Rubio Comments on State Department's Certification of Countries Not Cooperating With U.S. Counterterrorism Efforts

Press Release

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued the following statement after the State Department certified, as required under Section 40A(a) of the Arms Export Control Act, those nations that are not fully cooperating with American counterterrorism efforts:

"The State Department's recent certification of nations that are not fully cooperating with America's counterterrorism efforts reiterates the threat posed by rogue regimes worldwide," Rubio said. "In our own hemisphere, the Cuban and Venezuelan dictatorships continue playing a destabilizing role. As this report shows, the illegitimate regime of Nicolás Maduro continues to welcome terrorists such as the ELN and FARC- dissidents within Venezuela's borders. These State Department-recognized foreign terrorist organizations enrich the Maduro crime family and threaten our regional allies and U.S. national security interests in the Hemisphere. It is past time for Venezuela to be listed as an official State Sponsor of Terrorism and I urge the administration to do so."

Rubio is Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women's Issues.

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