Republican Florida Senator Rick Scott rattled off a list of other countries the U.S. can “fix” after the strike on Venezuela and capture of former President Nicolas Maduro.
President Donald Trump has insisted the U.S. is “in charge” of Venezuela even as interim leader Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s vice president, claimed otherwise.
The administration has sent contradictory messages over what comes next in Venezuela, but Scott claimed this was just the start for the entire region.
“What they did in Venezuela is going to change Latin America,” Scott declared on Fox Business. “This is the start of changing Venezuela. Then we’re going to fix Cuba. Nicaragua will get fixed. Next year we’ll get a new president in Colombia. We’re going to start the democracies coming back to this hemisphere.”
The path forward for Venezuela and democracy remains unclear. Trump did not call for a free and fair election in the country following Maduro’s removal.
Instead, Trump dismissed opposition leader Maria Corina Machado as lacking “respect” and praised Maduro’s former deputy, Rodriquez, as he turns his focus toward oil.
The Florida senator praised Machado and argued that the U.S. needs to call for elections “after the transition” to restore democracy in the country.
Scott was not the first Trump ally to also put Cuba on notice. Secretary of State Marco Rubio did so immediately following the strikes at the press conference on Saturday, saying of Cuban leaders, “I’d be concerned.”
After Maduro’s capture, GOP Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart indicated that the regimes in Cuba and Nicaragua would survive long.
When it comes to Colombia, a presidential election will be held next year.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro is constitutionally barred from seeking a second term, but he won what was widely considered a free and fair election by international observers in 2022.
But Petro has fiercely clashed with Trump on a series of issues, including the strikes on alleged drug boats, immigration, and trade. Trump has accused Petro of fueling cocaine into the U.S.
When asked about whether an operation similar to the one carried out in Venezuela could target Colombia, Trump said on Sunday, “It sounds good to me.”
The president has also threatened to take action against other countries, including Mexico and Iran, while the White House has not ruled out using the military to take over Greenland.
Top administration officials held a first briefing with all senators on Wednesday to address the U.S. strike on Venezuela.
Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns over what comes next after Trump claimed the U.S. would “run” Venezuela even as they criticized Maduro.
Many Republican lawmakers have hailed the president’s strike, while some are now embracing the administration’s intimidation campaign for the wider region.
Asked if it was just bluster when the president spoke of other countries or if he should be taken at his word, Senate Majority Leader John Thune warned on Tuesday Trump’s comments were “not idle threats."
“I think other countries in this hemisphere who are cooperating with narco-terrorists or in league with China and Russia and Iran and countries like that need to be on notice.”
He argued the U.S. would take care of its national security interests.
