By Simon Lewis and Humera Pamuk
WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Marco Rubio’s wide influence in Trump’s second administration – positions ranging from secretary of state to national security adviser – has sparked a wave of AI-generated memes, depicting him in military uniform as the ruler of Venezuela.
The online joke has particular resonance for Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, who has long been the communist-run nation’s most important regional ally, Venezuela, and its longtime leader, Nicolas Maduro, who was arrested by the U.S. military on drug-trafficking charges.
The military success was a personal victory for Rubio. But it could be a mixed political blessing for a man who ran for president in 2016 and is widely considered a leading contender in 2028.
He is now accused of steering Venezuela away from the potential chaos created by Maduro’s takeover toward the democratic future he once envisioned as a junior senator, tying his political fate tightly to the country’s people.
Rubio mounted an unsuccessful presidential bid in 2016, losing a bruising primary to Donald Trump, and found himself competing with Vice President JD Vance for the Republican nomination in 2028. Vance favors restraint on foreign policy, in contrast to Rubio’s hawkish record, which has drawn criticism from some in Trump’s MAGA movement who see him as a neoconservative who advocates more American intervention abroad.
“The administration is going to be dealing with Venezuela for months and possibly years, and it could be Marco Rubio’s bottleneck, politically and otherwise,” said Justin Logan, director of defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute.
Vance’s office had no comment for this story.
Tommy Pigott, the State Department’s principal deputy spokesman, disputed that there were any differences of opinion within the administration and said Washington’s phased plan for Venezuela included political reconciliation and eventual normalization.
“The entire administration is united in meeting President Trump’s goal – to move Venezuela from a country oppressed by a narco-terrorist illegal regime that threatens our security to a stable country that is a partner in the region,” Pigot said.
Exile politics
The operation in Venezuela has tarnished Rubio’s image among some online supporters who see him as the competent face of an often chaotic administration.
It also gave him a boost in his home state of Florida, where he spent his childhood in Miami’s staunchly anti-communist Cuban community, an experience with former collaborators that fundamentally shaped his worldview.
The fight against communism and socialism is “part of his DNA” and “central to his political identity,” said Cesar Conda, a Republican strategist who was Rubio’s chief of staff from 2011 to 2014.
“This is our hemisphere, and President Trump will not allow our security to be jeopardized,” Rubio’s State Department social media post read this week.
Rubio’s political base in Florida will be strengthened by the return to democracy in Venezuela, and even more so if the administration can use it to oust Maduro to force change in Cuba, which depends on Venezuela for subsidized oil imports. Trump has suggested that no more Venezuelan oil or money go to Cuba, and that Havana should strike a deal with Washington.
The Venezuelan operation was extremely popular among Venezuelans and Cuban-Americans in South Florida, potentially helping Republicans in the 2026 midterms, Florida-based Republican political strategist Ford O’Connell argued.
Still, he added, Latin American policy is unlikely to affect the makeup of the Republican 2028 presidential ticket. Trump is the kingmaker, and so far is leaning toward Vance, O’Connell said.
Trump himself has repeatedly nodded to both Rubio and Vance as potential successors, making it clear both are frontrunners in his eyes, as well as possible running mates for each other.
“I think if they ever formed a group, it would be unstoppable,” Trump said in October.
Democratic transition?
Rubio, 54, made his mark on the Senate railing against the socialist government in Caracas and particularly its close ties to Havana, and worked with the first Trump administration from 2017-2021, increasing sanctions on Venezuela.
His first foreign trip as secretary of state sharpened his focus. In February, while traveling through Central America and the Caribbean, he oversaw the ceremonial seizure of a plane used by Maduro’s then-vice president, Delsey Rodriguez, that had been held by Dominican authorities.
Rubio has supported Trump’s decision to let Rodriguez remain in office and has led the administration’s outreach to the new leader. But he has long had ties to Venezuelan opposition leaders, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, and has spoken of his hopes for democracy for Venezuela.
On Wednesday, he outlined a three-phase plan where the US would ensure stability in Venezuela, help American companies rebuild the country’s energy sector and oversee a recovery that would allow opposition members to be released from prison or return from exile, before finally moving on to transition.
On Friday, Venezuela began releasing prisoners, and Trump has met with oil executives to push them to invest.
But the road to a democratic Venezuela is long.
Will Freeman, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said it was unclear whether other top administration officials were invested in overseeing the full transition.
“How is he going to convince Trump, most importantly, and a critical group of other administration officials, that it’s in their best interest to move things forward through a second phase?” Freeman asked.
(Reporting by Simon Lewis and Humera Pamuk Additional reporting by Gram Slattery Editing by Don Durfee and Rosalba O’Brien)
