Marco Rubio Offers Praise For Mexico's Government In Efforts To Combat Cartel Drug Trafficking

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At a House Appropriations Committee hearing prior to the Congressional recess, Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) questioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Transcript

00:00Mr. Skimani, you're recognized, sir.

00:02Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, Secretary Ruby, for being here,

00:05and thank you for your words, especially at the beginning when you're describing

00:09and through the questions on your fast and, I would say, intentional actions

00:15and restructuring, refocusing the department and its true mission

00:19of expanding American interests around the world.

00:21I think that is exactly what we should have been doing for a long time,

00:24and you're definitely getting there very, very quickly.

00:28I'll start off with this.

00:30I represent Arizona's 6th Congressional District, which is along the U.S.-Mexico border.

00:35First, I'd like to state how impressed I am with how fast the administration

00:41has been able to combat the transnational criminal organizations

00:44and secure our southern border.

00:47However, low border encounters by CBPR fentanyl crisis continues to ravish

00:53many of our communities across the country still.

00:55How is your budget request going to prioritize programs for counter-drug initiatives

01:00and border security, particularly with relation to fentanyl?

01:04Well, we've remained very committed, especially, I mean,

01:06we've preserved the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement

01:09at the Assistant Secretary level.

01:11That's underneath the broader new trajectory that we've built

01:15on the Undersecretary for International Security.

01:19And it's a top priority for many of our partners.

01:21I can give you a few examples of places where we think we can make a difference.

01:23First, let me say in full concession, the Mexican government has been probably more cooperative

01:30and forward-leaning than at any time that I can recall in my 15 years here

01:34for a couple reasons.

01:35But one, because I think they, too, identify the cartels as a threat

01:40to their government and their national stability.

01:42There are parts of Mexico today that are governed by drug cartels,

01:46and they recognize the threat that it poses.

01:47But I think it's also been, and by the way, if you go all down Central America

01:51and country after country, the primary threat they face in Ecuador, in Costa Rica,

01:56in Panama to some extent, certainly in Guatemala, is the threat of these transnational organizations

02:01that use their countries as transfer routes, which we seek to help them develop the capability

02:08to partner with us and disrupt.

02:09And that will be a priority.

02:11In the Caribbean Basin, that's also been an issue of grave concern.

02:14But primarily what we hear there, one of the things we're working on now

02:17with the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the ATF,

02:21is how can we disrupt the flow of illegal gun shipments,

02:25primarily leaving the Miami River in containers embedded, among other things,

02:29that's finding its way into the hands of Haitian gangs, gangs in Trinidad, gangs in Jamaica.

02:34That's also destabilizing the region and those countries.

02:38And what they want, if you talk to our embassies and you talk to those governments,

02:40is for us to help them build the law enforcement capacities so that it's foreign aid that ends,

02:46because one day they will have the capacity to disrupt it.

02:49The Dominican Republic is currently seeking radar systems to be able to detect boats and planes

02:54that may be coming to their shores, because they become a very attractive place to bring drugs through,

02:59because it quickly can, from there, be shipped into Puerto Rico,

03:02and at that point has entered the U.S. and crossed our border.

03:05So I think this is an example of where embassy and regional-based policymaking

03:09will help us to identify the critical capacity needs that each individual country gets

03:14and then drive our assistance based on what they need, as opposed to what we think they need.

03:19That's great to hear, especially on the, and I agree with you on the,

03:22we've talked to Coast Guard about that, about the interactions also of drugs across the ocean,

03:28and what you mentioned about the Mexican government.

03:30I agree with you.

03:31I've worked on that issue for a while, and I've seen a very open willingness from them.

03:35I think it's a win-win for both countries to be able to tackle that.

03:38In the little time that I have left, and you already covered some of this,

03:41I was going to bring up also the situation with the hostages

03:44and the interactions with Hamas there and the hostages remaining, especially the four Americans.

03:52Israel has successfully destroyed much of Hamas' terror capabilities,

03:55but the group is not yet defeated, and all hostages are not free.

03:58You talked a bit about that, so I'll focus my question really on UNRWA,

04:03and does the administration support the continued prohibition on funding of UNRWA,

04:08and is the administration working with others in the international community

04:12to design an alternative to UNRWA as well that meets the needs of all Palestinians

04:17without perpetuating the conflict?

04:19We do oppose working with UNRWA.

04:21In fact, that's exactly what we're working on,

04:23is finding alternative mechanisms to deliver aid that doesn't find its way into the hands of Hamas,

04:27where they steal it, and in some cases resell it at exorbitant prices

04:30to people that are hungry and suffering.

04:33And in many ways, it's the grip they had on the population there as well.

04:38One of the things they use to be able to control population is their ability to steal this.

04:42And in some cases, they weren't stealing it.

04:43They had people inside the organizations that were cooperating with them.

04:46We do need to find alternative mechanisms.

04:48And there are some that exist that are independent of UNRWA that are out there.

04:52And so, like I said, we've put out some proposals.

04:54We're open to any proposals that exist that provide assistance and aid,

04:58especially if we can get to a peacetime posture to help rebuild,

05:01that does not help a group like Hamas benefit or restart and grow again.

05:06You're right on that.

05:07Over a billion dollars stolen in the last 18 months on that.

05:10So I'm glad you're on it, and I trust you're going to get that done.

05:13So thank you, sir, for your time today.

05:15Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

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