Scott, Rubio Accuse Biden of Politicizing Sanctions in Central, South America

The Biden Administration's foreign policy toward American allies has continually drawn criticism from Republicans, accusing the President of turning them away while embracing adversaries. Senators Rick Scott (R-FL) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently spearheaded a letter to the White House claiming they are "misusing" sanction authorities in Central and Latin America.

"We write to express deep concerns with your administration’s misuse of authorities provided by Congress to combat corruption in Latin America and the Caribbean at the expense of strategic U.S. national security interests," the letter said, citing several examples.

For instance, the Biden Administration sanctioned former Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei in January for supposed corruption during his tenure, despite Giammattei proving himself an ally to the United States.

Sen. Scott and Rubio highlighted the Guatemalan President as being "committed to the extradition of several human smugglers and the destruction of illicit synthetic opioids," siding with Taiwan over China, expressing support for Israel in their war with Hamas, and designated Hezbollah a foreign terrorist organization.

At the same time, the Florida Senators condemned the Biden Administration, claiming they have "ignored well-documented cases of significant corruption by foreign government officials actively undermining U.S. national security interests and supporting U.S. adversaries in Latin America and the Caribbean."

These include the failure to enforce nonproliferation sanctions against Brazil when President Lula da Silva allowed two Iranian warships to dock in Rio de Janeiro last February and the lack of sanctions against other South American Presidents convicted of corruption such as Argentina's Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Ecuador's Rafael Correa, and against apparatchiks of the Maduro regime in Venezuela.

"We are deeply troubled by why your administration appears to have politicized the sanctions process to target certain U.S. partners and undermine U.S. national and regional security while refusing to sanction egregious actions in the region by others," the letter concluded, demanding answers.

Scott and Rubio's letter comes hot on the heels of the Biden Administration considering the lifting of sanctions on Venezuela, which they slammed as "reckless and naive."