He leaves it to the country, host of the next Summit of the Americas, to decide on the invitation of the “enemies of humanity”
The Secretary of the US Department of State, Marco Rubio, announced this Thursday exemptions to foreign aid for the Dominican Republic, which will be destined for its “successful” fight against drugs and crime, after a meeting with the country’s president, Luis Abinader, with whom he discussed possible ways to invest in ‘rare earths’.
“Today I will sign an exemption from our programs, our foreign aid programs, which work together with our partners here that have been successful, so that those successes can continue,” he said during the joint press conference, in which he assured that he will “expand” these programs with “new technologies.”
The head of US diplomacy has justified this decision by the “impressive” work carried out by the Dominican authorities “stopping large quantities of drugs that could cause great harm to our country” and has thanked them for their “extraordinary cooperation” in extraditions, especially of “dangerous criminals wanted for transnational crimes.”
For this reason, Rubio has also announced the signing of an agreement with the Dominican Government to “formalize the presence of a CBP agent, the United States Customs and Borders Office, to work together with the national police” of the Central American country.
On the other hand, the Secretary of State has expressed his interest in the ‘rare earth’ minerals present in the Dominican Republic, assuring that an eventual agreement could be “very significant for the history of both countries,” although he has not made any announcement in this regard.
Asked about this interest, Rubio has declared, however, that “these ‘rare earths’ belong to the Dominican Republic and its people,” while acknowledging that having this country as “an ally with access to these elements in the hemisphere is very good.”
Abinader, for his part, has confirmed that from the Dominican Government “we are exploring together with the US new investment opportunities in ‘rare earths’, a strategic sector for the global competitiveness” of the country, ensuring that the gross reserves of these minerals are, for the moment, about 100 million tons.
“That is significant, what we have seen so far is quite positive. In about two or three months we will have the numbers with precision, but what we have seen so far is quite positive. It is, we feel optimistic,” he acknowledged during his speech.
The Dominican president thanked Rubio for his visit, which “strengthens (his) alliance with the United States” as well as its support in the fight against drug trafficking, organized crime and irregular migration. “We continue to move forward with determination, betting on a future of stability, security and prosperity for our country,” he added.
RUBIO ATTACKS NICARAGUA, VENEZUELA AND CUBA AGAIN
Asked about whether he would “share a table” with the leaders of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba during the Summit of the Americas that will take place in December and of which the Dominican Republic is hosting, Rubio has limited himself to saying that these “regimes could change.”
“They could stop abusing Human Rights, violating Human Rights. But I think that politics works well when we speak clearly, and we are not confused and I am not confused,” he said.
The American diplomat has also not confirmed whether he will try to pressure the governments of those three countries, which he recently described as “enemies of humanity,” so that they cannot be invited to said summit, as the previous Administration did at the June 2022 meeting in Los Angeles, California, from which they were excluded.
“Well, that decision of who to invite is up to the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic will be the host,” he said, before again accusing the three Latin American countries of having “contributed to the instability of the region.”
“All the countries in the region have had to pay the price of instability in these countries (…) I don’t think there will be a change in these countries between now and December, but that’s the way I refer to these countries based on the reality of their behavior. I wish it weren’t the case, but it has been the case for a long time, unfortunately,” Rubio said.
