Rep. Maria Salazar criticizes Mexico’s ties to Cuba and Venezuela, urges tougher action on drug trafficking
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Rep. Maria Salazar used her opening statement to criticize Mexico’s recent actions toward Cuba and Venezuela, alleging oil shipments and payments tied to Cuban medical personnel and urging stronger Mexican cooperation on drug interdiction; she also promoted her Dignity Act for immigrants.
Rep. Maria Salazar, who identified herself during the session as representing District 27 in Miami, used her opening remarks to criticize recent Mexican policies toward Cuba and Venezuela and to press for stronger bilateral cooperation against drug trafficking.
Salazar accused Mexico of recent conduct that, she said, bolsters authoritarian regimes and undermines human-rights norms. She asserted that Mexico had sent "55 oil tankers worth more than $3,000,000,000" to Cuba in the past four months and said Mexico had accepted "more than 3,000 Cuban doctors" under arrangements that she described as exploitative. "That is pure and simple slavery," Salazar said, arguing the Cuban doctors receive only "5%" of pay while "95%" goes to the Cuban government. She also cited Chapter 23 of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) when criticizing what she characterized as forced-labor elements in those programs.
On Venezuela, Salazar referenced opposition leader María Corina Machado and said Mexico’s response to her recognition had been muted. Salazar also alleged that cocaine production and processing now involve refining steps in Venezuela before transit through Honduras and Mexico en route to the United States, and she said the State Department had "confirmed and repeatedly has thanked" the Sheinbaum administration for cooperation while urging Mexico to do more.
Salazar named organized-crime groups by shorthand and urged Mexican authorities to arrest leaders of the Jalisco and Sinaloa cartels, saying large criminal actors should be held to account. She framed her remarks as a call for Mexico, under its first female president, to rise to the challenge of regional leadership.
Separately, Salazar said she has introduced the "Dignity Act," describing it as legislation "to bring out of the shadows millions" of migrants in the United States; she tied immigration issues to broader bilateral relations and argued that Mexicans in the U.S. are a vital constituency. The session then moved on after a procedural recognition of Rep. Titus to give an opening statement.
What was said in the session reflects the content of Salazar’s remarks as recorded in the transcript. Where the transcript makes specific numeric claims or cites awards, those claims are presented here as assertions made by Salazar during her remarks rather than as independently verified facts.