'How Much Money, Sir?': Norma Torres Grills Marco Rubio Over Money Sent To 'Bukele Regime'

At today's House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA) questioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Transcript

00:00Last one, but you're always quick, so go ahead.

00:01I don't want to hold you back, Mr. Secretary.

00:04Can you tell me how much money have you given to the Bukele regime?

00:11Well, it's not a regime.

00:12He got elected by an enormous majority.

00:14Well, the second, his re-election was actually an illegal re-election.

00:18Remember that he took over Congress and then by bringing the military

00:22and fired all of the entire judiciary.

00:27Yeah, they still had an election.

00:28He won by, I don't know what the margins were, but they were extraordinary.

00:30I just don't think it's fair to call him a regime.

00:32I know you don't like him and you have reasons not to like him,

00:34but I don't think it's fair to say they're a regime.

00:36A regime is in Venezuela.

00:37This guy had a real election.

00:38How much money, sir?

00:39Well, I have to give you the number, but I think it's 1.4 million.

00:42Let me not paraphrase.

00:43I have the exact number.

00:44I don't have it in front of me, but it was law enforcement funds provided to them,

00:48as we do other countries under that program.

00:50Senator Murray yesterday said it was $15 million.

00:55Are you saying that that amount is incorrect?

00:56That amount sounds incorrect to me, but I'll get you the exact number because I owe you that much.

01:01And are we doing a second round to give him more money?

01:05Other than maybe, no, I don't believe that there's a second round per se.

01:09Well, there might be because these are $20, $24.

01:12I'd love to continue this conversation with you at another time,

01:16maybe in a private setting so that we could really talk about.

01:20Yeah, but these are law enforcement funds, so they could receive under 2025.

01:24I can't say they won't.

01:25Obviously, we're working through that process.

01:26The Leahy Law prohibits sending money to a country that terrorizes people

01:35and punishes them without due process.

01:40Yeah, that's not our assessment of what's happening there.

01:42Our assessment is that he's cleaned up the country and gotten rid of gangs.

01:45That was a country you couldn't even walk in the streets four years ago.

01:48No, they're not disappeared.

01:49They're in the jail.

01:51Okay, I yield back.