Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.
Marco Rubio, Donald Trump Can Save Situation with Quick Action
President Donald Trump’s sinking of narco vessels in the Caribbean makes the land route more important to Nicolás Maduro’s trafficking. Helping Maduro in Guatemala are Joe Biden’s holdover Ambassador Tobin Bradley and Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) Patrick Ventrell. Trump can squeeze Maduro in Guatemala by removing these traitors and pushing Guatemala to apply its laws.
President Bernardo Arévalo’s regime facilitates narcotrafficking. The Dominican Republic and Spain have seized cocaine shipped from Guatemala. The Guatemalan army and police watched and did nothing as presumed narcotraffickers fired on Mexican authorities. Arévalo publicly supported their crimes. Arévalo has divided the army by illegally keeping his defense minister in office past his term limit, enabling narcotrafficking.
Since his political party has been judicially canceled, Arévalo—fraudulently imposed by Biden and the State Department (DOS)—by law must be removed from office. Bradley and Ventrell intimidate Guatemalan magistrates to not apply the law. They also intimidate private sector leaders to support Arévalo.
DOS posted on September 15 a presidential determination from Trump of “major drug transit or major illicit drug producing countries” that included Guatemala, along with neighbors Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico. The post refrains from placing culpability on counternarcotics cooperation or lack thereof, but in Guatemala’s case this is an obvious mistake. Guatemala is the chokepoint kept open by holdovers for narcotics moving to the United States.
DOS statements and omissions about Colombia and Guatemala reveal that DOS hides the truth about Arévalo as much as it can. Stating that Colombia’s cocaine production under President Gustavo Petro has “surged to all-time records,” Trump designated it as having failed to meet its “drug control obligations.” Trump praised Colombia’s “dedicated public servants” and stated that the failure “rests solely with its political leadership.”
In contrast, DOS’s 2025 International Narcotics Control Strategy report states: “The United States and Colombia continue to collaborate on a range of shared counternarcotics priorities … The Colombian government does not, as a matter of policy, encourage or facilitate illicit drug production or distribution.”
Regarding Guatemala, the report states: “The Arevalo administration is a partner in the fight against international narcotics trafficking … Guatemala does not, as a matter of government policy, encourage or facilitate illicit drug production or distribution.”
Nothing has changed in Colombia or Guatemala between DOS’s deceptive report and Trump’s determination. It seems that Trump’s decision to confront Maduro’s narcotrafficking led to his designation of Colombia as not complying, despite DOS traitors favoring Petro. Since Trump has paid no attention to Guatemala, DOS Western Hemisphere personnel continue to betray Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump, and the United States.
Rubio’s September 15 Guatemala National Day statement confirms the betrayal. While Bradley and Ventrell keep the country open for narcotrafficking, Rubio stated: “Guatemala continues to be a steadfast partner in the fight against drug smugglers and the cartels.”
The statement talks about working together to modernize strategic infrastructure and other endeavors. Arévalo cannot even maintain or fix Guatemala’s roads. A government born in corruption cannot do what the statement describes.
