CrosswordNewsletters
DAILY BEAST
ALL
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Obsessed
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • Innovation
  • Opinion
  • World
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
CHEAT SHEET
    POLITICS
    • Fever Dreams
    • Biden World
    • Elections
    • Opinion
    • National Security
    • Congress
    • Pay Dirt
    • The New Abnormal
    • Right Richter
    • Trumpland
    MEDIA
    • Confider
    • Daytime Talk
    • Late-Night
    • Fox News
    U.S. NEWS
    • Identities
    • Crime
    • Race
    • LGBT
    • Extremism
    • Coronavirus
    WORLD
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • China
    • Middle East
    INNOVATION
    • Science
    TRAVEL
      ENTERTAINMENT
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Music
      • Comedy
      • Sports
      • Sex
      • TDBs Obsessed
      • Awards Shows
      • The Last Laugh
      CULTURE
      • Power Trip
      • Fashion
      • Books
      • Royalist
      TECH
      • Disinformation
      SCOUTED
      • Clothing
      • Technology
      • Beauty
      • Home
      • Pets
      • Kitchen
      • Fitness
      • I'm Looking For
      BEST PICKS
      • Best VPNs
      • Best Gaming PCs
      • Best Air Fryers
      COUPONS
      • Vistaprint Coupons
      • Ulta Coupons
      • Office Depot Coupons
      • Adidas Promo Codes
      • Walmart Promo Codes
      • H&M Coupons
      • Spanx Promo Codes
      • StubHub Promo Codes
      Products
      NewslettersPodcastsCrosswordsSubscription
      FOLLOW US
      GOT A TIP?

      SEARCH

      HOMEPAGE
      Politics

      Marco Rubio Sets World Abuzz with Cryptic Gaddafi Tweet

      BIZARRE

      The senator's tweet was widely interpreted as a message to Venezuelan President Maduro.

      Sam Brodey

      Congressional Reporter

      Updated Feb. 25, 2019 3:48AM ET / Published Feb. 24, 2019 3:27PM ET 

      Zach Gibson

      Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), one of the biggest critics in Congress of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, sent out a graphic and cryptic tweet on Sunday showing a before-and-after photo of the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

      Gaddafi, who antagonized the U.S. for decades, was deposed in a 2011 Western military intervention. In the ensuing conflict, Libyan rebels found Gaddafi and brutally murdered him in public. A still from a video of that spectacle was one of the images in Rubio’s post.

      Rubio’s tweet was widely interpreted as a message to Maduro, setting off furor on Twitter among critics who saw it as a thinly-veiled threat of U.S. military intervention in Venezuela.

      Rubio has not explicitly endorsed military action to force out Maduro, but he has hinted at it in the past and has generally agreed with the stance of President Donald Trump that “all options” should be on the table to achieve a regime change in Venezuela. (Rubio’s office did not immediately respond to request for comment on the tweet.)

      The tweet came on the heels of a bloody Saturday in Venezuela, where at least four people were killed by pro-government forces trying to break up a shipment of aid supplies from neighboring Colombia. Rubio, along with Trump and his administration, has recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the legitimate head of the Venezuelan government.

      Rubio, who is Cuban-American, is among the more hawkish members of the Senate, and has typically led the charge on Capitol Hill in organizing pressure campaigns against leftist strongmen in Latin America, particularly in Venezuela and Cuba.

      Back in 2011, Rubio cheered Gaddafi’s death, even criticizing President Barack Obama for not going far enough in his military intervention there. “If you’re an enemy of the United States and we have a chance to take a shot at you in a way that doesn’t hurt us, and has a chance of being successful, we’re probably going to take it,” Rubio said of the time about Gaddafi. “There’s a price to pay for being an enemy of the United States.”

      Rubio’s traditionally right-wing foreign policy has put him at odds with President Trump, whom the Florida Republican has cultivated as an ally. Rubio has criticized Trump’s plans to reduce the U.S. military footprint in Syria, and has been a proponent of active U.S. involvement in forcing out dictator Bashar al-Assad. He has also criticized his olive branches to Russian President Vladimir Putin and expressed skepticism over outreach to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

      READ THIS LIST

      DAILY BEAST
      • Cheat Sheet
      • Politics
      • Entertainment
      • Media
      • World
      • Innovation
      • U.S. News
      • Scouted
      • Travel
      • Subscription
      • Crossword
      • Newsletters
      • Podcasts
      • About
      • Contact
      • Tips
      • Jobs
      • Advertise
      • Help
      • Privacy
      • Code of Ethics & Standards
      • Diversity
      • Terms & Conditions
      • Copyright & Trademark
      • Sitemap
      • Best Picks
      • Coupons
      • Coupons:
      • Dick's Sporting Goods Coupons
      • HP Coupon Codes
      • Chewy Promo Codes
      • Nordstrom Rack Coupons
      • NordVPN Coupons
      • JCPenny Coupons
      • Nordstrom Coupons
      • Samsung Promo Coupons
      • Home Depot Coupons
      • Hotwire Promo Codes
      • eBay Coupons
      • Ashley Furniture Promo Codes
      © 2023 The Daily Beast Company LLC