan Hinish (6-2, 278), who is behind Cross on the depth chart, will rotate behind Rubio as well.
“It’s a huge responsibility,” Rubio said of helping Mukam and other young defensive tackles. “It’s an honor. Being placed as a starter out there, it means that the coaches really have a lot of trust in my abilities. I’m not gonna let them down.”
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden certainly has confidence in Rubio. He cited Rubio’s hustle in helping bring down Indiana wide receiver Ke’Shawn Williams on a second-and-11 screen play that gained eight yards.
“He’s done a great job,” said Golden, who called Rubio a rolling ball of nails earlier this season. “First of all, Gabe plays with a ruggedness and a high motor. The screen play that he made the other day on the perimeter that forced a third-and-3, that’s kind of emblematic of who he is as a player. High-motor guy, will turn and dig it out hoping to get to the ball and make a play. In that particular instance he did.
“We love Gabe. He represents a lot of what we’re looking for: just tough, rugged, fighter, competitor and has great size, too. We’re excited for his opportunity.”
Physicality will be the crucial for Rubio against Georgia’s big offensive line. Center Jared Wilson, who’s listed at 6-3 and 310 pounds, is Georgia’s smallest starter up front.
The Irish defense overmatched the Army offensive line that won the 2024 Joe Moore Award, but the Black Knights are much different from the Bulldogs. Rubio had to reach all the way back to BYU in 2022 to think of an offensive line Notre Dame faced that reminded him of Georgia both in the way they block and carry themselves on the field.
Rubio’s ready for the challenge.
“The key is definitely leverage and who wants it more, basically,” Rubio said. “We know these guys are fighters. We know that these guys are good. It’s gonna be who’s willing to get more bloody.”
The Sugar Bowl: Time to Shine for Notre Dame’s Gabriel Rubio
As the Notre Dame Fighting Irish gear up to face off against the Ole Miss Rebels in the Sugar Bowl, all eyes are on defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio. The highly touted recruit has had a solid freshman season, but the spotlight will be even brighter as he takes the field in New Orleans.
Rubio has shown flashes of brilliance throughout the season, using his size and strength to disrupt opposing offenses. His ability to clog up the middle and create havoc in the backfield has been a key part of Notre Dame’s success on defense.
Now, as the Fighting Irish look to cap off their season with a win in the prestigious Sugar Bowl, Rubio will have the opportunity to showcase his talents on a national stage. With the eyes of college football fans across the country watching, Rubio has the chance to make a statement and solidify his place as a rising star in the sport.
No matter the outcome of the game, one thing is for certain: the Sugar Bowl will be an opportunity for Gabriel Rubio to shine and prove that he is a force to be reckoned with on the gridiron. Notre Dame fans will be eagerly watching as Rubio looks to make his mark in one of college football’s most prestigious bowl games.
Marco Rubio had been called “Little Marco” and “a choke artist” by his 2016 Republican primary rival Donald Trump, but on a debate stage in Houston the Florida senator finally hit back. Trump was a huckster who would be “selling watches in Manhattan” if he hadn’t inherited a real estate fortune, Rubio charged.
Less than a month later, Rubio’s presidential bid was over. The bitterness from the bare-knuckle brawling lingered.
Last month, however, within weeks of securing his return to the White House, Trump tapped his one-time adversary for one of the most senior positions in his incoming presidential administration: secretary of state.
The about-face is so jarring that even foreign allies have expressed surprise — and some relief. A known quantity like Rubio contrasts with the president-elect’s more contentious national security picks, such as former Fox commentator Pete Hegseth for defence and Tulsi Gabbard, his nominee for director of national intelligence who has been criticised for pro-Russian stances.
“In all honesty, some Trump nominations have made our jaws drop — but not Rubio,” said a senior official from a Nato country. “Rubio has strong foreign policy experience and understands the added value of strong alliances.”
He will need the experience. Trump and his foreign policy team will inherit from outgoing US President Joe Biden a difficult task list, including wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the potential for more turmoil in Syria. Geopolitical frictions with China in Asia-Pacific, and trade frictions even with allies such as Canada, Mexico and the EU will inevitably leach into Rubio’s file.
A veteran of the Senate’s foreign relations committee and the top Republican on its intelligence committee, Rubio is best known on Capitol Hill for his hawkishness on China. He was one of the earliest and loudest voices warning of the security threat posed by President Xi Jinping’s aggressiveness on the world stage.
While that has endeared him to some of Trump’s inner circle, his more conventional views on national security have put him at odds with the Maga wing of the Republican party. That includes Donald Trump Jr, who publicly argued against his father choosing Rubio as a running mate because of his “establishment” credentials.
Trump Jr also pushed his friend and Maga ally Richard Grenell for the top diplomatic job. Grenell instead has been given a vague “envoy for special missions” role.
Despite the anger in some Maga quarters, the selection of Rubio and congressman Mike Waltz as national security adviser has reassured many allies.
“They are obviously rightwing, but good thinkers,” said a European diplomat. “They’ve made statements I would not necessarily agree with, but they are not outside the parameters of normal policymaking options. They are pro-alliances and Nato.”
Both foreign diplomats and Washington’s foreign policy establishment have questioned how influential Rubio and Waltz will be and how they will fare in collaboration with other more unorthodox or radical picks such as Hegseth, Gabbard or Sebastian Gorka, the deputy national security adviser who has been criticised as Islamophobic.
The senior official from a Nato country tempered his optimism about Rubio, saying, “much will depend on who his deputies will be and how strong his position will be with regard to the National Security Council”.
“There are a lot of moving pieces and I’m not sure people know their roles right now. It’s going to take time to sort that out, and that’s going to be very messy,” said Aaron David Miller, who advised several Republican and Democratic secretaries of state and is now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Rubio was born in Miami but spent part of his childhood in Las Vegas, where his father was a bartender at a casino and his mother was a housekeeper at a hotel. Later, his mother worked at a factory and also cared for her four children full-time. He played American football for a short period at Tarkio College in Missouri but later transferred to a community college and then to the University of Florida, where he graduated with a degree in political science in 1993.
The son of Cuban immigrants who was first elected to the Senate in 2011 before launching a failed presidential bid in 2016, Rubio has become increasingly sceptical of the US’s overseas entanglements.
“We’re entering into an era of pragmatic foreign policy in which the world is rapidly changing. Adversaries are uniting in North Korea, Iran, China, Russia. They’re increasingly co-ordinating,” he said in an interview with CNN the day after the election. “It’s going to require us to be very pragmatic and wise and how we invest overseas and what we do and how we approach things.”
His hawkishness on China has been a recurring theme.
In the Senate, Rubio has cited Beijing’s persecution of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, its crackdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong and its pressure on Taiwan. In 2020, China imposed sanctions on Rubio, among other American officials, over his “egregious” record on Hong Kong. He has written two reports while in Congress on China’s threat to the US’s economy and technological power.
Rubio was considered a neoconservative when he sought the presidential nomination in 2016, when he described the US as an “indispensable power”. Two days after Trump’s re-election, however, Rubio talked instead of the US’s “limited resources”.
“There are some really bad things happening in the world. But we can’t be involved in all of them. We have to pick the things that are most important to America and to our security,” he said in a November 7 interview with Catholic channel EWTN.
Reassuringly to some Democrats and foreign diplomats, however, he does not argue for retreat. “We must be engaged with the world,” he wrote in his 2023 book Decades of Decadence, adding that the American temptation to pull back from the world stage while maintaining its safety “is foolish”.
He sees a role for the US in Europe but, like Trump, wants Europe to provide more for its own defence.
“While America will remain engaged in Europe, we are going to need our European allies to step up to the plate and shoulder the bulk of this load,” he wrote in Decades of Decadence, a survey of what he describes as years of American decline.
Rubio is “somebody who wants to have good relationships with our allies and the world”, said Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate’s foreign relations committee.
Rubio was initially a strong supporter of Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion, but voted against additional funding for Kyiv earlier this year, and has described the conflict as a “stalemate”.
But like Trump, Rubio remains a hawk on Iran, seeing it as the source of instability in the Middle East. A staunch supporter of Israel, he wants the US ally to “destroy every element of Hamas they can get their hands on”, blaming the group for the huge death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its offensive.
Marco Rubio, the foreign policy chief for Donald Trump, has been a key player in shaping the administration’s approach to international relations. As a staunch conservative and advocate for a strong American presence on the global stage, Rubio has been vocal about his views on various foreign policy issues.
One of Rubio’s key priorities is promoting democracy and human rights around the world. He has been a vocal critic of authoritarian regimes, such as those in Russia, China, and Iran, and has called for increased pressure on these countries to respect human rights and democratic principles.
Rubio is also a strong supporter of U.S. military intervention in countries where American interests are at stake. He has been a vocal advocate for military action in Syria, Venezuela, and North Korea, among others, and has called for increased defense spending to ensure that the U.S. maintains its military superiority.
In addition to his hawkish stance on foreign policy, Rubio is also a proponent of free trade and economic globalization. He has been a vocal supporter of trade agreements such as NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, arguing that they are essential for promoting economic growth and creating jobs in the U.S.
Overall, Marco Rubio’s foreign policy views align closely with those of President Trump, particularly when it comes to promoting American interests and values on the global stage. As Trump’s foreign policy chief, Rubio will likely continue to play a key role in shaping the administration’s approach to international relations in the coming years.
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